Local school’s tradition of excellence at Polyfest
A high school from South Auckland has a proud history to uphold at the ACC-supported ASB Polyfest this year. They will be among many paying homage to a highly-respected matriarch of the Samoan community.
Main photo: Thomas Wandstraat
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Polyfest will be bittersweet for the Samoan group from Manurewa High School, says deputy principal Linda Sime.
Linda says many of the school’s Samoan teachers and communities will have mixed emotions as they remember their matriarch, Melegalenu’u Ah Sam.
Melegalenu’u passed away last April aged 75. She was known to thousands of students who performed on the Samoan stage at ASB Polyfest, where she’d worked as the lead coordinator since 1993.
“She had a major hand in establishing the Samoan language in Aotearoa and led our Samoan stage for many years,” Linda says.
“We’ll use this opportunity to remember those who paved the way for us to have these celebrations and who are no longer with us.
“We’ll reminisce on our past performances, and friends and families that we journeyed with through the past 50 years of Polyfest.”
From humble beginnings to world leading
Polyfest has come a long way since the humble beginnings back in 1976 when it was first staged at Hillary College and just four schools attended.
In 2025, organisers are anticipating close to 75 schools and 280 groups will perform.
More than 10,000 Pasifika youth will take to the stage and around 100,000 people will attend with 200 stallholders.
It's now heralded as the biggest secondary school cultural dance festival in the world.
Photo: Thomas Wandstraat
A proud history of success
Manurewa High School has competed in Polyfest for the last 35 years and its teams have a tradition of excellence.
Linda has managed the Samoan group since 2013 and, in that time, Manurewa has won it three times under tutor John Lafaele. Since 2013, a Manurewa team has always placed in the top three.
Linda, who competed in Polyfest under the Niuean group in her time as a student, says the festival is hugely important in building the students’ confidence and cultural competence.
“One of the greatest things about Polyfest is the encouragement our students receive to learn more about their language, culture, traditions and history through song and dance,” she says.
“A strong sense of cultural identity can provide resilience in the face of challenges.”
‘Polyfest brings a special energy’
Manurewa has 15 groups performing at Polyfest this year. This includes 10 diversity groups and five big groups – Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands, Niuean and kapa haka.
The Samoan group practices five times a week and there’s a special energy among the participants.
“There’s a certain hype in the air when our students get ready for Polyfest,” Linda says.
“They have a higher level of energy, they’re extremely excited, they enjoy the preparation, the hair sessions, the breakfast before the performance, the circle of talanoa (talking), where they’re reminded of who they’re representing and how proud we are of them.”
ACC spreads the word on concussion
ACC is proud to partner with Polyfest in 2025. We’ll be running a stall with New Zealand Rugby League to highlight the importance of managing concussion in sport.
In 2023, ACC accepted 10,648 claims for sports-related concussion. These injuries came at a cost of $64 million to help people recover.
ACC Injury Prevention Partner Nat Hardaker says community events like Polyfest are important as they provide an opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of ACC services.
“They can also help us learn what’s important to communities and how we can support them. We know sport is important in the lives of Māori and Pacific peoples.”
Research shows Māori and Pacific sports people have higher rates of concussion and lower rates of reporting.
“We need to continue changing the culture and provide a safe environment for reporting concussion,” Nat says.
“We’re looking forward to being part of the 50th anniversary of Polyfest and making a difference for our communities in this area.”
The four ‘Rs’ of concussion management are: recognise, remove, recover and return.
You can find out more by viewing the national guidelines for sport concussion on our website.
Sport Concussion in New Zealand – National Guidelines
ASB Polyfest
Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival
2-5 April, celebrating 50 Years
Manukau Sports Bowl, Auckland
Six stages: Māori, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, Diversity
ACC is supporting Polyfest to raise awareness and build understanding around services that improve access and health outcomes for Pacific people and Māori.
Pacific people have lower ACC claim rates, around six per cent of all claims relative to their population size of nine per cent.
For more information, please visit the ASB Polyfest website.
