{"id":199,"date":"2025-05-22T13:16:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/?page_id=199"},"modified":"2025-08-04T15:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T03:16:22","slug":"who-we-are","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/who-we-are\/","title":{"rendered":"KO WAI M\u0100TOU"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nI\u2019ve spent over 20 years in and around the water\n<\/h1>

\nNot just as a swimmer, but as someone deeply committed to the safety and well-being of our people. From a young age, I was fortunate to compete at some of the highest levels in the country, winning multiple national gold medals. But as I grew older, my perspective shifted. I started to see the heartbreaking statistics around M\u0101ori drowning, and I knew I couldn\u2019t stay silent or still.\n<\/p>

\nIn 2022, I took a leap and enrolled at Te W\u0101nanga Takiura to strengthen my reo M\u0101ori, because I knew that to make real, lasting change, our tamariki deserved to learn in a space grounded in our reo and our world view. That decision led to the birth of Te Whare Kauhoe \u2013 a fully immersive M\u0101ori swim school built on kaupapa, aroha, and purpose.

I\u2019ve been coaching for two decades, in both community swim schools and competitive clubs. But this kaupapa isn\u2019t just about medals or technique \u2014 it\u2019s about saving lives. It\u2019s about breaking down the barriers that prevent our tamariki and wh\u0101nau from accessing safe, culturally grounded spaces to learn and thrive in the water. Whether it\u2019s cost, transport, or confidence \u2014 I\u2019m working to remove those obstacles.

I\u2019m also passionate about building a team of reo M\u0101ori kaiako who understand that this mahi is about more than swimming. It\u2019s about wairua, wh\u0101nau, and whakapapa. Swimming can be healing \u2013 \u0101-hinengaro, \u0101-tinana, \u0101-wairua \u2013 and I\u2019ve seen firsthand the confidence and transformation that can come from time in the water.

This isn\u2019t just what I do \u2014 it\u2019s who I am. I love the water. Like so many of our people, I feel a deep connection to it. And I want every wh\u0101nau, every tamaiti, to feel safe, strong, and seen in that space. My dream is simple: to turn the tide on our drowning statistics, to uncover hidden talent in the sport, and to create a place where our wh\u0101nau can heal, grow, and thrive together.\n<\/p>

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\nMeet our talented instructors\n<\/h2>
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\nKeitiria McColl\n<\/h6>

\nInstructor\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nI\u2019ve been coaching for two decades, in both community swim schools and competitive clubs. But this kaupapa isn\u2019t just about medals or technique \u2014 it\u2019s about saving lives. It\u2019s about breaking down the barriers that prevent our tamariki and wh\u0101nau from accessing safe, culturally grounded spaces to learn and thrive in the water. \n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve spent over 20 years in and around the water Not just as a swimmer, but as someone deeply committed to the safety and well-being of our people. From a young age, I was fortunate to compete at some of the highest levels in the country, winning multiple national gold medals. But as I grew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-199","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":334,"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199\/revisions\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tewharekauhoe.nz\/mi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}