LĪHU‘E — More than 300 middle school students from across Kauaʻi came together for the second annual Kauaʻi Middle School Makahiki Championship, an islandwide competition rooted in traditional Hawaiian games and cultural practice. Thirteen public, charter and private schools participated, each sending 20 student athletes to compete for the championship trophy. Kawaikini New Century Public Charter School earned the top title.

Makahiki games are traditional Hawaiian sports and contests played during the makahiki season, a roughly four-month period traditionally dedicated to peace, harvest, sport and community. Reestablished in Kauaʻi schools, makahiki provides students with hands-on cultural learning while promoting teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship.

At the heart of the resurgence of the all-island makahiki is Kaina Makua, founder and executive director of Kauaʻi nonprofit Kumano I Ke Ala and organizer of the event. “I grew up playing makahiki at a young age. I remember a big competition on Kauaʻi. A bunch of kids, over 400 plus … and they crowned a champion every year,” Makua said.

Makahiki training, he noted, helps students build cultural grounding, work ethic and respect for others. His goal is to use traditional practices to help shape confident, well-rounded young people for a new generation of students. 

“Hawaiʻi, our people, have known how to do that. How to connect, how to perpetuate what we have for generations. Why are we not invested in this?” explained Makua. “Yes, it’s physical. It has a physical component, most of it, but it also is connection. It also is culture. It also is everything that we’re trying to build in good humans. And makahiki’s going to encompass all of that.”

The makahiki opened with protocol during which each school gave hoʻopkupu (offerings) of traditional gifts and oli in front of a lele platform. Students then competed in 11 traditional makahiki events, including hākā moa (one-legged wrestling), pā ʻumeʻume (hand wrestling), hukihuki (tug-of-war), ʻulu maika (stone bowling), kūkini (foot racing), kōnane (Hawaiian strategy game) and ʻōʻō ihe (spear throwing). Girls and boys competed together. The competition emphasized skill, focus and strategy over physical strength alone. 

For some students, like Benzyn Numazu, a seventh grader at Waimea Canyon Middle School and second place winner in ʻōʻō ihe, makahiki was about trying different sports. “For the spear throwing, it was kind of hard because I never did it last year. I just threw it. I just got lucky.” 

For others, like Eliana Medina, an eighth grader from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, makahiki “means that I get the opportunity to meet other people and see the different schools and how they cheer on their team and work with each other.”

And for Makua: “If you’re in Hawai‘i, I think you should be invested in this, regardless of your ethnicity, because it is going to help every kid — humans. It is not just for Hawaiians. It is not just for the people here. It is for the world, really.” 

The championship was coordinated by Kumano I Ke Ala in partnership with Kauaʻi Community College, Kamehameha Schools Kaiāulu, the Kauaʻi County Fire Department, the Ocean Safety Bureau and other community organizations. This is the second annual Middle School Makahiki Championship for Kauaʻi. Waimea Canyon Middle School won the inaugural title in 2024.