Young Northlanders will be putting their oratory skills to the test in a competition known for springboarding future leaders into the spotlight.
The Northland regional Nga Manu Korero Speech Contest kicks off at Otamatea High School today and will see about 65 speakers from more than 23 schools compete in five different categories.
Thomaseena Paul, Otamatea High School te reo Maori teacher, said the competition had been going for 52 years and it was the first time the school would be hosting it.
"It springboards future leaders into the spotlight and keeps oral traditions alive," she said.
The five categories of the competition are: Ta Turi Carroll - Junior English; Rawhiti Ihaka - Junior Maori; Korimako - Senior English; Pei Te Hurinui Jones - Senior Maori, and; the Ta Himi Henare bilingual section, a category exclusive to Northland.