The winners of the Te Kaitiaki, or National Tertiary Spirit Champion, award will be voted for by other participants, and will be charged with protecting the award that has been created by carver Paddy Cooper out of red beech bur wood.

A kaitiaki in Māori culture is a guardian or protector of something considered sacred.

This new initiative seeks to reward characteristics such as a positive team attitude, respect, good conduct and behaviour which seeks to safeguard participants’ enjoyment of sport.

The award has been inspired by the sport of ultimate, played with a flying disc and similar to touch rugby, which includes a Spirit of the Game scoring system that rewards teams for their sporting conduct with an end of tournament award.

Priscilla Yiu, a student at the University of Auckland who plays ultimate, explained the benefits of such a system.

"Spirit is a part of the game that doesn't depend on your team’s winning status and ensures people are still having fun and continuously keeping the passion within their sports," Yiu said.

Points for the Te Kaitiaki have been awarded at the New Zealand University Rowing Championship, the National Tertiary Championships in 3x3, futsal, volleyball and badminton since April.

The University of Waikato received the maximum eight points in 3x3 and futsal, while Lincoln University, Victoria University of Wellington and University of Otago have also received eight-point hauls.

Only six points separate the top five universities at present.