Horouta club champions at Waka Ama Sprint Nationals

Horouta club members celebrate by lifting the club points taonga on Saturday after dominating the week-long regatta at the Waka Ama National Sprint Championships at Lake Karāpiro. Picture by Garrick Cameron

Kaiarahi Toa led the Horouta medal charge on the last day of the Waka Ama Sprint Nationals at Lake Karāpiro on Saturday.

Women’s teams bearing the Kaiarahi Toa name raced in the premier, master (40-plus) and senior master (50-plus) divisions and featured strongly in the medal tallies.

Self Storage Gisborne Horouta Waka Hoe won the club points trophy for the 12th time in the 13 years it has been contested.

Following gold-medal performances in the W12 500-metre double-hull races on Friday, the Kaiarahi Toa premier women (Akayshia Williams, Gaibreill Wainohu, Jas Stevenson, Keri Ngatoro, Kiwi Campbell and Rangi-Riana Williams) won their W6 500m final on Saturday in 2 minutes 7.13 seconds, while the master women took the silver medal in their division with a time of 2:18.08. (Tolaga Bay Surf Life Saving Club’s Ūawa Pourewa crew were eighth in the premier women’s W6 500m final, in 2:16.64.)

Earlier in the day, the Kaiarahi Toa master women’s crew of Bess Halley, Kelly Swann, Ngaro Slade, Rachael Langford, Simmy Taitapanui and Tui McCaull had won the final of the W6 1000 metres (with three turns), in 5:33.57.

Another Horouta crew, 35 Mai Tawhiti, also reached the final but finished outside the qualifying places for the world sprint championships.

Their time was 6:11.86.

The premiers had finished fourth — off the podium but in a world championship qualifying spot — in the W6 1500m (with five turns) in 8:44.84.

The senior master women’s Kaiarahi Toa crew were fourth in the W6 1000m final (with turns) — enough to qualify for the world champs in this event.

Their time was 5:50.36.

Another Horouta crew, Wahine Whalers, also made the final but finished outside the qualifying places, in 6:23.17.

Kaiarahi Toa also finished a world-champs-qualifying fourth in the senior master women’s W6 500m final, in 2:26.90.

Horouta premier men’s crew Woolley Kumara qualified for the world champs with a fifth placing in the W6 500m final, in 1:50.84, but they — along with clubmates The Raiders and Mareikura crew Taikehu — had their W6 1500m run ended at the semifinal stage on Saturday.

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Horouta crew Turanga FM Paikea Masters qualified for the world champs in the master men’s W6 1000m (with turns) by placing fifth, in 5:06.60.

A combined team from Horouta and Hawke’s Bay club Haeata Ocean Sports – together representing Te Uranga o Te Ra – won the adaptive mixed W6 500m, in 2:16.13, and were third in the adaptive mixed W6 1000m (with turns), in 6:05.95. Horouta Ki Uta Ki Tai, also from this region, were fourth in the 500m race in 2:31.16, and were disqualified in the 1000m.

In the final of the golden master (60-plus) women’s W6 1000m with turns, Horouta crew Hinewaiariki were third in a time of 6:02.28, trailing the winners by 3.37 seconds. Another Horouta crew, Hineteuru, also made the final but were disqualified.

Horouta J19 men’s crew Tama Ki Te Rangi finished fourth in the W6 1000m final (with turns), in a time of 5:18.02, and the club’s J19 women’s crew Manawahine achieved the same placing in a time of 5:42.62.

The Horouta master (70) men’s crew Ko Wau To Papa won silver in the W6 500m (with a turn), in 2:50.26, beating the third-placed boat to the line by 0.22 of a second.

Horouta Tuahine, the club’s master (70) women’s team, won bronze in the W6 500m (with a turn), in 3:18.40, less than a second behind the runners-up.

Horouta senior master men’s team Tane Uehaa reached the final of the W6 1000m (with turns) but finished outside the world championship qualifying places, in a time of 5:27.06.