Her mother last month formally finished at SGT after 20 years but has been helping with a transition there, so the doors were open for anyone who wanted to watch Alicia and the New Zealand team in action.
“It was fantastic, really great to be able to watch it with family and friends, and for people to share in the excitement,” Toni said.
The occasion really sank in when they first saw her on “the big screen” in Monday's K2 heats.
“It had been quite surreal up to that point . . . it probably was the first time, for me, that I realised our little girl's at the Olympics,” Toni said.
“Seeing her, we (Toni and Craig) felt so immensely proud and excited for her, knowing how much the team have done together.”
A lot of their “journey” had been strengthened over the past 12 to 18 months during which they had identified and built a meaningful culture within the team.
Toni referred to a recent interview where her daughter spoke of the team's culture and values, bringing together their strengths and supporting each other's individual journeys.
That bond was evident when Carrington and Regal came back to the pontoon after their victory, with Hoskin and Hatton running down to the pair for hugs and celebrations.
Toni said they had become a tight-knit group and Alicia and Carrington had developed a “very special relationship”.
“They're very similar in a lot of ways. At the 2019 worlds in Hungary, Alicia was being mistaken for Lisa a lot. Paddlers would look at her, their eyes wide with delight, rock up to her and realise it wasn't Lisa . . . she rolled with it.”
Eastern Bay of Plenty-raised Carrington also has strong links to Gisborne. She is of Te Aitanga a Mahaki and Ngati Porou descent through her father Patrick, who is from Gisborne.
The pressure intensifies from here for Hoskin as focus shifts to the event for which she was mainly selected — the K4.
The K2 for Hoskin and Hatton, Toni said, was about familiarising themselves with the course and their processes, getting some competition experience and, particularly in first-time Olympian Alicia's case, getting rid of understandable nerves.
“It was really great to know there was no performance expectations of them.”
But it gets real from here as Carrington chases more history and Hoskin looks to emulate the Olympic K4 glory of local legends Alan Thompson and Grant Bramwell in 1984.
“She's got a specific role in that K4 and that's what she has been working really hard on to refine — the execution of that role,” Toni said.
“We just hope they can execute what they know they are able to. If they can pull out the race they know they are capable of, then it will be exciting . . . but there are some very, very strong K4 teams.”
Carrington and Regal are in action today in the K1 500, with the final scheduled for 3.30pm tomorrow.
The K4 heats are from 1.30pm on Friday, and if all goes to the New Zealand crew's plan, they will be contesting the A Final at 3.19pm on Saturday.
Proud parents Craig and Tony will be watching the rest of the kayaking with Craig's whanau in Wellington.
