Local Focus: Women pack the Hawke's Bay field at New Zealand Jetsprints Championship

Jetsprinting might be regarded as a sport for blokes, but apparently not in Hawke's Bay.

Half of the competitors in the three Hawke's Bay teams taking part in the New Zealand Jetsprints Championship were female.

Pip Thompson has the only all-female crew in the Superboat class, piloting 1000 horsepower in the boat The Bitches Box.

Originating in New Zealand, Jetsprint has become an international sport, demanding high levels of concentration.

Spectators flocked to the Crownthorpe jetsprint track for the Hawke's Bay round of a sport not for the faint of heart

Roll cages were mandatory, with competitors just milliseconds away from being pinned underwater by their oversize V8s.

The boats handled differently away from the shallow man-made tracks, so training was difficult.

"You only learn by having seat time - it is about getting out there and racing," Thompson said.

"It's not like you can go and practice anywhere. So it's great that the New Zealand Jetsprint Association now runs five qualifiers for everyone, so everyone gets a chance, not just the top guys."

The most successful Hawke's Bay competitor on Sunday at Crownthorpe was 22-year-old navigator Amanda Kittow, competing for a Whanganui team which came second in the 16-crew Group A class.

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