Paddlers get off to a strong start the mixed-crew W6 race in the Waka Ama Long Distance Nationals on Saturday. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Paddlers get off to a strong start the mixed-crew W6 race in the Waka Ama Long Distance Nationals on Saturday. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A huge turnout, a chance to paddle at the birthplace of the nation and the first big get-together since Covid combined to make the waka ama championships at Waitangi a resounding success.
A total of 1040 paddlers from 62 clubs around the motu, ranging from under-16s to over-70s, took partin the 2022 Waka Ama Long Distance Nationals on Friday and Saturday.
The last time the national champs were held in Northland was in 2008 at Marsden Pt.
Waka Ama New Zealand chief executive Lara Collins said some kaihoe (paddlers), from the South Island especially, had never been to Waitangi, let alone paddled there.
"They've seen it on TV and heard about it, but to come here and do something you love, with people you enjoy being with, in a place that's so significant to Aotearoa New Zealand, is really special," she said.
The number taking part was the highest in years due to the Covid pandemic affecting previous events.
Taylynn Morete, of Pawarenga-based waka ama club Ngā Hoe Horo, competes in the J16 W1 event. Photo / Garrick Cameron
Anne Cairns, of Napier-based Haeata Ocean Sports Club, echoed Collins' sentiments.
"It's been amazing. It's a really special place and it's one of the biggest nationals I've seen. A lot of people were keen to come up here and paddle."
Cairns' team, the MJs, won the W6 (six-seater) 24km women's open race for the 11th year in a row.
The secret to winning was making sure everyone stayed on top of their own fitness, and then "everybody doing their job in the boat".
Friday's calm conditions in the Bay of Islands were replaced on Saturday by a challenging breeze and choppy waters, which also made for some exciting racing.
Saturday's standout paddlers included 15-year-old Tamati Heta of Whangārei, paddling for the Cook Islands Outrigger Association. He was crowned the J16 men's W1 champion in the ruddered and rudderless races.
Whangārei's Tamati Heta, 15, paddling for the Cook Islands Outrigger Association, was crowned the J16 men's W1 champion in the ruddered and rudderless races. Photo / Peter de Graaf
In the J16 women's W1 division, Poppy Barnes from Haeata Ocean Sports (Hawke's Bay), won the ruddered race while Chelsea Reti of Ngā Hoe Horo Outrigger Canoe Club (Pawarenga) won the rudderless race.
In the senior W6 class the MJs from Haeata took line honours in the open women's division while Pineula Mixed from Akarana won the open mixed.
Collins said the most exciting race of the day was the W6 open men's with the lead switching five times between Team Pineula and the eventual winners, the Herberts on Tour from Pawarenga's Ngā Hoe Horo.
She was grateful to hosts Te Tai Tokerau Polynesian Canoe Association and Waitangi's Tai Kotuku Waka Ama Club, as well as many "amazing kaimahi", for making the event a success.
Next year's long-distance nationals would be held in Te Puku o Te Ika, the central North Island.
The event was due back in Te Tai Tokerau in seven years' time. It would be up to Northland clubs to decide the exact location.
Other waka ama events coming up included Kaihoe o Ngāti Rēhia's Pearl of the North, which was expected to bring hundreds of paddlers to Tapuaetahi Beach, just north of the Bay of Islands, during Labour Weekend.
