Northland’s Maara Toa wins Z Manu World Champs with record splash

Maara Toa made a massive 10m splash to win the Z Manu World Champs grand final adult male division over the weekend. Photo / Zach Quin

• Practising manu dive bombs six days a week paid off for Maara Toa, who won the Z Manu World Champs Grand Final adult male division.
• Ngawiki Taka, also from Whangārei, won the kids male manu at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour on Saturday.
• The event featured 130 finalists and showcased cutting-edge technology to measure splash height and sound.

Practising manu dive bombs six days a week has paid off for Northlander Maara Toa who won the Z Manu World Champs Grand Final adult male division over the weekend.

Another coveted spot was won by Ngawiki Taka, also of Whangārei, who was first in the kids' male manu at the finals held at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour on Saturday.

Toa, 21, who came seventh in the same category last year, said he was stoked to have won.

On the day he delivered record-breaking splash heights of over 10 metres and was awarded perfect 10 scores by a specialist judging panel that included All Black great Piri Weepu.

“To have this win this year means a lot,” Toa said.

“It was a great experience.

“I’d been getting to 9.6m, so getting 10m was surreal.”

The manu is a V-shaped dive bomb unique to New Zealand, and the aim is to make the biggest splash.

After a summer of regional qualifiers, New Zealand’s best manu athletes converged on the Auckland waterfront which was packed with spectators.

The event was part of Moana Auckland, New Zealand’s Ocean Festival which celebrates the region’s love for the ocean from waka to super yachts.

This year’s Z Manu World Champs grand final winners include Whangarei’s Maara Toa [front centre] and Ngawiki Taka. Photo / Zach Quin

With 130 finalists competing across the kids, youth, and adult divisions, the competition was fierce.

Toa, who works at Kmart, said he’d been practising for hours in “numerous spots” leading up to the event, including Whangārei Aquatic Centre and the Tikipunga waterhole.

He initially attempted to make it to the grand finals via the regional qualifiers in Whangārei in January but missed out to Jahrome Rapata-Taipari.

Determined, Toa travelled to the Auckland qualifiers where he made it through.

This year’s final showcased cutting-edge “manutech” technology, developed in collaboration with AUT, to measure splash height with pinpoint accuracy.

Ngawiki Taka, from Whangarei, was first in the kids male manu at the grand finals. Photo / Zach Quin

An underwater microphone, developed by Dr Tim Haggitt from the University of Auckland’s Institute of Marine Science, was used to measure the “pop” sound of each jump that is heard underwater.

The event also saw the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Mark Mitchell, dive-bomb into the harbour, fully clothed.

Organiser Scott Rice said the event was about “celebrating our love for the water, our culture, and that classic Kiwi summer spirit”.

“The energy has been unreal, from the competitors to the crowd.

“Manu is well and truly alive in Aotearoa.”

Z Manu World Champs 2025 Final Results

• Maara Toa (Whangārei) won Adult Male Manu 
• Shonte To’a (Hamilton) won Adult Female Manu 
• Xeina Williams (Wellington) won Freestyle Female 
• William Fraser (Auckland) won Freestyle Male 
• Zerenity Mills-Simpson (Wellington) won Youth Female 
• Jayden Lee-Raumati (Auckland) won Youth Male 
• Aila McQueen (Hamilton) won Kids Female Manu 
• Ngawiki Taka (Whangārei) won Kids Male Manu 

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.