Ngā Hoe Horo's master women's waka ama team, Wahine Pukaha - Sarah Williams (left), Merenia Rudolph, Edwina Davis, Sarah Jackson-Rogers, Pauline Blair Namana and Joanne Wikaira (in front). Picture / Supplied
Ngā Hoe Horo's master women's waka ama team, Wahine Pukaha - Sarah Williams (left), Merenia Rudolph, Edwina Davis, Sarah Jackson-Rogers, Pauline Blair Namana and Joanne Wikaira (in front). Picture / Supplied
Ngā Hoe Horo crews excelled themselves at January's waka ama national championships on Lake Karapiro, a number of them earning the right to take part on the 19th International Va'a Federation World Sprints at Hilo (Hawaii) in August. They include the club's master women's team, Wahine Pukaha.
And now thefundraising to get them there is about to begin.
They and their supporters will be outside The Warehouse in Kaitaia on Sunday week (March 15) and again two weeks later, sizzling sausages, from 9am until the last sausage has gone.
The paddlers don't have a specific fundraising target as some costs have yet to be confirmed, but they are determined that funding will not prevent them from competing on the biggest waka ama stage of all.
Ngā Hoe Horo secretary Anna Pospisil said the women, four of whom were grandmothers, were setting a benchmark for the club's younger members by participating competitively with great success in a sport that allowed women to shine in their own right.
The team had represented the Far North extremely well in January, placing 4th overall in their division in a field of 40 teams.
"These women have shown their dedication, training many hours on and off the water and our club has no hesitation supporting their endeavours towards the world sprints by seeking sponsorship, setting up cake stalls and sausage sizzles and other ventures to make that happen," Ms Pospisil said.
