NZ J19 Women’s Team with their gold medal, featuring Far North paddler Taylynn Morete (far right).
NZ J19 Women’s Team with their gold medal, featuring Far North paddler Taylynn Morete (far right).
A group of Far North waka ama paddlers have put Te Hiku on the world stage, taking out eight medals at an international tournament in Samoa.
One hundred and twenty Waka Ama NZ paddlers battled it out against 26 other countries at the Third IVF Va’a World Distance Championship recently.
After placing fourth at the last World Distance Championship in 2019, this year’s Waka Ama NZ team came out victorious, topping the overall medal tally with 24 medals (eight gold, 13 silver and three bronze).
J16 Women NZ Team wins gold. From left: Ella August, Marnie Toloa, Hine Brooking, Kaiarahi Brooking, Riria Ata and Chelsea Reti.
Medals were represented across all team (V6) events (Junior 16-Master 70), single-person (V1) events (Junior 16- Master 75 ) in both men and women divisions, as well as the Para Mixed team and Para Men V1 paddlers.
A number of Far North paddlers took out medals, with Elite Reti winning silver in the J16 Men’s (Reti also won silver in the J16 Men’s team), Nyree King (bronze) in the Master 60 Women and Kura Heke (bronze) in the Master 70 Women.
Nyree King won bronze in the Master 60 Women race.
For the teams’ categories, NZ Women J16 team (featuring Ngā Hoe Horo paddler Chelsea Reti) won gold, coming in more than seven minutes in front of Samoa (second place).
Another Ngā Hoe Horo paddler, Melrose Morete, was steering for the Samoan team.
Taylynn Morete paddled for the NZ Women’s J19 team, who won the World Championship gold by time penalty.
Elite Reti won silver in the Junior 16 Men's race.
Finally, NZ Men’s coach and paddler Tupuria King with the NZ Men’s team won bronze in the final race of the week, trailing one minute and 15 seconds behind the gold medallists Hawaii, after a gruelling 24km course.
According to Waka Ama NZ, this year’s event wasn’t without its challenges, with rough conditions affecting the scheduling and canoes over a number of days.
NZ Men’s Team wins silver: From left: Simon Wolfgramm, Kacey Ngataki, Manutea Millon and Tupuria King.
A Waka Ama NZ spokesperson said it was evident the Aotearoa paddlers had been working on their distance racing, with an awesome achievement across the contingent, including high placings for those who missed out on medals.
The spokesperson said the organisation was very proud of the achievements of all paddlers, who they said were a true reflection of the high calibre of paddlers in this country.
“Waka Ama NZ would like to acknowledge our kaihoe (paddlers) and their whānau who have sacrificed, trained and fundraised their way to Samoa – thank you for being a part of our team and representing Aotearoa with pride,” the spokesperson said.
“A special mention to the coaches, managers and supporters of each team who continue to do the mahi behind the scenes to allow our paddlers to do what they need to do on the water.
“Waka Ama NZ is proud of all Aotearoa representatives who were a part of this world’s campaign and acknowledge the hard work put in.
“Finally, thank you to our fellow Va’a paddlers, the International Va’a Federation and especially the event hosts and the beautiful people of Samoa for your amazing hospitality and sharing your whenua and moana with us – fa’afetai lava, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa!”
The next IVF Va’a World championships will be the Elite and Club Sprint Championships held in Hilo, Hawaii 2024, followed by the 2025 IVF Va’a World Distance Championship in Brazil.
