The three Adventure Wairoa crews are Kahungunu Kōtiro Kaha taitamahine, a W6 250m team and two intermediate boys' crews of six, Kahungunu Tama Tū and Kahungunu Tama Toa, who will also combine to race in a crew of 12.
Crew manager Holly Grace said that while five of the children had paddled at nationals previously, it would be a new experience for the rest.
“I’m looking forward to seeing them go hard and the competition week vibe,” Grace said.
While it was great for the paddlers to train weekly on their home awa, Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōnengenenge Mātangi Rau, rain in recent weeks meant it wasn’t always consistent.
Some had been training since April last year, while other crew members had only jumped on board in the past few months.
Grace said it was a great hauora kaupapa for the kids to see and promote healthy lifestyles.
“Waka ama is such a cool sport and to do what our ancestors used to do is quite a cool thing.”
The races will be livestreamed through the Whakaata Māori streaming platform at maoriplus.co.nz.
