1500 paddlers biggest number at Waka ama champs

Rotorua schools welcome paddlers taking part in the ActivePost Waka Ama National Secondary Schools Waka Ama Championships at Tikitapu (Blue Lake) this week. Photo/Stephen Parker

A record number of paddlers are taking part in the annual ActivePost Waka Ama National Secondary Schools Waka Ama Championships in Rotorua.

A pohiri was held at Tikitapu (Blue Lake) yesterday as more than 1500 paddlers prepared to compete in the four-day event.

Chief executive of Waka Ama New Zealand Lara Collins said the first day had been a success with 95 schools taking part and with more than 2500 spectators lining the banks to cheer on the crews.

"It's pretty buzzing out here, this would be the biggest number of paddlers we've had," Miss Collins said.

"The sport is just growing really quickly, every year it's progressively growing. We've made huge strides these past 13 years to take waka ama into as many schools as possible.

Each year we get more schools taking the sport up and, for the very first time since the Christchurch Earthquake, we'll have schools from the South Island competing at these championships."

Miss Collins said Rotorua schools gave visitors a traditional Maori welcome and among those in attendance yesterday was Mana leader Hone Harawira who was supporting a Far North school which his wife is principal of.

"We also have a girls team from Tahiti, they're all pretty excited to be here, it's the first time they've been to New Zealand," she said.

"Competition is really tight, we've had the 12-person crew double hull races and the single paddlers who are doing 250m under one minute."

Miss Collins said it had been a positive event and hoped for similar spectator numbers today and for the rest of the week.