Rotorua Boys' High School Under 16 paddlers Tehautorua Pukepuke, 14 (left) and Te Maiora Rurehe, 14 race at Tikitapu (Blue Lake) yesterday during the ActivePost Waka Ama Secondary Schools Championships. Photo/Stephen Parker
Competition was well under way yesterday for thousands of high school students as they took to the waters of Tikitapu for the ActivePost Waka Ama Secondary Schools Championships.
Day 2 saw waka of six paddlers take part in the 500m and 250m heats to qualify for the semifinals. Schools had
their tents lined up along the shore as they watched and cheered for their teams.
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata teacher Margie Mahutonga said their students were enjoying the week as they supported each other on and off the water.
"It's been awesome, waka ama is a sport resulting from Maori traditions of our ancestors in terms of voyages to Aotearoa. So this sport is tuuturu (staunchly) Maori and this competition brings together those traditions of our ancestors," she said. "Our students are enjoying the whanaungatanga [kinship] not just within themselves but with other kura throughout the motu [land]. The atmosphere here has generally been one of excitement, of courage and determination, of commitment and having fun."
Rotorua Boys' High School student Te Maiora Rurehe, 14, was part of the W6 Under 16, 250m race yesterday who finished second in their heat.
