Rafting: NZ dominates at champs

The New Zealand men's rafting team paddle hard during the slalom event at the world champs.

New Zealand has once again flexed its muscles as one of the best rafting countries in the world, winning two gold and two silver medals at the World Rafting Championships in Indonesia.

The world champs wrapped up on Monday, with the champions found in the open and masters divisions.

The bulk of the New Zealand rafting crews are based out of Rotorua and the wider Bay of Plenty, and have been training hard in the lead-in to the world champs.

The New Zealand open women's rafting team were a force to be reckoned with at the world champs.

The Kiwi crews were dominant, claiming gold in the men's and women's masters divisions, and silver in the open men's and open women's competitions. Brazil finished ahead of the Kiwis in the open men's division while the Czech Republic just pipped the Kiwis to the open women's title.

Rotorua's Denise Martin, a five-time world champion with the New Zealand women's open team, said all the Kiwi teams did really well. She said there was a culture of excellence within the New Zealand sides.

"Oh completely. I've said it before, the Kiwi crews have the right attitude. When they get to the world champs they are heads down and bums up, and away they go," she said. "But in saying that they showcase a lot of skill as well."

She said with the crews coming out of the Bay, there was a good mix of white-water and flat-water paddlers, which complemented each other well in rafting.

"A lot of the teams are based out of Okere Falls so we have white-water kayakers and flat-water specialists, and they put all of those combinations into the boat. And when they form the right teams they are just away."

Martin did not race this year, deciding to stay in Rotorua, and said she was nervous waiting for the results of her open women's team.

The biggest divisions at the world champs were the open men's division, with 20 nations competing, and the open women with 16 teams.

The world champs finished with a 14km down river race on Monday. New Zealand crews did exceptionally well in the down river races collecting plenty of points for the overall standings.

The four disciplines each six-person crew was marked across at the world champs included the sprint, head-to-head, slalom and down river.

The overall champion is then named according to points gained in all four disciplines.

The New Zealand under-19 girls' team and under-23 boys' team also raced well in Indonesia but finished outside the medals.

The world champs are held every two years.

-The NZ crews:

Open men (silver): Paul Roozendaal, Joel Flamank, Bernd Sommer, Sam Sutton, Tim Pickering, Bradley Lauder, Brendan Bayly.

Open women (silver): Nikki Kelly, Nikki Whitehead, Anne Cairns, Sarah Uhl, Corrina Gage, Marnie Fornusek, Sarah Christie.

Masters men (gold): Nicholas Chater, John Snook, Dai Edwards, Martin Helleur, Troy Dolman, Michael Nuku, Paul Eames.

Masters women (gold): Alana Whiteman, Meta Faber, Jen Murray, Kimi Chater, Roni Nuku, Miriam Odlin.