I was lucky enough to be at the Rio Olympics and share in the magic of Luuka Jones winning her silver medal, the first for canoe slalom in New Zealand.
Bay of Plenty's Mike Dawson also had a top-10 finish, both outstanding results for our sport.
Luuka still has a hand-written story from her days at Otumoetai Intermediate, documenting her dream to win an Olympic medal. Through sheer determination, sacrifice and hard work she has realised that dream and is now inspiring the next generation of young paddlers.
Post Olympics, Canoe Slalom BOP staged the inaugural canoeing event in the AIMS Games and Luuka was on hand to hang out with the young athletes and give lots of encouragement and support.
The modified slalom, based on the Youth Olympic Games format on flat water, was a huge success with overall winners from four different North Island schools. Again, AIMS Games was an amazing event and an opportunity for intermediate-aged children to experience this level of competition over so many different sports.
AIMS Games is now firmly on the canoe slalom national calendar as an essential part of our community sport programme, providing opportunity at the grassroots end of the sport and encouraging future champions.
Another key component is the Allcomers Training Camp held every December in Kawerau. The refurbishment of the old rugby clubrooms right at the river provides a great base for the three-day camp where paddlers of all levels are catered for.
