U-11 girls bag three bronze

BRONZE: The Nga Kakano Arani crew from Rotorua's Te Au Rere Waka Ama Club won three bronze medals at the sprint nationals this week. Pictured are (from front) crew members Billie Apo, Kaihau Poasa, Liv Patu-Ngataiawhio, Mihimanawa Mihaka, Phoenix Mahaki, and Te Aue Lockington during their W6 500m final. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Four months of hard work has paid off for one of Rotorua's youngest waka ama crews.

The Nga Kakano Arani crew, from Rotorua's Te Au Rere Waka Ama Club, brought home three bronze medals this week from the 26th ActivePost National Waka Ama Sprint Championships on Lake Karapiro.

The local crew competed in the midget (under-11) girls division winning medals in the W6 250m, W6 500m and W12 250m events earlier this week.

Coach Lorraine Hall said she was very proud of her team of six girls, who had put in plenty of hard work leading up to the nationals.

"They have worked so hard, they started in September and the competitions are not until January, so it has been quite a long slog for them and the conditions [before summer] have been quite cold for them as well."

Hall, who lost her voice following an eventful week at Lake Karapiro, said this was the first nationals for two of her paddlers, Phoenix Mahaki and Billie Apo. "Two of them are newbies and the other four have been there for three years now."

She explained the team name Nga Kakano Arani meant the orange seed in English, and referred to their club colours and the next generation of paddlers coming through.

Hall said the atmosphere at the nationals was brilliant this week.

"It is buzzing. It is just an awesome feeling and there is so many different people from different ages."

The Te Au Rere Waka Ama Club has been the most successful Rotorua club at the nationals this week picking up six medals so far.

No Rotorua club has claimed a gold medal so far this week.

The other medals won by the Te Au Rere club this week included a silver in the J16 men's W6 500m event, a silver in the intermediate (under-14) girls W12 500m event, and a bronze in the intermediate girls W6 500m event.

The sixth and final day of competition is being held today at the nationals, with plenty of senior finals being held including the high-profile women's W6 500m final and men's W6 500m final.

Hall said the club had taken 56 paddlers to the nationals this week and they would be catching up after the event to celebrate their performances. "We are going to have a big barbecue next weekend to celebrate everyone's achievements."

Hall said she had been involved with the Te Au Rere Waka Ama Club since it was founded in 2000 and it was the oldest waka ama club in Rotorua.

"Te Au Rere is the first waka ama club ever for Rotorua, so it is the tuakana of all the clubs here."

The successful Nga Kakano Arani crew included Kaihau Poasa, Liv Patu-Ngataiawhio, Mihimanawa Mihaka, Te Aue Lockington, Billi and Phoenix.

They teamed up with another team from Te Puku O Te Ika (Tauranga) to claim their W12 bronze medal. Thousands of paddlers and supporters attended the nationals this week.

Success so far:

- The Ruamata W12 men's crew have produced a top
performance at the National Waka Ama Sprint Championships to
claim a bronze medal.

- Ruamata crew OCC Lakers finished third in the men's W12
(12-man) 500m race yesterday, less than half a second ahead of
another Rotorua crew.

- Local club Hei Matau Paddlers finished fourth in the race just
behind the OCC Lakers on Lake Karapiro.