Whanganui waka ama teams excelled on Lake Karapiro waters

Te Ringa Miti Tai Heke Whanganui Waka-Ama junior teams trained hard and enjoyed competing at the 2023 Waka-Ama Sprint Nationals. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui waka ama paddlers had a fantastic week competing in the annual Waka Ama Sprint National Championships on Lake Karapiro in Cambridge.

Members of three Whanganui clubs competed in team and individual events over five days, bringing home medals in some cases and a sense of accomplishment for all competitors after cancellations in 2022.

Te Whanganui River Outrigger Canoe Club member Peter Wilson, 81, was the oldest competitor at the championships and brought home the gold medal for the Master 80 class while his clubmate Howard Hyland, also 81, was awarded the silver medal.

“Club member Nicky Parker also won the silver medal for the Master 75 class,” club secretary Chris Kofoed said.

“And our women’s over 70s team won the bronze medal in the 500m. It’s the first time they’ve competed and a number of them are quite new to the sport so that is a fantastic result.”

Competitors from Whanganui clubs Ratana Paa Kaihoe Trust and Te Ringa Miti Tai Heke Whanganui Waka Ama Club also did well with a large number of young competitors from both clubs travelling to the championships.

Amiria Paranihi, of Te Ringa Miti Tai Heke Whanganui Waka-Ama, competing at the championships. Photo / Supplied

Te Ringa Miti Tai Heke Whanganui Waka-Ama Club chairman Hone Tamehana said the club had come back with strong enthusiasm and a renewed passion for growth and competition after the cancellation of the 2022 national championships.

Tamehana said the club had worked hard over the past five months on intense training, planning and fundraising to send 10 teams to compete at Cambridge.

“What we have seen this year is an increase in whānau paddling, with a few mama and tamariki combos, siblings, grandparents and mokopuna,” he said.

“For the past four years, the club had no junior teams due to a lack of both capacity and resources. However, a group of young members decided to revive the junior club and successfully took five teams, with 35 tamariki, to this year’s nationals.”

Amiria Paranihi made the club proud by qualifying for the premier women’s final as a first-time single waka competitor at the nationals this year.

She was also proud that her children, Maikara-Jordan and Mia McDonnell, steered for the junior teams for the first time this year.

“The lead-up was pretty scary but, looking back now, I’m excited to see how I can improve for next year. I am so grateful to have such amazing support from our club whānau,” Paranihi said.

“The encouragement before the races and praise afterwards was massive. It felt like everyone was on the water with me.”

The delighted mum said she was especially proud of Maikara-Jordan who had joined the other young paddlers late after breaking his arm.

“I love that waka ama caters to all ages; the highlight for me as a mama is being able to complete with my babies,” she said.

Ratana Paa Kaihoe Trust chairman Isaac Fonotoe said the club had also enjoyed the championships.

“Our club has had a great year after the disappointment of missing the nationals last year,” he said.

“We had eight junior teams and four adult teams competing and it feels like our club is growing in numbers and confidence.”

Tamehana said that was also the case for Te Ringa Miti Tai Heke and the club had two premier women’s teams competing this year with more than half the competitors being new to the national competition.

“As a squad, they progressed to semi-finals in all their races,” he said.

Tamehana said the coming year looked set to be a busy one with teams wanting to build up to qualify for the Worlds 2024 competition in Hawaii.