Whanganui dragon boat racer Anne Kauika will represent New Zealand at the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Whanganui dragon boat racer Anne Kauika will represent New Zealand at the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Whanganui’s Anne Kauika has only been involved with dragon boat racing for four years but in July she will represent New Zealand at the world championships.
Kauika has been selected as one of 90 in the Black Dragons squad for the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Brandenburgan der Havel, Germany, on July 14-20.
The mother of six is the only Whanganui-based dragon boat racer to be named in the squad.
Kauika has had international experience with the sport already, representing New Zealand at the 16th IDBF World Championships in Thailand in 2023 and competing in Italy last year for the Club Crew World Championships.
“I’m feeling really excited about going and competing, I have quite high expectations,” Kauika said.
“In Thailand we had a good campaign and came home with three silver medals. I’m not saying we are going to hit the podium; there are a lot more teams and a lot of unknowns, but I think that is the exciting thing.
“You know that you are going to leave 110% out there and you trust those around you because that’s what they are there for - we’ll see how it plays out.”
Anne Kauika has been involved with waka ama since 2008 and began dragon boat racing four years ago. Photo / NZME
Kauika moved from her birthplace of Wairarapa to Whanganui 33 years ago. She has been doing waka ama since 2008 and decided to add dragon boat racing to her arsenal four years ago.
“I just went for my first paddle and that was me,” Kauika said.
Joining the world of dragon boat racing felt natural for her.
“The dragon boating is just fresh, challenging, there’s different people and different places to go to, but mainly I love racing,” Kauika said.
“I think dragon boating is exciting because of the number of people that are in the boat and everyone has to paddle in time - it is so synchronised.
“I feel like I have a connection with water through being on a boat, not in it.”
Training can be challenging as there is no recognised Whanganui-based dragon boat club, meaning Kauika often travels to Waikato or trains on her own.
“Motivating yourself to get out there is sometimes hard, you have to re-jig things to make the most of the time you do have,” she said.
Kauika is the only Whanganui-based dragon boat racer selected in the Black Dragons squad for Germany. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Kauika said her job at the Whanganui District Health Board was flexible which allowed her to dedicate time before, during or after work to train.
She said participating in F45 training had helped her on her journey.
“F45 has got me to the fitness that I haven’t ever got to before. I know that if I can’t get on the water to train, I can work just as hard, if not harder, at F45,” she said.
