Te Tauihu waka ama event aims to get more students paddling
Students from schools across Te Tauihu took to the water for a regional waka ama event aimed at growing the sport among young people.
Organised by Whakatū Marae Waka Ama-Club, the event at Tāhunanui Beach on Friday brought together school teams to compete in a series of sprint races.
Nearly 90 primary to secondary school-aged students gathered for a karakia at 10am before heats began , with prizegiving in the afternoon.
The Nelson College for Girls team, the 6 Scubas, said the race highlighted areas to improve, which in turn had strengthened their friendships.
“We would have done better if we had figured out our flaws before the competition, because we hadn’t had a practice,” student Hayden Allen said.
“Our paddling, pattern, and timing and stuff.”
But teammate Kararaina Haruru said the race had achieved something even more important.
“We weren’t as close as we were today, I reckon. Being on the boat, we have to be in time and in sync, like one. We have to be one on the water, which makes us closer.”
Amaya Brignole agreed, saying if they were disconnected from one another, they paddled out of time.
“We just have to be all together.“
Whakatū Marae Waka Ama Club coordinator Callum Sebualala-O’Leary said the girls’ experience reflected exactly what waka ama was all about.
He had spent the past few months coaching many of the teams, while others were “just rocking up” on the day to give the sport a try.
The races were organised into three sprints in their age divisions, simulating the heat, semifinal and final format used at major competitions.
Sebualala-O’Leary said the event was designed to strengthen connections between schools and waka ama.
The long-term goal was to increase South Island participation at the NZ Secondary School Waka Ama Nationals.
“If you look up north, the secondary school nationals draws close to 2500 kids a year,” he said.
“For us, there’s maybe one South Island school representing, maybe two or three at the most every year.
“It shows that our geographical layout is obviously a challenge, how far away we are, but it’s also about making waka ama more normalised down here and making it a sport that’s more available for schools.”
He said waka ama offered much more than competition.
“Its roots are a connection to the water, to whakapapa and connection to identity of where people are from,” he said.
“You’ve got whanaungatanga, the connection of people and coming together and creating communities and knowing each other through paddling.”
Paddling itself also supported hinengaro (mental wellbeing).
“A lot of people need a way to disconnect from technology and focus on something more nature-based … almost like meditation via paddling.”
The sport also nurtured wairua (spiritual wellbeing).
“It’s more the spiritual side of connecting to the elements… the feeling we get when we’re paddling and the connection to nature when we’re out there.”
Nayland College student Niko Harvey is part of his school’s waka ama team that practises weekly.
“It’s fun, we get to go out at 2 or 3 o’clock when the suns out,” Harvey said.
“It’s worth it because in this one we got first (place) and the last one we got second. We’ve definitely got stuff to work on though.”
Funded by Te Puni Kōkiri and Oranga Poutama, the event was supported by Raglan-based Tai Paddles, which donated paddles and equipment as spot prizes.
Safety was provided by the Nelson Harbourmaster, Te Whatu Ora, volunteers from Whakatū Marae and experienced steerspeople from the region’s three waka ama clubs — Whakatū Marae Waka Ama Club, Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club and Te Tai o Aorere Waka Ama Club.
By Nina Hindmarsh, Nelson Mail
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