Regular users of the Warren Cole Walkway will have noticed increased activities at the Eivers Road boat ramp as young waka ama crews prepare for the upcoming secondary schools’ waka ama championships at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua next week.

Under the leadership of Hemi Wahapango, co-ordinator at Mataatua Sports, and kaimahi Kaedyn Thrupp, teams from five secondary schools in the Whakatāne and Kawerau districts have been busy on the water.

Whakatāne High School, Trident High School, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Orini ki Ngāti Awa, Te Whata Tau o Putauaki and Te Wharekura o Rūātoki have 12, W6 (six-person) teams and six individual paddlers competing.

Wahapango said the 75 paddlers were the biggest delegation from the region to attend the event.

The past couple of weeks he has been working with the teams to learn the basics of waka ama paddling on the river in a W6 canoe.

Siblings Kaedyn and Te Awamawhai will be pushing for podium finishes after a successful nationals campaign earlier in the year.

For most of the paddlers, this will be their first race.

Wahapango said the rangatahi had been working hard.

The waka steerers have had only a short time to learn to navigate the awa but he believes they are ready to experience waka racing at the top level.

He hopes some rangatahi will continue paddling and push to compete at nationals early next year or even seek a spot at the worlds, being held in Singapore.

All the teams will participate in straight and turn races in which they must navigate the W6 canoe around a buoy.

“During a turning race, the risk is that the canoe flips over while making the turn, so one of the preparations for this event included a capsize exercise done in the controlled environment of the Whakatāne Aquatic Centre.

In total, 122 schools from around New Zealand will compete at Lake Tikitapu, Rotorua, from Monday until Friday.

There are two age classes: not older than 16 and younger than 19. The racecourse is 250 metres and teams compete in W12 and W6 250m straight race and the W6 500m with one turn. The W1 (individual) competitors race 250m straight.

“Waka ama is gaining popularity in the district and we are glad to be able to provide this service for the hāpori/community,” Wahapango said.

“Our location down at Eivers Road has given the paddlers more freedom to learn waka ama.

“We were previously at the Whakatāne boat ramp but navigating that area with tamariki as young as six had its challenges.

“We are pleased to be able to share a safe location with EBOP Canoe Kayak club and the locals from around the area have been very supportive.”