Waiheke Island has burst on to the National Waka Sprint Championships once again with an explosive start and plenty of medals on days one and two of the 2020 Sprint Nationals hosted in Lake Karapiro, Cambridge.
A total of 14 Waiheke families camped lakeside in perfect conditions swimming, playing and supporting as Waiheke’s taitama and taitamahine paddlers (five to nine-year-old boys and girls) took on New Zealand’s best and proved the waka ama is alive and well on our motu.
The midget and intermediate races kicked off a week-long celebration of 3900 paddlers ranging in age from five to 89 on Lake Karapiro with competitions due to end with the senior and J19 finals on Saturday 18 January. And those seniors from Waiheke had a lot to live up to after the youngsters set such a high bar on Sunday and Monday.
• James Campbell
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
