Waka ama: Pond of cultural lifestyle

Some of the Te Rau Oranga o Ngati Kahungunu club members Kyra Raihania (left), Truman Stuart, Tipene Kupa-Hapi, Ben Jacobs, Tee Jay Daley, Nova Tautari and Chez Waihi are off to the Va'a World Sprints in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, in May. Photo / Paul Taylor

Waka ama enthusiasts are paddling bravely in the ponds and lakes of obscurity, mindful their journey will not take them into the mainstream of sport anytime soon.

But that isn't ever going to be a deterrent for the likes of Chez (pronounced Shay as in the indigenous American way) Waihi and his band of brothers and sisters worldwide.

"Not many people in Hawke's Bay will know about waka ama or actually do it so it felt inspiring to me and I went that way to try to be different," says Waihi, who gave up rugby to pursue outrigger canoeing, which is an integral part of the Pacific culture.

The 16-year-old Hastings Boys' High School pupil is part of a six-person under-19 boys' team who'll compete in Australia.

Eleven members of Te Rau Oranga o Ngti Kahungunu Waka Ama Club qualified late last month to represent New Zealand at the Va'a World Sprints at Lake Kawana, on the Sunshine Coast, in May.

More than 4000 paddlers are expected to converge at the global sprints staged once every two years.

Waihi's J19M six, known as Ruamano, have qualified for the 1000m turns race. They comprise pupils from HBHS, Napier Boys' High and Te Ara Hou.

Truman Stuart (NBHS) is the Bay secondary schools' W1 champ, regional W1 champ and fastest ranking regional 250m champ. He also qualified for regional men's W12 event with teammate Tipene Hapi-Kupa.

Other teammates are Ben Jacobs and Nova Tautari (both HBHS) and late entrant Tee Jay Daley (Te Ara Hou), who was pivotal in the qualifying final.

Waihi, in his first year in the U19s, picked up oars two years ago.

"I gave it a try with some of my mates and I fell in love with the code."

For the Year 12 pupil, it isn't just a sport but a lifestyle plaited with significant aspects of culture.

"It just brought us [teammates] even closer because now they'll be my lifetime friends."

The thrill of racing in the water offers a different perspective to a competitive edge.

"It's not something you'll get in rugby or other mainstream sport."

Waihi and his teammates embrace the involvement of the whanau, not something that is a given in other codes.

"It's family oriented, with people right up to grandparents who can join you and it's also a great sport to watch."

He wasn't always ocean savvy, building confidence first at rivers.

"At the start I was quite scared ... so we did a lot of safety drills in case anything bad happened," he says, pointing out any level confidence doesn't detract from ever losing respect of the sea.

Like kapa haka, waka ama teaches them discipline.

While the teenagers are at a physical disadvantage, they will bank on technique and fitness to overcome raw power and lack of experience.

Ruamano coach Gretchyn Hema says the paddlers also have heavy timetables at school to prepare for the kapa haka nationals hosted here in term three.

"These students have juggled NCEA, training and life to achieve their goal of qualifying. Their journey started in April 2015 and will not be complete until May 2016," Hema says.

Paddling under the coalition banner of Kahungunu Taumata Rau, Te Rau Oranga boasts 19 worlds qualifiers over the past two global campaigns.

She praised the paddlers' families and coaches for their resolve.

The club's senior master men's paddler and J19M coach Jon Mathews also qualified in all divisions with his team, Steel Eels, based at Clive.