Hard pays off for Aotearoa paddlers at world champs.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Hukere ka Hukere
Kātahi nei ka tōrengi te rā ki runga o te whakataetae Va'a Federation World Sprint engari kai te whakataetae ka tū ki Hāwai'i hai te paetawhiti te manawa o Tui McCaull e pūmau ana.
Me whakahīhī a Aotearoa i tana whakapau kaha i te whakataetae Ao i Ingarangi, nā reira i whakahou ai a Tui i te kaha o tona wairua i mua i āna whakangungutanga kia rite te kaha, kia rite te wairua ki tāna e kite atu ai.
Nā tana tamāhine ko Te Mihiroa, kātahi nei ka kotahi tekau mā iwa te tau me tana pōtiki a Atawhai ia i tahuri mai ki te ao o te waka ama nō rāua e hoe ana mā te tira poniponi mō te karapu waka ama o Te Aurere i Rotorua.
Nō te tau e rua mano mā waru ki te mā iwa. Wheoi anō kāore rawa ia i hau atu ki te hoe taea noatia te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā rima te tau.
Me te ahuareka o tana haerenga waka ama kia kōrerongia e ahau.
He tumuaki tuarua ia mō Te Kura tuarua o Trident ki Whakatāne. I whānau ai i Waihōpai he ahakoa tēnā he Ngai Tūhoe he Whakatōhea te toto, kātahi ka haere a Tui ki Rotorua nōna e kotahi tekau mā toru ngā tau, ka hau atu ki te kura o Ngā Moana, nā ka taka te wā, nā wai rā hoki a ia ki reira kura mahita ai.
Ko Geoff McCaull tana hoa rangatira nō Te Arawa nō Ngāti Porou ia. Tokorima a rāua tamariki. Ki a hoki tātou ki te whakataetae, māringiringi noa ngā koura mētara i te rangi. E rua ngā wāhanga whakataetae.
I ngā rangi mātua ara te rangi tuatahi me te rangi tuarua ko te wāhanga ki ngā toki. Ki kōnei tū ai rātou ngā tino nō ia whenua, nō ia whenua, whakataetae ai. Ko te wāhanga tuarua e hau atu ai ngā pou-whakataetae ki te whakataetae mā tō rātou karapu, tima rānei.
E whakaae ana ki a ono ngā tima whakataetae ki ia wāhanga whakataetae. Mai i te wāhanga raro iho i te kotahi tekau mā ono, me te kotahi tekau mā iwa.
Ko tetehi atu wāhanga ko te wāhanga pūare, kātahi ko te wāhanga rangatira e wha tekau te tau, rima tekau te tau tae noa ki te whitu tekau mā rima te tau , piki noa atu - tāne mai, wāhine mai.
I whakataetae ngātahi a Ngatuire Hapi nō Te Arawa me Tui i te wāhanga wāhine rangatira , kātahi rāua ka wehewehe haere ka hoki ki tā rāua ake tima whakataetae.
'Ko Horouta taku tira whakataetae, wāhine rangatira e wha tekau te pakeke'. Ko te ao waka ama, he ahakoa te taumata, ā rohe – ā motu me ngākau pono te tangata ki tāna e whai.
Nā te mea ko te wāhanga whakangungu me kaha te tangata, me pēnā hoki ki te wāhanga nama, kai ētehi wā he taumaha.
'Me he tangata ū kaha koe ki tēnei koringa he ngaru tūātea ka ekea – kia titiro kau tātou ki taku wātaka. Ka maranga, kātahi au ka hoe, kia rua ngā hoe i te rangi kōtahi, mō ngā rangi e ono o te wiki, me whai taima hoki ki ētehi atu wāhanga whakapakari, pēnei me te whāroaroa, te hiki taumaha, te whakakaha pūkahukahu.
'Nā te mea kua āhua pakeke ahau me whai taimā hoki ki te mātanga tiro wheua – te romiromi me āua tūāhuatanga hai whakakaha i taku kaupapa nei, kia kāua ia e pirorehe'.
"Nō mātou te whiwhi e hoa mā. He ahakoa titiro ai ngā kanohi ki whea – ara he hopua wai, ara he awa e tere nā, ara he roto moana, ki tua ko te moana. Koinā i pai ai au ki Rotorua me e pūhauhau ana ki te moana o Rotorua, ka peka atu ki Ōkareka, e takoto moai rokiroki ana te moana'.
"Ki roto tonu i ahau ki Ohinemataroa kai Whakatāne me tūpato kai te wāhanga takurua, he ua patapata nunui e kaha ake ai te ia o te awa kai ētehi taimā ka waipukengia, ka hemo te awa.
Nō tēnei wā o te whakangungu he kaha nōku ki te whakarite haerenga ki ngā roto moana , kia hoki ai ahau ki ngā wai kanakana o te Rotorua, tētehi o ngā tino puna kaukau ki ahau'.
E hoa mā kia mataara – he ahakoa he kore utu te hoe ki te moana, ko te utu kai ngā kame. Kāua e whakamā ki te tonotono i ngā hoa, rānei haere ki ngā toa hokohoko, he itiiti rawa nō te utu me te pai hoki.
He āhua e rima rau e rima tekau tāra te utu o ngā hoe, e rua mano e rima rau te utu o te waka W1 engari ko ngā mea piataata kau ana kai te takiwā o te waru mano tāra. ' He waimarie nōku ko taku hoe me tōku waka he mea oruoru nā reira i itiiiti ai te utu'.
'Nō te mea e whakangungu kaha nā ahau me te tīma o Aotearoa me tētehi tima nō waho atu o te tāōne, ko te nuinga o ngā mutunga wiki he wā hautu ki Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa hoe ai, nō reira he utu hoki tērā.
Ko te mea nui rawa atu ko te wā iti kau ki te whānau me ngā hoa, mēnā kai te titiro koe ki te whakataetae o te Ao.
Me te mea hoki ka wā pakupaku noa ki ngā rā nui me aua tūāhuatanga. Wheoi anō ko te whakangungu, ko te mahi me te whānau e hoa mā kua pau noa te taimā me te pūngao o te wairua ki ētehi atu kaupapa.'.
Ko te wai, ko te moana, ko te awa, ngā wāhi whakamiharo e ora ai te wairua o Tui nā reira e tika ai tana honohono ki te taiao me ōna tūpuna. "Ko te atatū e āta rewa mai nā a Tama te rākura i te pae maunga ka ihiiihi ngā hīhī, ā, kua ao te pō. He rangi mokopuna kai te ātea nui'.
Ko te paetawhiti hai tā Tui, kia whai wāhi ai te waka ama ki te Taumāhekeheke o te Ao me te whakataetae nui a ngā whenua kai te here tonu ki Ingarangi. E hika mā me he haerenga itiiti hoki pea ki Hāwai'i pāinaina atu ai ki te rā.
The sun has barely gone down on the International Va'a Federation World Sprint Championships and Tui McCaull is already contemplating Hawaii in two years.
Aotearoa produced a stellar performance at the worlds in Britain, encouraging Tui, on her return home, to recalibrate before any serious training begins.
Tui became involved in waka ama when her daughter Te Mihiroa, now 19, and niece Atawhai started paddling as midgets with Te Aurere Waka Ama Club in Rotorua. That was about 2008-2009 although she didn't start until 2015.
What a journey waka ama has been for the long-time teacher who is deputy principal at Trident High School in Whakatane. Born in Invercargill and of Ngai Tuhoe and Whakatohea hononga, Tui moved to Rotorua when she was 13 and attended Rotorua Lakes High School.
Her first job as a teacher was also at Lakes High. She is married to Geoff McCaull (Te Arawa, Ngati Porou) and between them they have five children.
E mahi tahi nga kaihoe i tenei waka ama.
There were golds aplenty at the worlds which were run in two sections; the elite championships over the first two days where the best of the best of each competing nation took part and then the world championships where competitors can paddle for their club teams.
Each country can have up to six teams competing in each division. The age divisions range from under 16, under 19, open, master 40, 50, 60, 70, 75+ for both men and women.
Ngatuire Hapi (Te Arawa) and Tui were in the Elie open womens team and then went to our separate club teams.
"I paddled with the Horouta (based in Gisborne) Master 40 womens team."
Waka ama at any level, be it local, regional, national or international requires commitment both to training and funding.
"I believe that waka ama is a sport that anyone who is willing to put in the time and committment necessary can be a world champion.
"So for me it was paddling twice a day, 6 days a week and then doing additional fitness/cardio/conditioning work to support your paddling.
"As I'm a "more mature" paddler I find it's also important to keep my body in working order – so stretches/Osteo/Massage etc.
"We're so lucky as Kiwi paddlers as we have access to many different types of waterway in order to train. And so we don't have to travel far to access our amazing lakes, rivers, moana.
The successful waka ama team in Britain. Picture / Supplied
"In Rotorua it was great – if it was too windy at Lake Rotorua – you could almost guarantee that it would be flat at Lake Okareka.
"On our awa – Ohinemataroa (Whakatane) it can be difficult especially during the winter months when there is so much rain and the river floods, also you have the tides and currents to battle sometimes too.
"During this campaign, I tried to make it over to the lakes at least once a week – I first started paddling on the Rotorua Lakes and so I love re-connecting back and to where it all started for me."
While it's free to paddle – you need the right gear. And that takes time to buy/borrow and find the right equipment.
Paddles cost around $550 each, W1 waka can range between $2500 (for a second hand one) through to around $8000 for brand new imported from overseas.
"When I first started out I was just lucky that I managed to get both a paddle and a waka second hand so the costs were pretty manageable.
"Because I was training with the NZ team and an out of town club team – it also meant that most weekends I was driving to and from Gisborne. So I guess there's a financial cost there too for those expenses.
"There's also a personal cost involved in training for a Worlds event.
"When you're committing to a campaign it often means that you will be sacrificing time with your whānau and friends. So you don't always get to attend those whānau functions, or have much of a social life. Between training/work and then being a parent – theres not much time – or energy left for anything else."
