Tupuria King wont be able to defend the premier men's 500m race title he won last year. Photo / WANZ
Tupuria King wont be able to defend the premier men's 500m race title he won last year. Photo / WANZ
Northland's Waka Ama teams are left unprepared for the World Championship after the cancellation of the Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Waka Ama Sprint Nationals.
The national event, due to be held in February, is normally used to select paddlers for the World Sprints, but Waka Ama NZ has announced that qualifiers will now be determined from the results from regional events.
Several hundred kahoe and supporters from Te Tai Tokerau attend the sprint nationals annually and the region's kahoe have had plenty of success there.
Tupuria King won the premier men's 500m title last year, but won't be able to defend his crown this year.
Te Tai Tokerau Polynesian Canoe Association secretary Kura Heke compares the world event to the Olympic games for Waka Ama paddlers and said the cancellation of the National Championship puts New Zealand's participation in the world competition into question.
"This has meant that we're unprepared to actually go forward into the world competition, if that event should happen."
"So there's a dilemma about whether we still put out our intent to participate as the waka ama national representatives because we haven't had the chance to trial."
The IVF Va'a World Sprint Club Championships are due to be held in London in August next year.
"Do we proceed to train and then try to get into MIQ places if we travel to London," Heke said.
Waka Ama NZ board chairwoman Zalene Douglas said the decision to cancel the sprint nationals was made to protect the Waka Ama community from the Covid-19 Delta strain.
"The board of Waka Ama New Zealand was of the firm view that we could not put at risk any of our waka ama whānau."
"Our tamariki are the most vulnerable and we have to ensure that we run events that will ensure the safety of everyone. "
Waka Ama NZ recognised the disparity in vaccination rates for Māori and Pasifika as a decision factor - 75 per cent of participants at the event are Māori or Pasifika.
Heke is disappointed, but isn't surprised by the decision, saying waka ama is whanau-based, so the protection of family comes first.
"We feel like, as paddlers, that Waka Ama has made a pre-emptive, early decision for the safety of our members."
Waka Ama NZ also raised concerns for the safety of tamariki under 12, who are currently unable to be vaccinated, which Heke echoes.
"Half of our 6000 (paddlers) are children under 11. So that was our main concern, that our children would be more at risk of transmission especially with this new variant we were concerned that our kids were going to be under threat."
Kura Heke says the Nationals cancellation leaves paddlers unprepared, but whanau comes first. /Tania Whyte
There are 11 waka ama clubs in Northland which have had plenty of success at the event, with members ranging from as young as 5 years old to over 80.
One of those clubs is Ngati Reihia, whose paddler Danny Kaiawe has been going to Waka Ama Nationals since 1999.
"It's the one time of the year I look forward to, I get a holiday and I get to see my friends," he said.
Kaiawe's team are triple national gold medallists, but it's never been about the medals for Kaiawe.
"It means a lot, not because we are champions but because we can bring our kids and celebrate our kids."
Waka Ama is a family affair for Kaiawe, his wife Elizabeth Kaiawe, is a triple world champion.
But the talented pair don't see themselves competing at the world event under the current Covid-19 system with the wave of infectious Covid-19 variants in London.
"I don't think my team and my wife's team are intending to go, it's just too uncertain."
In the meantime, Kura Heke, who competes for team Te Taitokerau, said the clubs have been doing everything they can to adjust to the new Covid system, including keeping vaccinated and unvaccinated paddlers separate and having local events.
"It's actually quite limiting. We have people who are unvaccinated who want to paddle."
"We have to keep these groups separate, but it still gives them the ability to go out and obey the rules."
It is currently a requirement for attendees of the 2022 IVF World Sprint Championships to be fully vaccinated.
