WAKA AMA - Waka a way to start the year

The Te Puu Ao Waka Ama Club is celebrating a great start to their first ever nationals at Lake Karapiro, by winning three gold medals in the first two days of competition.
The club is in its first year of operation and including the paddlers and their families has about 80 members. But size didn't matter on Wednesday, when the junior men's under-16 crew, calling themselves the Puha Boyz, beat all-comers in the W6 1000m and the 500m finals.
On Thursday, crew member Tupuria King then went on to win the national individual W1 500m under-16 title comfortably, by a clear two seconds.
It was a fantastic effort for the club making the efforts of training hard at their Tutukaka base - particularly for the under-16 crew - seem worth the effort, said their coach Ralph Ruka.
"The boys have been training hard since they went to the world championships in Sacramento, US, last year," he said.
"They've done the hard yards at training camps together and they deserve what they have achieved here this week. We had eight tamariki [children's] teams come down and compete and most have achieved either semi-finals or final places - we are all very proud of them."
The crew of Jamille Ruka, King, Tumanako Pawa, CJ Taylor-Mackie, Kahi Harawira and Herewini Pawa were easy winners in the 1000m final, beating the second-placed Spartans from Tamaki by almost six seconds. The under-16 final, with Jaycob Matiu replacing Herewini Pawa in the waka, was a lot closer over the shorter distance and was won by a whisker.
The highlight of the club's other teams was a bronze medal for the under-10 Tiare Girlz team, who combined with the Pawarenga club, Nga Hoe Horo, to finish third in the Midget Boys 500m W12 final.
King's sister Rose, competing for the Tai Tokerau Polynesian Canoe Association, won both the under-19 women's individual 500m final by more than four seconds and the 500m under-23 division final by more than five seconds.