Bristowe and her team members Manamea Koteka, Moses Hafoka, Josiah Seleni, Meilani Karika, Solomon Fifita, Emma Hjorth and Sonny Vercoe are currently in Hawai'i for the Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Races.
Bristowe and her team members Manamea Koteka, Moses Hafoka, Josiah Seleni, Meilani Karika, Solomon Fifita, Emma Hjorth and Sonny Vercoe are currently in Hawai'i for the Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Races.
A passionate athlete and engineering student is in Hawai’i to paddle in the world’s largest outrigger canoe race.
Nineteen-year-old Tayla Bristowe began her waka ama journey on the Taipā River and now sees her life enriched through the opportunities her involvement has offered.
Bristowe is part of the University of Auckland team, which this weekend competed in the 50th annual Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Races against thousands of the world’s best paddlers in an intense four days of racing.
On Saturday, Bristowe’s crew of engineers paddled their single hull waka 29 kilometres from Honaunau Bay to Kailua Bay in just under three hours, placing sixth out of 21 mixed crews with a time of 2h 55m 40s.
Bristowe (Te Rarawa) grew up in Whatuwhiwhi where she was supported by whānau to participate in sport.
She said she’d always known about waka ama but instead played netball for Taipā, which led her to play representative netball for Mangōnui.
After pushing through the challenge of early rising, waka ama changed her mornings for the better.
“At first I would be really tired and would just want to sleep in. But when we get on the water, it’s really relaxing and seeing the sunrise is amazing,” Bristowe said.
“Now I’m used to waking up early in the morning and getting ready straight away for training and being out on the water.”
When she moved to Auckland in 2020 to study engineering at the University of Auckland, her love for those peaceful starts was not lost.
Bristowe (Te Rarawa) is one of eight students in the Faculty of Engineering waka ama team, which recently represented the University of Auckland in a nearly 30-kilometre race.
Bristowe said she’d put in “hours of training, gym work and pre-races” in order to compete and qualify at the University of Auckland’s Great Waka Ama Race.
“The winning student team from this race earns the right to represent the university.”
Bristowe said she began paddling last year for a university club she’s in - the South Pacific Indigenous Engineering Students Association (Spies) team - when they participated in the inter-faculty race.
That led her to join the engineering team, with whom she now shares the rare experiences of travelling and competing internationally.
Bristowe said she appreciated the opportunities to travel, to be part of a team and to have “so much fun while paddling”.
“Without it I would be really bored, and miss hanging out with my team.”
“Waka ama has made me get out of my room more and be active.”
She also valued the exposure to different cultures.
“Some of us are come from across Aotearoa and some are from the islands: Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga.”
“And we meet new people from different cultures during races.”
The Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Race began five decades ago to provide a training opportunity for paddlers who would compete in the gruelling canoe races from the island of Molokai to the island of Oahu.
It’s since grown into a four-day event with various races, a torchlit parade and awards luau held over the North American Labour Day long weekend with paddlers representing nations including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada.
