Gisborne paddler Christy Tate in NZ U23 team for canoe sprint world champs

Waikanae surf lifesaver Christy Tate has converted her surf ski talent to canoe sprinting and has made the New Zealand team for the Junior and Under-23 Canoe Sprint World Championships being held in Bulgaria. Photo / Paul Rickard

Gisborne kayak and lifesaving paddler Christy Tate has been named in the New Zealand team for the 2023 ICF Junior and Under-23 Canoe Sprint World Championships - and she needs help to get there.

The champs are being staged in Bulgaria in July. Tate is to race in the U23 women’s K2 500 metres and potentially the K1 200m.

The 22-year-old Gisborne Girls’ High former student is at Auckland University where she is studying for a Master’s degree in architecture.

She is a member of the North Shore Canoe Club - the same club as Gisborne Olympian Alicia Hoskin.

Tate’s older sister Kendra is high-performance coach at the club and with Canoe Racing NZ, having taken an age group contingent that included Poverty Bay paddlers to an event in Canberra recently.

“I was thrilled to be selected,” Christy told the Gisborne Herald. “It marks an exciting new chapter in my athletic journey.”

“I aim to showcase my skills and dedication to paddling on the international stage in Bulgaria.

“I look forward to representing our country with pride.”

Tate’s rise up the kayaking ranks has been a natural progression. She is a talented surf lifesaver - particularly in the ski discipline - and a successful member of the Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club.

Her selection for the worlds makes her a dual New Zealand representative. She made the New Zealand Black Fins surf lifesaving team last year.

She is also following in the footsteps of father Adam, a former New Zealand kayaking representative and champion surf lifesaver.

The support of Adam and mum Vicki has been vital to her success, but chasing her dream is a costly venture.

To get to the worlds, Christy needs to raise around $10,000 - a hefty amount in a competitive sporting world where sponsorship is avidly chased.

However, her sporting resume backs up her national selection and is an obvious indicator of her talent.

Tate has been an outstanding surf lifesaver from a young age, winning New Zealand surf lifesaving ski titles up to open women’s level and representing her country at junior and senior level.

At this year’s national canoe sprint champs, she won open titles in the K4 200 and 500m and the U23 crown in the K1 200.

Gizzy gold: Kayaker Kennedy leads NZ medal charge in Canberra

Teenager Jacqueline Kennedy’s swag of gold medals was the highlight as Gisborne paddlers representing their country made their mark on Australian water last week.

Poverty Bay Kayak Club members Jacqueline, brother Maxwell and Hannah Webb competed in the under-18 and U16 divisions as part of a New Zealand team at the Asia Pacific Cup held on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.

Jacqueline’s efforts were rewarded this week with selection for the New Zealand team to compete at the junior worlds in Bulgaria.

Two former Gisborne women, Emily Willock and Kendra Tate, were among the team’s coaches at the Canberra event.

The young Kiwi paddlers raced against competitors from Australia, Singapore and Japan.

Kennedy won gold in multiple U16 events - the K1 500m, K2 500m, K4 500m, K1 1000m, mixed K4 200m, mega relay 200m - and a silver in the U16 women’s relay 200m.

In the K1 1000m, she finished 17 seconds ahead of the second-placed paddler from Australia, who was a 1000m specialist.

Maxwell won gold in the U18 men’s K4 500m and the U18 men’s K4 200m relay.

Webb won silver in the U18 women’s K4 500m, bronze in the U18 women’s relay 200m and bronze in the U18 mixed K4 200m.

This NZ junior team were fortunate to be able to race in the Canoe Racing NZ black boats the senior world championship and Olympic kayak team athletes had left in Australia.

Canoe Racing NZ development coach Willock was pleased and excited at how all the athletes went at the regatta as they build towards the junior world champs.