History will be made this weekend in Auckland with the first national stand-up paddle championships.
New Zealand's top stand-up paddle racers will hit the water alongside the best single-person Va'a/Outrigger Canoe (Waka Ama) paddlers at today's Aotearoa Aito and NZ championships on Kohimarama Beach.
Paddlers must use their skill to
manoeuvre and race their board or canoe without the aid of a rudder around a 6km course.
More than 300 participants are expected for the inaugural event with hope it will promote further involvement in the sport after it was introduced here eight years ago.
"I have no doubt it is going to be a fantastic day with a great atmosphere on the beach," said event organiser Lara Collins
The NZ championships distance race makes up day one of the two-day championships that concludes with a surf race at Takapuna tomorrow. Stand-up paddlers who compete in each class (men's 12'6" stock, women's 12'6" stock, unlimited and surfboard) in today's 10km distance race will be in to win the Aotearoa Aito stand-up title.
But to win the title of NZ stand-up champion, paddlers also need to compete in the 6km surf race at Takapuna Beach tomorrow. The champion in each class is in to win one of four Starboard 12'6" stand-up boards, valued at $2400 each.
There are 3km novice and junior races and give-it-a-go sessions on both days, and a kids' race tomorrow.
The event rounds off the five-event Starboard summer series, organised by Victoria Stuart of SUPSNZ.COM.
"The sport is gaining popularity at an incredible rate, as people of all ages discover how easy and fun it is to get out on the water.
"Stand-up paddling has a lot in common with waka, and traces its origins back to the same Pacific legends, so we can learn a lot about paddle technique."
