Whanganui schools and kura paddle off to Waka Ama national champs

Waka Ama on the Whanganui River.

Students from five Whanganui secondary schools are gearing up for a competitive week on the water.

Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua will play host to the 2023 National Secondary School Waka Ama Championships, with more than 100 schools from across the country participating in the event.

Whanganui will be represented by Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Tūpoho, Te Kura Ā Iwi O Kōkōhuia, Cullinane College, Whanganui City College and Whanganui Girls’ College.

The competition begins on Monday, March 27, and runs a full week.

Each school or kura has at least one team in the Under 19 and Under 16 grades, with Cullinane College entering 12 teams, both boys and girls, in mixed grades.

History of waka on the Whanganui River

Ngā Waka O Te Awa O Whanganui. Photo / Āwhina Twomey, Whanganui Regional Museum

Waka ama has become a popular sport over the past couple of decades but use of waka on the Whanganui River has a long history.

Aside from practical transportation and cargo use, waka were also used for races on the Whanganui River that provided entertainment for Māori and Pākēhā.

According to Te Ara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, waka (canoe) and ama (upright, buoyant) was a lost treasure to Māori during the early 20th century.

The inspiration to revitalise the sport in the late 1980s came after the maiden voyage of the Hawaikinui double-hulled waka, which sailed the South Pacific from Tahiti to Rarotonga then New Zealand.

Since then, waka ama clubs have evolved and the national body Waka Ama NZ was established in 1987.

National championships have been held annually since 1989. Since 1990 New Zealand has sent teams to the World Va’a (waka) Championships every two years. New Zealand teams have become world champions in some divisions.

—- This report was produced under the Public Interest Journalism initiative, funded by NZ on Air