For all of you going to the Sprint Nationals next week. Below are the site allocations for each region and the dimension when setting up tents on the bank. Please note that the short side of the tent MUST face the lake. No tents are to be put up until after 10am Friday January 11th. Please ensure there is plenty of room for everyone and good luck to everyone competing.

Well done to all those that competed at the Hoe Tonga Regional Sprints 2018, especially those that achieved on of the Quota spots to compete at the Waka Ama Nationals 2019.

Check out the final rankings for each division including the quota spots.

• Hoe Tonga W1 Regional Rankings

Our Regional W12 teams are determined by the winner of the open men/women 500m finals with the next 6 spots filled by the fastest 6 paddlers in the W1 250m dash across J19 and open divisions.

This year’s Hoe Tonga W12 teams are as follow

PREMIER WOMEN

• Marianna Hodges
• Hineora Hodges
• Matariki Wilkins-Hodges
• Ria Nathu
• Kiri-Pera Nathu
• Mahinarangi Keane
• Marama Elkington
• Te Rangihuia Henare
• Isabella Fetineiai
• Eden Te Paa
• Kayla Thomas
• Fern Thompson

PREMIER MEN

• Joe Nuku
• P.J Rimene-Albrett
• Shannon Rimene-Albrett
• Jorian Tangaere
• Jordan Stuart
• Paddy Rimene
• Jake Suitauloa
• Lawrence Hynes
• Parekoihu Taiapa
• Rongopai Rehu Murchie
• Toa Mackey Te Rangi Pumamao
• Mataiawhea Te Kere

Congratulation to all those that have qualified for Nationals and the regional teams. Team captains for each regional team will be announced at a later date.

Only a few days till the Hoe Tonga Junior Have a Go day. For all those entered please note that the event is now only on the Saturday. All those schools entered on the Sunday have now moved to the Saturday.

Registration opens from 7:30am

Karakia at 8am

Kick off at 8:30am

Schedule (Note: event on December 8th not 9th)

Any questions Email hoetonga@gmail.com

A new Waka design from Gisborne available for purchase it has no foot rest and has an asking price of $2700.00

For further inquiries contact Tai Elkington on 0275581127

Another big Regionals done for the year. Again we saw a slight increase in the number of races that were run, with competitor numbers similar to the previous year.

There was some close racing, and if you are looking for the results, you can find them at https://wp.me/p7gD9I-1AR.

A massive thank you again to all the hard working volunteers, helpers and officials, without whom this event would not be possible.

As some of you will have noticed, we encountered a few challenges this year, and there are some lessons to be learnt for 2019. We will be doing a debrief with Masterton District Council in the near future.

The Club Excellence Award was again won by Otaki Waka Hoe. Congratulations!

For the James Hapeta Club Spirit Award, this year saw two clubs sharing the honours: Hikoikoi Waka Club  and Hawaikinui Waka Ama Club. Congratulations!

Now its time to get ready for the National Sprint Champs in January 2019. Good luck to all competitors.

As per rule 21.7 in the Waka Ama NZ race rules, W12 crews at Nationals can be made up of competitors from up to two clubs from the same region, but only in the following divisions:

This rule only applies where a club does not have sufficient paddlers to form their own, stand-alone, W12 crews in those age categories.  A W12 crew made up of two clubs may be a combination of any number of paddlers from those two clubs. They must satisfy all other rules as specified in the race rules.

If your club wishes to combine with another club in the above divisions, please take note of the following:

• The proposed entry will need to be sent to hoetonga@gmail.com by no later than 10 December. This will ensure that Hoe Tonga has sufficient time to make the entries to meet the Waka Ama NZ timeframes.
• Entries are to be submitted only by an executive officer of one of the clubs. In the email the relevant executive officer must provide confirmation that (i) both clubs agree on the entry and its name (copy in other relevant executive officers), and (ii) that the entry has been checked by both clubs to comply with relevant rules.
• Paddler names must be submitted to hoetonga@gmail.com no later than 31 December 2018. Hoe Tonga will not chase up unfilled rosters – relevant late fees will be passed on to clubs. It is the club’s responsibility to inform Hoe Tonga of the roster, or of any changes to the roster. Paddler names should not be submitted until all paddlers have been checked by the clubs as being on the Waka Ama NZ membership database for their club.

Entries for the Junior have a go Waka Ama close tomorrow. Send the entries through to hoetonga@gmail.com or college sport Wellington now so you don’t miss out.

For those that are interested to up skill their coaching and Waka Ama ability there are 3 spaces available for the WANZ Safety Course at Te Wharewaka o Pōneke on December 2nd.

First in first serve basis. $35 for affiliated paddlers and $75 for non-affiliated.

Email hoetonga@gmail.com to check if there are spaces available now.

Go to https://liveresults.co.nz/competition/186 to find out the latest results.