Results: W1 Harbour Series IV, 24 July

Who would have thought, strong cold southerlies and rain, yet one of the best turn-outs for the series.

The distance was about 9km on an inlet course (Mana to Browns Bay to Mana Bridge to Browns Bay and back to Mana). There was some confusion regarding the names as people came in, let us know if you think there is a mistake.

The next event is on Sunday, 21 August.

W1 Men

  • Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 56:12 (Pegasus), 1pt
  • Neil O’Brien, Master Men, 59:58, 1pt (Hurricane), 1pt
  • Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 1:00:45 (Tomahawk), 1pt
  • James Sadler, Master Men, 1:01:03 (Pegasus), 1pt

W1 Women

  • Mariana Hodges, Open Women, 1:02:52 (Hiko), 1pt
  • Mereana Hodges, Master Women, 1:04:01 (Surfrigger), 1pt
  • Anita Taggart, SNR Master Women, 1:04:59 (Hurricane), 1pt

Surfski

  • Marty McDowell, 52:13, 2pts
  • Matt Archer, 52:21, 1pt
  • Trent Luka, 54:35, 1pt
  • Nikki Cox, 55:13, 2pts
  • Brad Lawson, 55:38, 1pt
  • Katrina Madill, 57:39, 1pt
  • Alice Ashford, 1:06:39, 1pt
  • Adelaide Cox, 1:09:45, 1pt
  • Karly Maxwell, 1:09:46, 1pt

W6

  • Aniuwaru, 53:42, Open, 1pt each
  • Turama White, Junior M, 1:01:52, 1 pt each
  • Turama Red, Junior M, 1:03:02, 1pt each
  • Mena’s Angels, Junior Women, 1:03:26, 1 pt each

…for your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz.

Update from Regional Secondary Schools Hui

All club representatives were invited to a hui  to discuss regional secondary schools development on Sunday 17 July 2011 at Porirua Police College. Background information was compiled and the meeting facilitated by Chris Fox, Vice-President to get the discussion underway.  

Those present: Marinna Millanta-Lowrey (Hawaiikanui), Chris Manson (Tunui), Samantha Tamanui ( Aniuwaru), Syd Cunningham (Wairarapa) presented some valuable ideas and as a result some action points were initiated for the next hui. A big thanks to all of you for giving up your valuable weekend.

One of the purposes of this hui was to begin addressing two areas of our strategic plan that require further progression and identify some of  our stakeholders in relation to waka ama and the potential that exists to increase participation at secondary school level. 

  1. Assisting in the development and management of clubs – in regard to Secondary Schools the discussion revolves around the capability of clubs to provide programmes and what these programmes may look like across the region. 
  2. Assisting in the development of coaches and high performance paddlers – Coaching is an area currently being addressed by NKOA however it was agreed that perhaps Hoe Tonga could provide basic guidelines (manuals) around expectations of coaches in relation to Secondary Schools.

A development team is required to work on both these projects and further research will be required with input from our regions paddlers and clubs. If you would like to be part of this group or have any comments, ideas please email hoetonga@gmail.com 

We look forward to discussing further at the AGM General Meeting and invite those who have an interest in development of Secondary Schools to send in their thoughts around the questions posed to the group and listed below that will assist with future plannning:

  1. What are we selling to Secondary schools/youth as clubs participating in waka ama?
  2. What are the current barriers for clubs?
  3. Identify barriers for students/participants
  4. What would a 4-6 week programme look like/need to include:
  • based on at least 8 trainings
  • paddlers new to waka ama
  • offered in Term 1/Term 4

W1 Harbour Series IV on Sun, 24 July, Mana

The W1 Harbour Series (IV) will be run on 24 July.

Venue: Mana / Ngati Toa Domain

Time: meet at 9.15am, race start at 10am

Distance: ~ 10km

Sponsors:

…to get your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz

Safety: Paddlers are to ensure that they carry all necessary safety gear such as life jackets as per NKOA race rules and are trained in self-rescue techniques! There will not be any support boats, however, the course will be set to ensure suitable conditions.

Cost: $2 pp and your enthusiasm, money goes towards spot prizes.

Prizes: There will be several cool spot prizes, in total worth more than $300, to be handed out at the final event (you must be present to collect).

The more points you gain, the higher the chance of winning a spot prize.

FYI, points to give away per paddler:

  • 1 point for attendance
  • 1 point for a win (if at least three paddlers in same/lower/higher division, applies only to singles)

Purpose: This event caters for all types of paddlers. It’s primarily about participation and catching up with your paddling mates but those looking for some competition will find what they are looking for. Spice up your W1 training sessions!

Paddling craft: Open to all paddling craft, including W1, surfskis, W2 and W6. The series runs during the Winter season between May and September.

Notices and results: announced on this website, results are posted within three days of the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Jörn Scherzer @ 021-1250997.

the future of waka ama

These are exciting times…NKOA (Waka Ama New Zealand) is making a lot of progress in propelling waka ama into the future.

At parliament yesterday, representatives from NKOA and Hoe Tonga attended the launch of a new community water safety programme, sponsored by NZ Post and TVNZ. You will hear and see more of it in the future.

As you may have heard, on3 July NKOA agreed to the new governance model, click to view the new structure . It will be formally adopted at the AGM in October.

With regard to races, NKOA is currently consulting on a sanctioning process for races. This has implications for both race organisers and paddlers, you may wish to have a look at it, comments back to Marinna or Joern by the end of July. It will ensure minimum safety standards for races in the future.

With regard to the waka ama season(s) and the calendar of waka ama events in NZ, NKOA is also considering some changes. Click here to view the discussion paper. One of the options is to agree on a permanent date for the Long Distance Nationals (for example in mid-April) in order to improve competition pathways and the coordination and timing of national events. Another suggestion is to hold a ‘series’ national title for long distance racing where teams would compete for the national title over a series of events. Feedback is due to Marinna or Joern by the end of July.

With regard to the race rules, NKOA agreed to some changes to the rules, the new consolidated document should become available within the next 3 weeks.

Finally, NKOA is developing a Waka Ama Coaching Accreditation, starting with Level 1. This may look similar to coaching certification in other sport codes such as Rugby. The development of this will commence this July or early August. Assessments of potential coaches is scheduled to start as early as October this year. If you have any views on this initiative, please contact Chris Fox.

Results: W1 Harbour Series (III), 2 July

Well, it’s winter but hey, there is a core of paddlers that won’t let that get in the way of things. Today’s conditions included a light southerly and some cloud, but otherwise fine.

The distance was 9.7km (Mana to Pa Point and back). The times are slower than usual as we timed it perfectly and had the tide against us going out and coming in.

The next event is on Sunday, 24 July.

W1

  • Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 57:24 (Pegasus), 1pt
  • Jack Wormald, Open Men, 58:09 (Tahitian V1), 1pt
  • Neil O’Brien, Master Men, 1:00:18, 1pt (Hurricane), 2pts
  • James Sadler, Master Men, 1:01:59 (Pegasus), 1pt
  • Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 1:02:32 (Tomahawk), 1pt
  • Terry Gardner, Master Men, 1:13:06 (Hurricane), 1pt

Surfski

  • Marty McDowell, 53:00, 1pt
  • Mike Tate, 53:00, 1pt
  • Danny McDowell, 1:01:59, 1pt
  • Patrick Taylor, 1:06:00, 1pt

…for your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz.