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