Waka ama gets funding boost
Waka ama in Nelson is surging ahead thanks to a project to get more young people involved in the sport.
Armed with a $5000 Kiwisport grant from Sport Tasman, the Rangatahi Rangatira programme has introduced 264 students aged from 5-18 to waka ama over the last year.
The brainchild of Te Waka o Aoraki president and Nelson coach Carmel Barrett and Huriana Lawrence of the Whakatu Marae Waka Ama Club, it is providing the paddlers of tomorrow in a sport making increasingly bigger waves.
Since 1996 it has grown from one to three clubs, with Motueka now hosting the South Island’s largest annual regatta and several paddlers from the region representing New Zealand.
The Whakatu club, which began in 2010 with one loaned waka, now has six of its own and crews paddling most days of the week. But Barrett said while it was wonderful to have so many adult paddlers, waka ama needed more youth if it was to continue to grow.
So she and Lawrence launched Rangatahi Rangatira last May in conjunction with the Whakatu club.
Over the last year, students principally from Nelson College and Nayland College, but also from Tuia Te Matangi, Nelson College for Girls, Waimea College and Intermediate, Broadgreen Intermediate, St Josephs and St John youth, have gone through a six-week programme covering waka ama tikanga, basic paddling skills and water safety.
As well as teaching leadership skills and importance of teamwork, Barrett said waka ama gave youth a healthy focus ‘‘and something to do rather than sit in front of a screen or get up to mischief’’.
The programme had received really positive feedback from schools, parents and students, with ‘‘best day ever’’ being a common response and one mum saying her daughter had gone from not knowing anyone and never paddling before to taking part in team races in a very short time.
‘‘She said her daughter absolutely loves it.’’
About 30 students had since joined the waka ama club and were paddling at weekends and at local race meetings, Barrett said.
‘‘The pathway is being established where teams have several members learning to steer the waka so they can be independent and take the waka out with a support person alongside rather than in the waka.’’
To support the succession plan, Whakatu had agreed to a $100 annual membership fee per school so there was no financial barrier to students wanting to paddle.
Barrett hopes to launch an interschool competition at the Spring Challenge regatta in September and entering junior and senior teams at South Island secondary school events in December and February.
She has several crews lined up for secondary school national regattas early next year at Lake Karapiro and Blue Lake in Rotorua, with fundraising having already started. Sponsorship and funding are also being sought.
‘‘It is not a cheap mission with uniforms, paddles and life jackets needed along with accommodation, travel expenses and the like.’’
Meanwhile, Barrett said the school programme would continue regardless of whether it received further funding because waka ama was ‘‘her passion’’ and she was committed to seeing it grow.
‘‘It’s been awesome to see youth paddling in the top of the south match the growth happening in Christchurch and Dunedin. That’s been a strategic goal of ours at Te Waka o Aoraki for a couple of years now and with the help of KiwiSport we are certainly on the right track.’’
Sport Tasman community sport manager Mel Greenwood said the project had certainly achieved the KiwiSport objective of getting more kids participating in organised sport which saw strong partnerships develop between Whakatu Marae and schools.
‘‘Not only were more than 250 youth given the opportunity to try this sport, many of whom would not have without this project, they were able carry on and join the waka ama club so they could continue to participate and enter races.’’
For more information contact Carmel Barrett at 027 666 8493 or carmelpdla@gmail.com