Paddling through the storm to reach nationals
A Hawke’s Bay sports club has bounced back from the damage of Cyclone Gabrielle to take part in the Waka Ama Sprint Nationals. Sponsored by ACC, it’s a special event on the sporting calendar and brings together thousands of people.
Local sports leader Christina Stockman says seeing her club’s members back on the water for the Waka Ama Sprint Nationals was an overwhelming experience.
After the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke’s Bay, it’s been a tough 12 months for the Adventure Wairoa Sports Club.
“To see our taitama (young men) crew competing and achieving was a very proud moment,” says Christina, co-chairperson of the club.
She says the cyclone damage to the club was significant and the emotional toll was hard.
“We’ve all been challenged by this event,” she says.
“Everybody in the Hawke’s Bay, when it starts to rain or if there’s a heavy rain warning, we’re on edge. It takes you back to that place.”
The flood waters from Cyclone Gabrielle gushed into the Adventure Wairoa Sports Club.
Counting the cost of the cyclone
The sports club lost one of its waka ama canoes – it was broken in half by a surge of water – while bikes and rowing machines were damaged.
There was also damage to the internet connection, and computer equipment, and the kitchen and office need to be replaced.
When the cyclone hit, Christina says there wasn’t any noise and then a surge. All of a sudden, there was two feet of water throughout the shed.
“We were lucky compared to what others went through,” she says.
“We think of the shed as our home, but we could still go home to a dry house and sleep in a bed – others lost everything.”
Christina Stockman, right, co-chairperson of the Adventure Wairoa Sports Club.
Police told people in the area they had to evacuate, which was a surreal moment.
Lining up on the start line this week for the Waka Ama Sprint Nationals on Lake Karāpiro is about returning to a special community.
It was a moment loaded with emotion.
“It’s been a journey to get back here,” Christina says.
“When you go to an event like nationals, it’s about that whanaungatanga (connections to Māori whakapapa and cultural identity).”
The cyclone damage to the Adventure Wairoa Sports Club shed was extensive.
Supporting kaupapa that promotes wellbeing
Over 70 of the 90 Waka Ama New Zealand-affiliated clubs are attending the event, as well as more than 3,200 competitors and over 8,000 spectators and whānau from around the motu.
This includes paddlers competing in specific adaptive (Para va’a) races, more wāhine than tāne taking part, and many ethnicities and cultures participating.
Over the years, waka ama has been predominantly made up by 70 per cent Māori and Pasifika whānau.
The Waka Ama Sprint Nationals is also a qualifying event for the World Sprint Championships that will be held in Hawaii in August.
ACC is partnering with Waka Ama New Zealand to support the Sprint Nationals from 14 to 20 January at Lake Karāpiro in Cambridge, and the Secondary School Nationals being held at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua from 18 to 22 March.
“We’re committed to supporting kaupapa like waka ama that promotes the health and wellbeing of whānau of all ages,” says Rēnata Blair (Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei), ACC Tumu Whakarae Māori Tuarua, Deputy Chief Executive Māori.
“Community hubs like Adventure Wairoa Sports Club are at the heart of building oranga whānau (safe and resilient communities), which is a key goal of ACC. To see them take to the water at Lake Karāpiro after all they’ve been through is an inspiration to us all.”
Members of the Adventure Wairoa Sports Club taitama waka ama crew.
A sport that welcomes all
Christina, 60, will compete in her age group, and the club is also assisting a crew of six taitama paddlers to compete in the event for the first time, while local Nūhaka-based coach Rose Symes has taken an under-19 women’s crew, River Ryders.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re short, you’re tall, you’re big, you’re skinny, you’re 75 or you’re five – there’s a spot for you in waka ama and the nationals are a celebration of that,” Christina says.
She believes getting back into waka ama has been good for the souls of everyone involved.
“We volunteer and do so much for the club because we believe the awa (river) is our whakapapa,” she says.
“Giving our community a chance to be on the awa is giving our kids resilience and connections to where they’re from.
“Being on the water is whakapiki mauri – a restorative practice for our physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing. That’s been important this year.”
The club’s young paddlers are usually kura kaupapa students (from Māori-language immersion schools) or from rūmaki classes, and it’s a joy for Christina to hear tamariki speaking te reo as a normal part of their waka programme.
“That we can just korero Māori to them on the river makes it even more important and special for us,” she says.
“We want our paddlers to have a strong connection to our awa, our community and to waka ama for generations to come.”
The Adventure Wairoa Sports Club taitama crew heading out on the water.
Waka Ama Sprint Nationals
- 14-20 January
- Lake Karāpiro, Cambridge
- More than 3,200 competitors and 8,000 spectators and whānau from around the motu
- Supported by mana whenua Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā
- ACC is hosting a whānau zone for supporters, paddlers and wider whānau to relax, watch the racing and try rongoā Māori – a traditional healing system
More information
More information is available on the Waka Ama NZ website.
