More than 250 paddlers took to the Waikato River in crafts of all shapes and sizes, including 15-year-old Ella Grace from the Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service, who won the girls’ club ski event in the annual Cambridge to Hamilton Paddle event.
Paddling a surf ski – usually used for surf life rescue – Ella says the event was great fun.
“It was my first time, and it was really good because I got to test my skills in a different situation and environment.”
A number of North Island surf lifesaving clubs enter the race each year, using it as preparation for the season ahead.
“The race was a good test of where I was in the preseason and helped me find out what I needed to work on,” Ella says.
Race director Richard Clark says competitors faced tough conditions this year, with the awa (river) flowing at around 170 cubic metres of water per second. Although speeds were slower than average, strong headwinds and steep waves pushed athletes to their limits.
Competitors started either at the Riverside Reserve in Cambridge for the 25km race or at Narrows Landing for the 11km course, paddling downstream to the finish line at the Waikato Sports Fishing Club.
The river was packed, with a strong turnout of juniors thanks to the WRA’s free-entry initiative. Paddlers as young as 11 took on the mighty Waikato River wero (challenge).
Clark hopes the WRA’s rangatahi sponsorship will encourage even more junior paddlers to enter in future. “We need more young paddlers coming into the sport,” he says.
More than 300 entries were received, but high winds on the roads prevented some boats from even reaching the start line – including a trailer of kayaks travelling from Christchurch that flipped en route.
“The challenge of racing on the mighty Waikato River, and the varying conditions, is part of the allure,” Clark says.
WRA Chief Executive Antoine Coffin expressed the Authority’s commitment to sponsoring the event and fostering youth engagement on the river.
“This sponsorship aligns with our kaupapa to promote recreational use of the river and to grow future kaitiaki for its protection.”
