More than 100 teenage kayakers are playing a waiting game in the aftermath of the Eastern Bay of Plenty's tumultuous flooding this week.

The New Zealand Secondary Schools White Water Championships are due to begin on Monday, but Saturday's practice day was cancelled because of high river levels on the Tarawera River in Kawerau.

The river was running as high as 85 cubic metres a second (cumecs), with organisers hoping it would get down to normal levels of around 30 cumecs by Monday.

'We've got eight competitors from Australia, as well as a large contingent from the South Island, who were all on their way when the flooding hit during the week and were understandably a bit apprehensive,” says race director Liz Fowler.

'Everyone's relaxed about missing the practice day though – we're all very aware we're just here for fun, while just down the road in Edgecumbe, people have lost their homes and most of their possessions.”

There's a record field of 101 paddlers taking part, with strong showings from Auckland, Hawke's Bay and Taranaki bolstering the traditional strongholds of Bay of Plenty and Central Otago.

The secondary school titles will be followed by the New Zealand canoe slalom championships at the same venue over Easter, with officials nervously eyeing long-range forecasts of another sub-tropical depression hitting New Zealand.