Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua has become a hive of activity as racing for the 2023 Waka ama secondary school nationals has begun.

The national event for rangatahi began yesterday with a pōwhiri led by haukainga, Ngāti Whakaue and Tūhourangi, welcoming rangatahi, staff, and our waka ama whānau from across Aotearoa to the shores of Lake Tikitapu.

'Special homage was paid to those who the waka ama whānau have lost since the last event, including stalwart of the National Secondary School event, Laurie Durand,” says an event spokesperson.

'As the morning fog lifted, things quickly heated up with the racing on the water. Rangatahi competed in W1 and W12 racing from heats through to semis and finals throughout the day across three divisions; Te Ihu, Te Takere, and Te Kei.

'The three divisions provide all rangatahi with more participation opportunities as they move through the progressions of the racing.”

'It's awesome to be back here at Tikitapu, Rotorua, and be able to see our rangatahi come together again. It has been a disruptive few years for them so it's awesome to see the number of rangatahi here participating in waka ama,” says Waka Ama NZ chief executive officer, Lara Collins.

"Rangatahi showed their skill, their competitiveness, and their sportsmanship on and off the water today which was awesome to see," says the event spokesperson.

"Congratulations to the 2023 W1 Champions; U16 Men - Maia Cambell from Gisborne Boys High School, U16 Women - Marnie Toloa, Mount Albert Grammar School, U19 Men - Marlin Toloa, Mount Albert Grammar School, and U19 Women - Taylynn Morete, Manurewa High School. And well done to all paddlers who participated today. That wraps up W1 and W12 racing for the event and we now head into W6 racing tomorrow."

'What a great event! It is awesome to see so many rangatahi here at Lake Tikitapu participating in waka ama. The rangatahi seem to be having lots of fun on and off the water! This is my first time at the event and safe to say I am blown away!” says Andrew Corkill, Sport NZ Partnership Manager.

This year the event welcomes two schools from Tahiti to take part. College De Pao Pao from Moorea who have travelled to the event for many years has three U16 teams racing.

Lycée Agricole Opunohu also from Moorea took part in the event today, racing in the W12 event, teaming up with a crew from Opunake High School.

Heats in the W6 250m and 500m races commence tomorrow. All racing can be viewed on the Whakaata Māori YouTube channel.