Waka Ama
Waka Ama
Waka Ama is a huge sport with hundreds of students across the country competing in the annual regatta. This year our school team had some fantastic results with our Girls U16 W6 team winning gold in the 250m and 500m final and therefore holding the mantle of National Champions.
This U16 Team represented NZ at the World’s Waka Ama Regatta, held this year on the Sunshine Coast of Australia where their golden success continued in the W6 1000m W12 500m and Silver in the W6 500m.
Tia Akurangi is a member of the aforementioned waka ama team at the World’s she went onto win gold in the U16 W1 finals. She teamed up in the NZ U19 Squad that included Pharyn Calles and Manea Swann and together won gold in the U19 W6 500m and W6 1000m.
Lytton high school had a competitive level of interest for this years 2019 Secondary Schools Waka Ama nationals with a combination of high calibre Tairawhiti club paddlers from Horouta, Mareikura and YMP representing our kura.
We took part in W1, W6 & W12 events to raise the level of participation in Aotearoa’s fastest growing sport. lytton High had five teams of enthusiastic paddlers to hoe at Lake Tikitaou (Rotorua).
Ritana Waka Hoe were determined to take on the challenges of this outstanding annual event and from day one made their presence known by progressing to finals with all five teams.
The progression of three U16 Girls teams saw Hinetera, Hinenui and Hinemaia all compete against each other. Hinemaia proving to be the stronger out of the three, claiming Bronze in the W6 500 and Gold in the W6 250. Hinetera were our youngest U16 Girls crew with very new paddlers placing 8th in the W6 250 Bowl Final and 7th in the W6 500 Plate Final. Our U19 Girls Crew Hinetu made both Champ finals and were placed 4th in the W6 250 and 6th in W6 500.
Ritana Boys also raised their performance against some very tough competition and gained a Silver in the W6 500 Bowl Final.
This year 123 schools took part in this highly competitive event. Overall Gisborne Boys High School are ranked 1st, Gisborne Girls High School 3rd and Lytton High School 4th.
Congratulations to all our paddlers for their outstanding results and for working to enhance our values of ‘together to excellence’. To our coaches and support team thank you for the energy and effort shared with our students to prepare for this fiercely competitive waka hoe experience.
Overall Results
Gold: W1 250 U16 Girls (Plate Final) – Kelsey Teneti
W6 250 U16 Girls (Champ Final) – Ritana Hinemaia
Silver: W6 500 U16 Boys (Bowl Final) – Ritana Boys
Bronze: W6 500 U16 Girls (Champ Final) – Ritana Hinemaia
