Waka ama kōtiro claim gold in Aussie champs

Imagine a crew of young girls in a borrowed 12-person waka with boys they had met only five minutes before the race – a crew from New Caledonia that spoke only French.

Imagine them competing against experienced mixed teams of boys and girls who had practised together.

Plus, flight delays, heat so fierce it sent fellow competitors to hospital with heat exhaustion, and a differently designed waka that led to injuries. And a lack of resources “unknown” at this level of competition.

Nothing could stop a King Country junior kōtiro waka ama crew – almost all Maniapoto from Te Kūiti –  from taking out gold at the Australian Outriggers Trans Tasman Gubbi Gubbi 2023, held in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, over three days.

The reason for racing with the boys was that the two teams were put together for mixed crew races.

They took home three firsts, and 15 gold medallions.

They won the V12 J19 mixed 500m, and the V12 J16 mixed 500m events, plus another gold – won by Mia Wehi in a V6 J16 (six person, aged under 16) mixed 500m sprint, alongside three boys and two teammates from outside the rohe.

The “neck to neck” fairytale victories would make an exciting movie “like Cool Runnings,” in the words of their coach.

Afterwards, Erina “Edz” Wehi felt overwhelmed with the girls and their results.

“It was a journey. And it was a beautiful journey – I wouldn’t want anything other than what we experienced.”

She stressed the importance of believing in the children on and off the water, until they found confidence for themselves.  

Edz instantly knew when the girls found their self-belief – early in the racing.

“They came off the water and I knew. Straight away, I said, they’ve found it. We just worked with them around that.

“In times of doubt – and there were elements of doubt for our girls – that was so important.

“The girls told me, ‘Auntie, I don’t think we can do it, I don’t think we can podium’.

“I’ll be your strength and your courage,” she said.

Their intention had been to have “an experience” in Australia. But the night before the first race, it became clear the girls intended excellence.

“What do you want out of this campaign?” Edz asked them.

“They giggled and said, ‘we wouldn’t mind getting to the podium’.

So, I said, ‘I need to ask how serious you are.”

They said, ‘We’re really serious.”

She promised to “elevate the coaching” from there on in.

“I’ll treat you like any other coach treats people that want to podium. I’m going to be hard but I’m going to be fair,” she told them.

“Stick to the game plan and make every stroke count” was the advice.

“Every stroke is for those that have supported you all to get here. Do your seat and do your seat well. Don’t worry about anybody else.

“And they came out with gold.”

Language presented a challenge for all: the boys’ French speaking coach and Edz could not communicate.

“He didn’t speak English. When he was talking to me in French, I said, ‘Buddy I don’t understand a word you’re saying.’

“The kids were like, ‘Auntie, we don’t know what they’re saying’, so I said, ‘let the paddle do the talking.’”

The only English the boys knew was “win” – a word the girls taught them. Although the girls felt they might have understood more than they let on.

The rangatahi attuned to the boys’ movements – Edz told them to follow their lead because it would be too hard to explain in the moment.

It was an “enlightening experience” for their coach.  

“I’ve been around the world and done a lot of things, but this is something that I’ll really hold close to my heart.”

“We’ve come from having nothing – we don’t even own waka. We don’t even have a body of water we can paddle in. But these girls have been very resilient in terms of our training.”

“They [the other crews] have all got waka and resources, they’re all close to the water. We were the reverse,” Edz said.

Jordaane Tangihaere, mother of teammates Sierra and Vienna, said the girls gained much pride and confidence.

“[They were] not going for the ride but actually doing the mahi, putting in the hard work, doing their training and coming away with the results,” she said.

She recalled they went from being “the last of the last” in their first event, at the end of 2022.

Jordaane said the Queensland heat, in the 30s, was formidable.

“It was cool in the evening and really hot during the day, but a different heat. It was taking heaps out of them.”

Their first winning race was a V12 over 500 metres – a waka ama paddled by a crew of 12 – which is where the New Caledonian boys came in – and the unfamiliar waka.

“Ours is open, theirs is all individual (compartments). They have to change the way they move their bodies.

“One of our girls injured her back from overreaching, because she was steering,” Jordaane said.

It was pure luck that they had connected with that boys’ team, Jordaane said.

The New Caledonians had arrived with no girls’ teams, just as the mostly-Maniapoto girls had arrived without any tama (boys).

The combination worked.

“We were so glad they got to go in those extra races. The organisers put them all together – and they blitzed their heat, and later the final,” Jordaane said.

A planned six-kilometre event was postponed on the second day because of the heat. And then the team discussed whether to go ahead at all.

“A couple of other paddlers ended up in hospital. They were not able to come home today.”

It was a big race – the one the girls had originally gone to Australia for, and the only one in which they would have raced as a crew of six.

“Edz rang all the parents and said ‘Well, we can either bring our kids home healthy and well, or we can push for another day. We just said, ‘You make the call, we trust you.’ So, they pulled out. It was perhaps the event’s biggest disappointment, but it kept them safe.

Back home in Te Kūiti, three of the girls: Mia, Vienna and Sierra, insisted they weren’t tired after their big trip. Nor had they been too hot – maybe “a tad bit hotter”, according to Vienna.

They also shared some intrigue. One of the Australian teams had “tried to take a medal off us,” they said.

Luckily, Edz had made a video of the finish line, and could prove that the girls had won.  

“They’d originally given the medal to the other team – but Edz had to go through the event’s admin team and sort it out,” Jordaane said.

Mia’s highlight was “getting on the podium and getting gold.”

She felt “a little bit surprised, but once we actually got out there, I thought, actually we might have a chance. And we sure did.”

Sierra loved “just being there”.

“Paddling in Australia; it’s similar to New Zealand, and I enjoyed it. I was so thankful to be there.”

Vienna most appreciated staying well – the result of the strict hydration plan suggested by Edz.

“Because a lot of teams did [get heat stroke]. We were really grateful that we had Aunty to help us stay healthy.”

Despite the challenges of working with what were two New Caledonian teams (the 16- and 19-year-old categories) few observers realised the two crews had just connected.  

At first, things had been challenging, the girls said.

“I could just feel that in our waka, there was no communication. Our boys were picking up the rate and slowing it and stopping it,” Sierra said.

There were also laughs getting into the waka. The girls usually sit and get pushed; the boys push the waka then leap in. They also communicate stroke changeovers differently. But somehow it worked.

“For a team that we didn’t really know, and couldn’t really speak to, we just connected. We got it in the end.  

“Everyone said, ‘they must have been practising for years. You can tell.’ But it was our first time paddling together.”  

The girls said the New Caledonian boys didn’t come from a tight community like Te Kūiti - they had to do a lot more to get to Australia. So, they wanted, above all, not to let them down.

They even wondered whether they were the best girls’ team to support the boys, deciding after discussion that they would give it a go.

Edz, Jordaane and the girls are grateful to their supporters.

“We want to thank Claude Wehi, Kawe Roes, Peter Wehi, Lucy and the kids for opening your whare to us. And Jahdine Tapara and Flora Tane, our support coaches.”

“We also thank Ara Tika Waka ama club and Te Toki Waka ama Club, Uncle Armon at Scarborough Outrigger Club Australia for allowing our girls to train abroad. And our major sponsors: S & A Tata, R Jackson, the Buswell whanau, M Johnstone, Bailey Ingham, The Ngatais, L Green, C McCoy & P Thompson and T Millar-Hetet. A huge thank you for making this trip possible,” Jordaane said.

Edz said, “I want to express our absolute gratitude to each and everybody that supported the girls, whether that be financially, through karakia, through good intentions.

Next up for the girls is the Club Nats at Lake Karapiro, early next year. They hope to qualify for the world championships in Hawaii in August 2024.