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National | Australia

Hawke's Bay adaptive waka ama team to represent NZ

A Hawke’s Bay based waka ama team hopes to come out on top in the upcoming world championship in the Gold Coast, Australia.

The Haeata Ocean Sports Club team, which include paddlers who are wheelchair-bound, blind and physically impaired by stroke or accident, will represent New Zealand in two events at the IVF Va’a World Sprints Championship in May.

Ahuriri Houkamau has paddled for just over a year and has been a member of the adaptive team since its launch in September 2015. As he nears 50, he is excited about taking part in the world champs represent his country in sport.

“That’s quite strange, a bit unbelievable really,” Houkamau says,

The adaptive team’s race with tools and in outrigger canoes modified to suit the individual paddlers’ needs. A handicap system based on crew members’ disabilities will operate for the world champs.

Houkamau is paralysed on his left side due to spinal injuries from a car accident. He has only partial movement in one hand and can’t walk far but he digs deep on the water, working with five other crew members to power the waka ama forward.

The team is in good hands with one of the country’s top women paddlers, Roni Nuku, as their coach.

However, they face a challenge in fundraising for the world champs.

Houkamau says, “It’s not just us going. Everyone has to take a support person. I’m taking my wife, Angela. Everyone needs someone but we have nowhere near the $30,000 or so needed for the trip.

We are cooking hāngi, selling raffle tickets and have a givealittle page on NZ Para/Adaptive Waka Ama Team Facebook, but over and above that we need sponsorship. Hopefully we can get our faces out there and someone might latch onto us and get us to where we want to go.”

After the worlds, the team has its sights set on Rio de Janeiro next year.

Houkamau says, “If we can get through this one.I don’t see why we can’t get to that one as well. We’ll be more well-known after the world champs.”