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Sport | Kura Tuarua - Secondary School

Secondary school waka ama champs: a dramatic day 2

The second day of the National Secondary School Waka Ama Championships was a busy one, with 500m and 250 W6 races held at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua.

The day saw 1,950 high school paddlers from around the country compete in events.  Teams navigated turns in the 500m races and also battled in straight 250m distance races.

Today the semi-finals will be held for the top teams, with most of the heat races ending close. Today's winners will then proceed to finals held tomorrow.

The fastest Under 16 girls team in the W6 500m turns races come all the way from Whāngarei Girls’ High School and posted a time of 2:31.26.  It’s a big section with 10 heats held to cater for the multitude of teams.

Day 2! 😁😁 All W6's from here on in. The heats are looking miiiint! 👌😎 Too much e te whānau 👏👏👏

Posted by wakaama on Wednesday, March 27, 2019

In the Under 16 boys section eight heats were held.  In heat 2 Gisborne Boys’ High School showed that they’re the team to beat in their section, with a time of 2:12.49 in the 500m W6 race.

In the Under 19 section, Koroki from Te Kura a Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano had the strongest girl's team, with their time of 2:31.77 in their heat.

And in the Under 19 Boys the home side, Rotorua Boys’ High School, proved too strong for their competitors, winning their race with a time of 2:12.44.

There isn’t just waka ama happening today.  As part of the Rotorua Waka Festival, schools will have the opportunity to compete in the Kapa Haka Super 6 competition held at Te Manawa in the township of Rotorua at 7pm tonight.