Waka Ama Outrigger Racing

Waka ama is the outrigger canoe - a hull with a float, ama, connected by booms, the design that carried Polynesian voyaging across the Pacific. Racing versions were reintroduced to New Zealand in the mid-1980s from Hawaii and Tahiti, and the sport grew quickly: from a handful of clubs to tens of thousands of participants, with a strong base in Maori communities and a wide spread beyond it. Crews race in singles, sixes and twelves over sprint distances and long-distance ocean courses. The national championships in January, usually at Lake Karapiro, are among the largest sporting events in the country by participant numbers, with thousands of paddlers from primary school age upward camped on site for a week. That is the one to watch if the timing works. Clubs operate on harbours and rivers everywhere and most welcome newcomers to have a go, which is the usual way visitors encounter it.

What you actually see

• The outrigger hulls - single, six and twelve-seat waka.
• The January nationals - thousands of paddlers, usually at Lake Karapiro.
• The club scene - crews training on harbours and rivers nationwide.
• The revival - a Pacific tradition reintroduced only in the 1980s.

When to go

January for the national championships; October to April for club racing and regattas. Free to watch.

Honest expectations

There is no venue to visit outside event days - this is a sport, seen at regattas or clubs. The nationals are a week-long camping event rather than a spectator stadium. Try-outs need contacting a club in advance.

Nearby

Lake Karapiro near Cambridge hosts the nationals; clubs are on most harbours and rivers.