The Team of the Year award won by the Open Men's V6 500m world Champions team (up against the Maori All Blacks and the more than impressive Open Women's V6 500 & 1500m team) and the Coach of the Year award, won by Coach and paddler of the successful Open Women's Elite V6 team Kiwi Campbell.

Just as impressive was the fact that four of the eleven Maori World champions were from Waka Ama and all 3 World Champion teams acknowledged were Waka Ama Teams  - Elite Men, Elite Women and the Junior 19 Women Congratulations to the deserved winners, but also to all the World Champion Paddlers, teams and clubs who achieved success at the World Championships. New Zealand claimed 30 gold, 27 Silver and 22 Bronze medals across the IVF World Elite and World Club Sprint Championships - a phenomenal effort and the combined effort of thousands of people, not all of whom are eligible to be recognised by the Maori Sports Awards

This level of success will not have been lost on many of our other sports code colleagues, all of whom have either tried the sport or have friends and relatives who are involved. Some may be puzzled by the sport's apparent dominance on the night. So is there a secret to this success? The answer is both yes and no. No, because success in a Waka will always come from the usual mix of dedication, persistence, hard work, team work, and desire to be the best that sorts out the best from the rest in any sport. Yes, because, as so eloquently put by Kiwi in her interview after her award, there is always in the background a range of support mechanisms that are not usually noticed by those with an interest in any sport. These include support from whanau and friends, support from club mates, and behind them, support from the club, regional and national administrators who steer the sport.

So, congratulations too to the support people behind them - from the CEO of Nga Kaihoe o Aotearoa/ Waka Ama NZ Lara Collins and her dedicated team, who continue to develop frameworks, policies and practices that ensure our best paddlers can reach their potential, to all the Boards, committees, and sub-committee members who give their time so willingly, and who make this a truly whanau-driven sport.

Our sport is coming of age in both a national and international sense. Not only have we shown that sound planning and strategy can lead to world success, but we have developed an operational and governance model that other sports might consider as they move ahead. We are also the envy of other waka ama/Outrigger/Va’a countries, not just because we were successful at the Worlds in Australia, but because we are now currently operating as a successful not-for-profit organisation. The model includes:

·       strong belief in the importance of kaupapa Maori as the appropriate basis for any New Zealand sports organisation. This is underpinned by our core values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, hauora and tū tangata;

·       the Treaty of Waitangi as a key enabler for decision-making, which makes the sport inclusive of all people;

·       inclusive practices and policies that can be accessed by anyone at any time;

·       quality real-time communications and information sharing through the web site, social media and face-to-face contact;

·       a sense of being connected to paddlers throughout the country and ‘belonging’ to a waka ama whanau;

·       competitive well-organised events that run the whole year through;

·       clear guidelines for safety;

·       potential pathways that move from social to highly competitive options for all paddlers, no matter what age group they belong to;

·       the increasing ability to tap into sound coaching at different levels

·       clubs and regions that are developing capacity and confidently improving systems and policies at a grassroots level

At this time of the year, as we move into the pre and post Xmas National sprints mode, take some time to reflect on what has been a great year for waka ama. A number of regions are starting to successfully operate using the governing Board model (e.g. AROCA, Hoe Tonga, TUOTR);  the secondary schools’ nationals participant numbers are continuing to grow; potential clubs now have access to decent models and information if they want to establish themselves; all clubs are able to access appropriate policy and constitution documents; the coaching framework is developing nicely; we reached 5000 Affiliated members this year, a 67% increase over the last 4 years. Through Lara’s leadership role as the new President of the International Va’a Federation, New Zealand is able to share much of what we have learnt with new and developing Va’a Countries and to help progress the growth of the sport globally; planning is well in place for the upcoming world long distance and sprints events in Tahiti; the Auckland University team won their race in Hawaii – and other tertiary institutions are being encouraged to develop teams so they can be involved in upcoming events; and we are already beginning to fulfil some of the aspirational plans that we set out in our 25 year Vision Statement– well ahead of the time that we thought it might take. 

 But there is still a lot to do. We would like to see even greater numbers of schools involved. We need to further help to develop regional capacity in the governance model. We need to establish more financial surety so that we can continue to provide great service to all paddlers. This last year we lost the expertise and knowledge of Trevor Shailer and Cherie Collison from the Board. We look forward to the process being put in place to replace them. We are always striving to be better and do better so that our paddlers and member clubs can continue to enjoy and thrive in a waka ama environment that we are all proud to be a part of.

Ngā Mihi mo te Kirihemete me te Tau Hou 2017

Paora Howe (Chair) on behalf of the NKoA/WANZ Board