Many thanks to Te Au Rere and TWPT for setting up the venue and lanes.

The sprints kicked of with a hiss and a roar. First up on the plate being the Open W1 eliminations for Nationals. This was followed by the W6 Mens and Womens racing, and lastly the Mixed races. Races consisted of 500m, 1000m and 1500m sprints.

By mid morning the Midgets had taken to the water. Due to some late scratching's, one Midget mixed crew was left without a race, so we put them in with the Intermediate mixed. Team Maki from Nga Tai Whakarongo showed us just how good they were, beating two of the intermediate crews across the line over 500m.

The weather was generally good for most of the day, with the odd roll of thunder adding some excitement to the racing before a couple of lite showers near the end held up racing, but everyone seemed to be having fun regardless of the rain.

With all the racing completed by 3.30pm this years sprints proved to be a great success. Full credit must go to the organisers, volunteers and all the hard work that was put in before the day, and of course to all the paddlers who ensured the day ran quickly and smoothly.

Good luck for the nationals 2004!!!

• Race Results (see below)
• W1 Qualifiers (see below)
• Pictures from www.PictureNZ.co.nz
• Gallery - 1
• Gallery - 2
• Gallery - 3
• Gallery - 4