Monday’s Waikato Times led with a story about the Whaingaroa Hoe waka ama racing on Saturday where 300 waka and about 700 competitors entered annual Whaingaroa Hoe waka ama competition, taking part in the 8, 12 and 24-kilometre races.
“It was a really amazing spectacle to see that many canoes . . . There was a lot of action,” organiser Amber Hartstone said, “There were real good little battles going on – right up the field from the front, right to the back – so I think that was really cool for people to watch. There was some pretty hard racing because they were backwards and forwards the whole time.”
2014 is first year the regatta has been sanctioned by Waka Ama NZ. New Zealand Post sponsored the event.