30
Nelson Weekly
Sport
TUESDAY 12 June 2018
Locally Owned and Operated
Waka ama masters looking for new crew Jonty Dine
While their bodies may be slowing down, the senior members of the Whai Rere waka ama crew are still as competitive as ever. The Whai Rere crew are part of the Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club. Crew member John Young says the team has been together about five years. “A few of us sort of drifted into the club for various reasons and on one particular
day there were a few more senior paddlers together, so the decision was made to formalise it.” During that initial paddle, a chance marine life encounter lead to the crew name. “When we were loading the waka onto the trailer, a stingray swam around the marina and passed under our feet.” John says a fellow crew member took this as a sign and the team was named Whai Rere or “stingray flow.”
The crew are all aged over 65 with the eldest member 73-years-old. John says there are about nine crew members ready to go at any time including recent QSM recipient Penny Molnar. “Penny is our matriarch and our main steerer.” John says while the crew don’t have great success in winning, they have won the golden masters at the annual Nelson Lakes race. “The unfortunate thing about being old is it’s hard to compete
against these juniors.” The 70-year-old is putting out the call for other seniors to get involved, “We are looking for more 60 plus members, male or female so we can have competitions amongst our own age groups.” John says the beauty of waka ama is that each paddle is very different be it the scenery, sea conditions or wildlife. “It’s a great sport, ok it can be a little cold at his time of year but
we had a glorious day on Saturday around Haulashore Island and ran into a pod of dusky dolphins which was just magic.” He says it is a fantastic way to harness his competitive spirit. “It’s physically a great sport, being old we all have injuries, but we manage quite well, and it caters for people who have played sport all their life but can no longer keep up.” To register your interest with the club contact John on 0211107547.
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Members of the Whai Rere waka ama crew. Photo: Supplied.
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