Canoe Racing New Zealand

The return of the Poor Knights crossing on the menu of downwind course options has the paddling community abuzz for this year’s Tawhiti Rahi Ocean Challenge event in Tutukaka in just two weeks time.
The race, which also doubles as the 2026 NZ Ocean Ski National Championships, is set for Saturday 19th September and is open to ocean skis, waka ama and paddlefoil boards.

The Poor Knights Islands / Tawhiti Rahi are located east of Tutukaka, and feature some of nature’s most impressive works of art, including extraordinary sea caves, walls and arches. The Rikoriko Cave shown here is one of the largest sea caves in the world.

Once a staple on the domestic event calendar, the Poor Knights Crossing course hasn’t been run since 2022, with organisers instead running the Tawhiti Rahi Coastal Challenge along the coastline in recent editions.

Re-opening the course legs to or from the Poor Knights Marine reserve 24km off the Tutukaka Coast has taken a collaborative effort with the new management team at Dive! Tutukaka, the Tutukaka Marina Trust and the event sponsors Te Putahi Projects, The Watertight Co, Land Pirates and Robinsons Asphalts.

Combining the forces of four Northland based companies alongside Dive! Tutukaka will provide the rare opportunity for ocean paddlers to get some blue water racing experience in Aotearoa.

Wind permitting, paddlers will be either racing from Tutukaka to Tawhiti Rahi (Poor Knights) or return, a prospect race organiser Tim Eves has been keen to get back on the event calendar for the past five years.

“First it was covid—remember that— then the weather decided to not play ball. Until now Dive! Tutukaka was not in a position to support the event. But now we can plan for another potential crossing race which is just awesome,” Eves said.
“Logistics is always a challenge for the crossing but, if the wind lines up, it’s always worth the hassle,” he said.

This is an iconic NZ ocean paddle and definitely one for all paddlers’ bucket list, although given the environment and nature of the event, strong ocean paddling skills and experience are required to tackle the challenge

Alternate course options if the wind doesn’t line up for a crossing is a down the coast course, an epic adventure paddle along the wild northern coastline.

Entries close on Thursday 10th September. But be quick, as ferry spaces may be limited to about 80 racing craft.
Enter here: https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=435588
All Entries received by Sept 7 go in to the draw to win a free race accommodation package and/or a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses from Paddle Sport NZ.

🥳The final countdown is on for the Canoe Racing event at the 2026 Zespri AIMS Games School Sporting Championships , with just one week until our intermediate school paddlers hit the water at Pilot Bay in Tauranga.

Canoe Racing NZ are proud to be a part of the 2026 Zespri Aims Games, Australasia’s biggest junior sporting event. For intermediate school students, this is their chance to represent their school at kayaking in a fun and exciting event.

The Canoe Racing event at the Aims Games is on Tuesday 8th September and utilizes the CRNZ Kahawai format, which designed to be an enjoyable, engaging entry into paddling competition and to build bridges between flatwater/sprint, ocean, surf and river paddling. It includes both individual and team events, for year 7 and 8 boys and girls, raced off the beach at the stunning Pilot Bay in Mt Maunganui, Tauranga. All equipment is provided.

Final event information guide, provisional draw and practice session lists are all now available online. Check out the listing in the CRNZ event calendar or the Aims Games website for full details.
https://canoeracing.org.nz/event-calendar/

Canoe Racing New Zealand is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Emmett as our new National Pathway Lead.

Chris brings extensive experience in sport system leadership, pathway development and stakeholder engagement. Most recently, he has held senior leadership responsibilities with Surf Life Saving New Zealand, where he led national programmes, supported club capability, developed coaching and athlete pathways, and contributed to long-term organisational strategy. Many within our paddling community will already know Chris through his involvement as a paddler, coach, selector and club leader. He combines a deep understanding of community sport with proven experience building systems that support participation, development and performance.

Over the past several years, our sport has continued to build momentum both on and off the water. Alongside unprecedented international success, we have invested in strengthening the foundations of canoe racing in New Zealand through club support, coach development, athlete pathways and community growth. The appointment of Chris as National Pathway Lead is an important next step in that journey.

Congratulations to Chris on the appointment, we look forward to having him on the CRNZ team.
Read more:

Chris Emmett appointed as CRNZ National Pathway Lead - CRNZ - Sprint, Surf Ski & Marathon Canoe Sprint, Surf Ski & Marathon. Canoe Sprint Racing is one of the best-known competitive canoeing disciplines in NZ.

Some strong results for New Zealand on the final day of the 2026 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Poznan to wrap up the event.

👏Finn Murphy placed 6th overall in the KL3 200m final, his best result at a world championships so far in his paddling career.

👏 Scott Martlew finished 9th in the KL2 200m A Final.

👏 Quaid Thompson was 6th overall in the Mens K1 5000m.

Well done to all our NZ team athletes on their performances at the 2026 World Championships. We look forward to welcoming you home!

🥈 Shiny new silverware for Aimee Fisher! 🥈

Aimee placed 2nd in the Women's K1 500m at the 2026 Canoe Sprint World Championships 👏👏

It's the final day of racing at the 2026 Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships in Poznan.

Three-time Paralympian Scott Martlew will line up in the KL2 200m A Final at 8.28pm NZT. Then it's Finn Murphy in the KL3 200m A final at 8.40pm.

Later in the night, Quaid Thompson will wrap up the event in the Men's K1 5000m event.

Watch live on Sky Sport or the Planet Canoe YouTube tube Channel.

1 more day, let's go Kiwis! 🖤🤍🖤

💫 A Final bound 💫
NZ Paracanoe athletes Finn Murphy and Scott Martlew will both be racing in their K1 classification medal races tonight at the 2026 Paracanoe World Championships, following top 3 semifinal positions yesterday.

Tune in live on SkySport or the livestream on Planet Canoe YouTube from 8.28pm NZT!

It was an exciting day in Poznan overnight for the New Zealand team at the 2026 Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships.

💥 Aimee Fisher won NZ's first medal of the event with a 2nd place in the women's K1 500m final.

💥 Peter Cowan finished 6th overall in the Men's VL3 200m final.

💥 Scott Martlew and Finn Murphy both earned their spots in their respective Paracanoe A finals, after each finishing 3rd in their semifinal races.

💥 Quaid Thompson placed 7th in his K1 1000m B final, finishing the event 16th overall.

One more day of racing to go tonight, featuring Scott Martlew and Finn Murphy's medal races, and Quaid Thompson wrapping up the competition in the K1 5000m.

🥈Silver medal for Aimee Fisher!🇳🇿
Aimee finishes 2nd in the women's K1 500m at the 2026 Canoe Sprint World Championships.

Big night ahead for the New Zealand team at the 2026 Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Champs!

From 7pm NZT, Scott Martlew & Finn Murphy have their Paracanoe semifinal races, looking to earn their spots in the finals.

Quaid Thompson will line up for the men's K1 1000m B final at 12.47am.

Then Aimee Fisher and Peter Cowan have their A final races. It's worth waking up for!

Watch the racing live on Sky Sports from 7pm or tune into the live stream on Planet Canoe YouTube channel.

Let's go kiwis! 🇳🇿