River City Waka Ama

🤘That’s a wrap for Winter Series 1 – 6KM Whanganui! What a brilliant day it was.

With over fifty crews on the water across waka ama, kayaking, and rowing, the energy was incredible. Our club brought five crews to the line - two Senior Men’s teams, our J16 Boys, our J16 Girls, and our Social Ladies crew. We’re genuinely proud of how everyone performed.

It was awesome to see our members stepping up into different roles. Some steering for the first time, some taking on the stroke seat, some making calls under pressure, and others learning to navigate a busy start line. The start was hectic, but that’s the beauty of racing in our own backyard, learning, improving, and growing together.

A special shout-out to our Social Ladies, who took home the spot prize! Hope you shouted yourselves something nice after such a great race!

Thank you to every single person who showed up and gave it a go. You only get better through experience, and days like this remind us why we love what we do. Beautiful conditions, great people, and brilliant racing.

A huge thank you as well to Awa Paddlers for sharing your waka with us and helping our crews get on the water. You guys are awesome!

Gus Scott we know this was your last race organising the Winter Series, and we want to thank you for the many years of dedication you’ve given to this event. It’s become something we genuinely look forward to every year.

Thank you to Blinkhorne & Carroll for supporting this wonderful event year after year. Your continued support helps make days like this possible.

Thanks Steph Paranihi-Simon for snapping some really cool pics!

See you all there!

🌊 HOE HAUMARU — SAFE PADDLING SESSION 🌊

Hey whānau! We're running our Hoe Haumaru Safe Paddling Programme and we'd love to see you there!

Hoe Haumaru exists to ensure every paddler who steps onto our waka is prepared, informed, and safe. At River City Waka Ama, safety is not an optional extra, it is a responsibility shared by every paddler, coach, and leader in our club.

When a waka tips, there is no time to think. Your body responds with what it knows. That's why this session is built on both theory and practical experience. Because reading about safety and living it are two very different things.

📅 DATE: Sunday 8 March
📍 LOCATION: Power Co Compound - 10am–12pm

🕙 10:00am – Welcome & Introduction
🕙 10:30am – Land-based simulation & life jacket safety
🕙 11:00am – Demonstration on the water
(Watch our experienced paddlers show you exactly what a huli looks like)
🕙 11:15am – Participant tipping drills
(Your turn! With full support from our crew)
🕙 12:00pm – All packed up and done!

Come down, bring a friend, and let's keep our whole club safer on the water together.

"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion — you fall to the level of your training."

Let's train. 🌊

Contact Erin Browne if you're interested in doing any of this with other members.

See you all there! 🤗

Today we journey together to the biggest waka ama event 🥰
Behind us are months of hard work from our teams, coaches, managers, committee members and whānau 🫶

To our waka whānau across the motu travel safe. We can’t wait to see you all there.

Paddle with passion, race with heart ❤️
Most importantly have FUN! 🥰

“Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au”