Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
51 seconds ago
EIT Level 2 waka am tutor Roni Nuku (Ngāti Maniapoto) (right) will coach the NZ Elite Para Mixed Team at the 2024 World Sprint Champs in Hilo, Hawaii in August this year.
Experienced EIT Level 2 waka am tutor Roni Nuku (Ngāti Maniapoto) is putting her skills to practice by coaching the NZ Elite Para Mixed Team at the 2024 World Sprint Champs in Hilo, Hawaii in August this year.
The former Te Ūranga Waka student who is now a tutor is an experienced waka ama champion, having represented New Zealand for many years. She is set to start tutoring the level 2 waka ama programme in the second semester.
Roni says that she is looking forward to taking the team to Hawaii.
“What makes it more exciting is the people themselves and all the extra challenges they have. They don’t have the same physical abilities that we take for granted, so I enjoy trying to make sure that they all feel like they are competent because they are.”
“They’re competitive and they only want the best and they expect a lot from themselves.”
While the trip to the World Champs is a highlight, it is the day to day waka ama instruction that she enjoys. She is looking forward to tutoring the new programme.
“Now’s a good time for a beginner’s programme because it leads into the sprint season. This is for all those families who are thinking about wanting to compete at the national competition in January.”
“The programme will give them a really good basis of water safety, how to canoe a waka together, how to even hold events, which include tikanga, kupu, karakia and waiata.”
Roni says that the cultural component of the programme is open to anyone and not just Māori.
“On the last programme, about 50 percent of the students were not Māori, and what they loved was not only the reo, but also the history.”
“They were encouraged to learn about a waka, a contemporary waka, and most of them do a little bit of research on takitimi, so that becomes special for them.”
“So we’re learning all the time and gaining an appreciation of navigation and paddling and the whole waka journey and the history and then what that means in contemporary times and what that represents as a whānau being together because the waka ama is essentially an activity that the whānau do as one.”
Roni says that the programme is divided up between time on the water and in the classroom.
She says that last year’s programme went very well with about 14 students enrolled.
“We were able to take them away to a couple of regattas. We volunteered at a regatta in Rotorua to get an understanding of how regattas are, so they were able to go on the support boat and understand the safety aspects and help with registrations and cooking kai and even road management.”
Water safety is an important aspect of the programme.
“Living next to the water means that it is important to know everything there is about water safety.”
“One of the great things about the programme is that it is open to adults of all ages. One of our wahine last year was in her 60s, and she loved it.”
“One of the many things that I love about waka ama is that it’s a sport. So I can race with my children, and I can race with my grandchildren, if they want to race with their old nanny. And there’s regattas that are for all ages.”
Roni is also currently working on a Master in Māori Knowledge from Massey University. Her thesis will be on Māori Women Para-athletes.
