Te Ao Māori News is partnering with Aukaha News, Tahu News and Tainui Live to bring you coverage from Lake Karāpiro for the 35th annual Waka Ama Sprint Nationals.
It’s the biggest Sprint Nationals yet, hosting a record number of 3875 participants from all across Aotearoa, marking a sharp 19 percent increase in participants on last year.
Waka Ama NZ CEO, Lara Collins called it “a pinnacle event for our waka ama whānau and it is exciting to see the growth in participation numbers for this years event”.
“We are looking forward to coming together as a waka ama whānau for an awesome week of waka ama at Karāpiro”.
“Waka ama is more than a sport, it is a way of life, and its encouraging to see that over 60% of our participation for the event is aged 5-23 years.”
“Our clubs, regions, and wider waka ama whānau are doing amazing work at the community level and this is reflective in these statistics”, said Lara Collins, Waka Ama NZ CEO.
More than 8000 spectators will watch from the shores of Karāpiro, and many more from home, with Whakaata Māori providing the official broadcast of the 2025 Waka Ama Sprint Nationals.
You can stream the races live on MĀORI+.
