110 kids made a splash at the canoe racing event at the 2025 Aims Games at Pilot Bay, Mt Maunganui on Tuesday, a 45% growth in participation from last year.
It was a successful day in Tauranga, something that didn’t seem possible based on the forecast in the lead up to the event. But a venue relocation down the beach to seek the shelter from the Mauao and the positive “can-do” attitudes from kids and parents/teachers meant all racing ran to schedule with good vibes all round.
Olympic heroes Kurtis Imrie and Max Brown were beachside to show their support and meet the kids, generously giving up their time to sign posters and take part in a Q&A alongside Danielle Richards. These athletes shared their pathways into the sport and some of the amazing adventures and memories the sport has given them.
The Zespri AIMS Games is Australasia’s largest junior sporting event, held annually in Tauranga Moana. For year 7 and 8 intermediate school students, it includes 28 different sporting codes. Canoe Racing joined the event in 2019, in a collaborative effort with Canoe Slalom, where kayaking kids are encouraged and supported to try both kayaking disciplines.
To reduce the barriers to entry, all equipment is provided. The event included individual racing from heats through to finals as well as team relays. CRNZ have designed this event to be an enjoyable, engaging entry into paddling competition and to build bridges between flatwater/sprint, ocean, surf and river paddling.
The growth in participation highlights the work being done by clubs and schools who have been using the Aims Games opportunities as a recruitment tool for attracting and teaching new paddlers. It also suggests an attractive and accessible event format that focuses on enjoyment and development.
The growth in the base of our sport sets up the foundation for growth across our whole sport in the future. There are innumerous opportunities available for these young paddlers moving forward, whatever their motivations and areas of enjoyment.
Thank you to the volunteers and officials who gave up their time to help manage the event and run it like clockwork. Thank you to parents, teachers, schools and participants for coming along and bringing the energy and enthusiasm on a windy winter’s day!
2025 Aims Canoe Racing Results
Photos taken by the Aims Games photographer- https://www.facebook.com/canoeracing
Tell us what you thought of the event. It is a relatively new event and event format for us still and we are still learning and developing, especially as we grow. We would appreciate if you could take a couple of minutes to complete this short survey. https://forms.office.com/r/gCd2RWtuir
What next?
For Year 7’s, we hope to see you back next year. Please let me know if there is any support CRNZ can give to your schools/regions to help support or grow kayaking at this age group (or any age group). We would love to help!
For year 8’s, we run a Secondary School Kayaking Championships as part of Summer Tournament week in March at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua. Keep an eye out for information on this. This is a “sprint” event, with straight line racing, as well as a “long distance” race. We provide all the equipment. We would love to see you there in 2026!
There are also some good races coming up imminently that would be very suitable for these paddlers:
- 14 September – Cambridge to Hamilton Junior 11km Race – Free Entry, boats (same as Aims) and equipment included for the 11km race (which sounds far but the river flow pushes you along!)
- 21st September – CRNZ 10km Champs/ Winter Series finale event which includes a 2.5km race for 12&U paddlers at Lake Karapiro. CRNZ can provide craft and equipment for this.
- 6/7 December – Tikitapu Sprint Regatta 1 – this aims to be a great first sprint regatta, suitable for all ages groups and abilities. It is divisional, meaning paddlers race against similar abilities rather than in age groups. Again, CRNZ is able to provide boats for this.
For more information on these or other events, check out our event calendar and/or reach out to Danika – danika@crnz.org
