The New Zealand 10km Championships will take place at the scenic Lake Okareka in Rotorua on Saturday with the additional incentive of the event also forming the climax to the 2020 Kayak Krazy series.
For the past two-and-a-half months, the series has served up eight races across six hosting venues and with double points on offer at the New Zealand Championships the action is expected to be red hot.
Unfortunately, because of the current Covid-19 restrictions, paddlers from the Auckland region will be unable to attend but CRNZ would like to fully acknowledge their accomplishments throughout the winter season.
A number of Auckland paddlers notably, Sean Murphy, Simon McLarin and Vaughan Reed have made a big impact throughout the series and we are really disappointed they won’t be able to compete in Rotorua.
Leading the contenders in a high-quality open men’s 10km is World Championship sprint kayaker Quaid Thompson (Poverty Bay), who will be expected to mount a strong challenge.
Among the opposition will be overall Kayak Krazy series leader Liam Lace (Whanganui), who has accumulated 18pts this season across four appearances in the series.
Also entered is the 2019 NZ 10km bronze medallist Sam Newlands (Bay of Plenty), who is sure to be a factor. Meanwhile, a strong core of younger paddlers looking to make their mark include; Sam Ferkins (Poverty Bay), Jack Clifton (Whanganui) and Waitara club duo Fletcher Moles and Robson Old.
Emma Kemp will be attempting to defend both her national 10km title and Kayak Krazy Series crown. The Mana paddler currently leads the series standings with 20pts – three clear of Bay of Plenty’s Libby Bell, who is expected to pose a strong threat.
Hawkes Bay paddlers Daniel Brown, Hamish Macky and Henry Hall currently dominate the Kayak Krazy series standings in the men’s U18 division, so expect the club-mates to make a strong impact in Rotorua.
In a competitive women’s U18 race the top three in the overall Kayak Krazy standings are all entered. Leading the contenders is current series leader Sophie Brooke (Whanganui) but expect Scarlett Old (Waitara) and Morgan Wilkins (Hawkes Bay) to also feature.
The battle for supremacy in the women’s U16 5km race is shaping up to be an exciting battle between current Kayak Krazy joint-leaders Jess Cleghorn (Eastern Bay) and Kate Skeels (Hawkes Bay) with third placed Sophia Lawson (Hawkes Bay) also a contender over the 5km distance.
In the men U16 division joint Kayak Krazy leaders Damien DaSilva (Hawkes Bay) and Logan Ferguson (Karapiro) are expected to be prominent. Whanganui’s Zane Mills-Nossiter, the paddler currently placed third overall, is also entered.
The current Kayak Krazy Series leaders in the U14 categories – Hawkes Bay duo Julien Da Silva and Rose Keene – are also both in action on Lake Okareka.
Paddlers are also entered in the tyro divisions (men and women), multi/ski women, multi-ski men’s masters, masters men 45-54 and masters men 55+ divisions.
Note, because the event is going ahead at an Alert Level 2 the number of paddlers is restricted to fewer than a hundred and entries have now closed.
Registration takes place from 10-10.30am on Saturday with the race start at 11am.
To comply with the current health and safety regulations everyone is encouraged to download the Covid Tracer App. We request good hygiene practices and everyone to keep 1m apart. Please DO NOT attend if you are feeling unwell or have flu-like symptoms.
