Canoe Polo

The New Zealand Secondary Schools Canoe Polo National tournament was held at the Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings over the weekend of 10 and 11 October and the results speak for themselves. Three teams made the finals, finishing with a gold and two silvers and a 5th by our Junior Team. The team of the weekend was our Senior B Open team, coached by former student Mr Ethan Hope. With only 5 players, they took out their respective grade in style by beating Hastings Boys High School A Team to capture GOLD. The tournament was also a sad but fitting farewell for our Year 13 players and for Mr Chris Howard. A huge thank you to you all for the memories, loyalty and support throughout your years with the Karamu canoe polo whanau, you will be sorely missed. A huge congratulations to Andre Carter and Adam Brookes who were selected for the Boys’ Tournament Team and Hannah Hunt and Hayley Austin for the Girls’ Team. Playing canoe polo at Karamu has been an absolute treat. Winning medals at regionals and nationals was great but what made it so rewarding was the team that came together to claim the victories. This year was slightly off tune due to covid-19. The summer championship season and tournaments usually finish by the end of Term 1, but when lockdown occurred this was no longer. Fortunately nationals were postponed and we were able to compete in early October. This was a challenge as we had to regain our team strength, but due to the commitment of players, coaches, teachers and parents, this was easily accomplished. The Senior Girls team that I play for unfortunately lost to our rivals Havelock North in the finals at nationals after beating them at regions, claiming gold, and battling on the water since. Although we may not have taken home the final prize, we walked away as one and with gratitude for one another, which is more than I could have asked for as captain. Karamu canoe polo and the teams I have played for in the last five years offer such strong support and has become a whanau and community in itself. With the encouragement we share, it will be very hard to leave after Year 13 finishes.

– Tiana Edwards

Canoe polo at Karamu is like no other sports team, the culture we have is something other schools look up to. Because of this, these past couple of years playing canoe polo for Karamu have been the best of my life so far. This year was the last year for a large number of players in our team so we wanted to put everything we had on the court. We (Senior A Open) lost the regional final to our rivals St. John’s leaving us with a Silver Medal... but we were all pumped and ready to come back stronger for nationals. Over half a year later, nationals went ahead, and for the first time in canoe polo history it was live streamed on Sky Sport. It was an honour to play with all of the boys, the Senior A Open team will forever have a strong bond and it’s going to be difficult to say goodbye. – Andre Carter

Canoe Polo Winter League

Fourth row: Manaia Gibson, Adam Brookes, Callum Teddy, Ashleigh Cooper, Quinn Trotter, Nicholas Evans, Tobey Hughes, James Dillon, Bella Casson, Liam Hunter Third row: Connie-Rae Waapu, Shona Jenkinson, Maddison Hughes, Hannah Hunt, Jack Brookes, Renee Saunders, Dylan Houghton, Bostyn Te Whaiti, Hannah Kihirini, Megan Godwin, Mya Wanden Second row: Mr T Blake, Corbyn Lee, Flynn Mercer, Andre Carter, Thomas Bush, Sam Williams, Ethan Poppelwell, Elijah Casson, Thomas Haszard, Jack Arcus, Bryn Nelson, Blaise Coulbeck, Miss A Blake First row: Brenda-Lee Randell, Oliver Arcus, Jack Bursnall, Hayley Austin, Tiana Edwards, Lexi Trotter, Amy Godwin, Courtney Walker, Brianna Williams, Poppy Brooker, Milly Petrie