Novice outrigger crew makes sprint final [1]
Friday, September 19, 2014 - 17:03. Updated on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 17:04.
Tonga's Taufatahi women's outrigger team made the finals of the Sprint event in the Alo Paopao Outrigging Competition in Samoa this week, 15-20 September, but the Marathon proved more challenging for the novice team.
On Wednesday the Taufatahi came 2nd in their 1500m heat, progressing to the finals where they were placed 4th.
“Many of the other teams present expressed how impressed they were, that a novice few made the finals and placed 4th beating many other experienced crews,” the Taufatahi said in a statement today.
Taufatahi first started paddling together six months ago and this was their first international competition. The team also did well in the 500m heat and were placed 3rd.
However, the 16km marathon race on Monday proved more difficult, and after a good start, Taufatahi placed 6th out of nine teams in a time of 1 hr 56 mins, 10 minutes behind the winning team from Manuakau, Auckland.
“It was a thrilling but challenging race as none of the crew had ever raced before. It was a sharp learning curve as they were bumped 2 km into the race, which meant they slipped from the 3rd to 6th place,” they stated.
The team acknowledged the “huge amount of support from friends and family visiting Samoa, and their support crew and hosts.
“Taufatahi would like to thank all their sponsors and trainer Jenny Lee- Stefan who made their trip possible,” they stated. “The competition item has inspired plans for building the sport.”
The Taufatahi crew included Rose Fangupo, Utahna Taumoepeau, Jenny Nishi, Soana Kaitapu, Kate Vallabh, and Vila Day.