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Regional | Rotorua

Day One of the SS Waka Ama kicks off in Rotorua.

It's Day One of the Secondary Schools Waka Ama Championship which is taking place on the Blue Lake in Rotorua.

It's a promising start to the competition and organisers say the future of Waka Ama is looking good.

According to the Chief Executive for Waka Ama New Zealand Lara Collins

“These are our future club members, paddlers for years to come, so it's a really important event for us and something we really enjoy”

The competition offers three sections, which are catered to novice, advanced and expert paddlers.

Te Wharekura o Te Rau Aroha say they are competing for the experience.

“We are a new team, we don’t really know much about the competition” says Tumataura Tahatika, a new paddler to this competition.

For Rotorua regional councillor Charles Stuart, this is the best place to hold the event  as the venue can cater to thousands.

97 Schools are competing and this week over 1,450 paddlers will compete on the Blue Lake.

The finals for this competition start this Friday.