Ruamata OCC have been together since 2007 and that same year they came away with a gold medal at their first nationals appearance. Since then they've competed at numerous competitions including the Vaka Eiva this year.
Ruamata OCC have come through the ranks of waka ama.
“Our boys always find the time to train, despite us living in different parts of the country; some are in Auckland, some are in Tauranga, and the rest in Rotorua, we make sure we do our individual training and meet at least once a month, that's what we've been doing all year” says Wiri Hohepa, member of the Ruamata OCC.
Five of the six paddlers from the 2007 team are here at the Vaka Eiva competition in Rarotonga, the sixth paddler is 2014's W1 NZ National masters champion Stephen Hohepa.
“I've always paddled with my dad. For a long time he's been my teacher, but it's awesome to paddle in the same team as my dad” say Nona Taute.
Nona Taute, Stephen's son, is the steerer of this team. He is also a national singles champion himself, winning both the U19 and the U23 titles.
According to Nona, the team had to adjust to the climate, “We're paddlers that train on lakes, but because we'll be paddling in waves we find that difficult. We're lucky the waves have died down today.”
It's been an eventful time for the team, who competed at their first Vaka Eiva. They won a gold in the 500m and silver in the 26km change-over race in the open men's section.
“I loved that, it was hard conditions out there. The swells were huge, congrats to the masters men for beating us, but I think we came second in our open category, so that is awesome to get that result” says Wiri Hohepa.
The team will return to NZ to focus on sprints, as they prepare for the NZ nationals at the start of next year.