On April 2nd, about 150 paddlers descended on Wailoaloa Beach in Nadi Bay for the launch of Wai Tui Fiji International 2010. It began with the blessing of the canoes performed by Father Claude of the Anglican Church. The Anglican church in Fiji oversees maritime waters, so it was fitting for him to do the blessing.
Day 1 kicked off with V1 Sprint races, and while weather conditions were less than ideal, it made for some good racing. In the Semi-Finals of the U19 Boys, notable finishers were Nadi Bay’s Matia Taito and Takia’s Joshua Autar.
In the Open Men’s V1, Stan Ooms of Nadi Bay took Semi 1 and Johnny Chung of Takia took Semi 2 setting the stage for an interesting final. The afternoon kicked off with V6 Sprint heats in both the 500m and 1500m. Nadi Bay’s local knowledge of the course shone through in the men’s races while Hong Kong set the stage for the final by winning their heat in the Women’s Semi Final.
Day 2 saw better conditions for the sprint finals in the V1 and V6 plus the V1 marathons. Pauline Benson took out the V1 500m with second going to Natalia Evans. Courtney Pene, who at 15 is a bright prospect for the Worlds in New Caledonia, took third challenging Natalia to the finish.
Kisione Fonua took the Men’s V1 500m while Min Kim of Takia 'pipped' Matia Taito of Nadi Bay for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Team Hong Kong showed why they were the team to beat with an emphatic win in the Women’s V6 500m, and Nadi Bay came from behind to 'pip' Tafaga on the line in the Men’s 500m. In the 1500m, Kaiwai women stamped their 'mark on the day' with a win, and Nadi Bay concurred the Men’s event.
After a short lunch break, the V1 marathons started with the Junior Girls 6km—Courtney Pene won ahead of Elly Joyce and Kimberly Samson to complete a Nadi Bay Triple.
Matia Taito took out the Junior Boys 6km followed closely by Serge Abel, both of Nadi Bay, Joshua Autar of Takia ensured no clean sweep for Nadi Bay in this race.
Due to fast fading light, the Open Women’s race was reduced to a 6km sprint with Pauline Benson taking the race from Natalia Evans and Katarina Morris. Kisione Fonua took the men’s 8km event from Stanley Ooms of Nadi Bay and Guy Morris of Tagafa.
Day 3 saw very flat conditions on Nadi Bay. The Junior V6 marathon with girls and boys races ran concurrently and was won by the Nadi Bay Boys with Nakama Bay Girls coming in second overall. This was the first time Nakama Bay Girls had done a marathon – an awesome result for first timers.
It was Hong Kong who won the Open Women’s division in the 20km race over Kawai and Nadi Bay. Amongst the Open Men, it was Nadi Bay first in the 25km race beating out the Takia Global Mix and Takia Pesos Ligeros teams.
For more on the event and to make plans to participate, go to www.waitui.com.