Tahitians enter Te Aito Cook Islands

Te Aito Cook Islands the premier single oe vaka race will have a star-studded line up this year with paddlers from Raiatea joining top local paddlers for the main races on Saturday, June 11.

This is the second year the race will be run and the popularity of this young event has grown, from 45 paddlers last year to some 70 paddlers this year.

V1 paddlers will contest the race in the open men and women, master men and women plus the junior under 19 men and women divisions.

Winners of the open men, women and junior men and womens division will win prizes of air tickets to Tahiti to represent the country at the Tahiti Te Aito race sponsored by Te Aito Cook Islands presenting partner Air Rarotonga.

Only local paddlers are eligible for the air tickets and if the gun paddlers from Raiatea win the races they will walk away with the cash prizes that are up for grabs for paddlers who place 1st to 5th in each of the main divisions.

Raiatea paddlers Maitai Danielson (open men), Tyrone Hart (open men), Steve Hart (master men), Mereani Marakai (junior women) and Titaua Hart (master women) are the best the island has to offer and were selected by Carlos Schmidt of the Raiatea Hoe Club after a series of races recently.

The main prizes for the Raiatea races were air tickets to Rarotonga to compete in thea second Te Aito Cook Islands organised by passionate local paddlers Fletcher and Vaea Melvin.

At 9am on June 11 open women, master women, junior men and women paddlers will take to the water for the 14km race. The course takes paddlers from the Avarua harbour out to Super Brown in Tupapa for the first turnaround, to Panama for the final turnaround, followed by a sprint home to the finish line in Avarua harbour.

Open and master men paddlers will race over a 28km course at 1pm which follows the same course as the 14km race but paddlers will have to complete the circuit twice.

Spectators can expect some thrilling close-up action in the Avarua harbour where paddlers will have to execute a turn for the second circuit of the 28km course before finishing back in the harbour.

The junior under 16 paddlers will compete in the Tama Aito races sponsored by Pacific Resort and Spa in Muri.

The 6km race is scheduled for June 13th at Muri and gives budding paddlers a taste of what they can expect as they become more mature and skilled paddlers.

While the Te Aito race is a V1 (rudderless) vaka race, OC1 paddlers are welcome to use the race as extra training or to test their skills against the gun Raiatea paddlers.

However OC1 paddlers will not be eligible for the Te Aito main prizes. Instead, special prizes will be up for grabs.

Paddlers can register for Te Aito Cook Islands this Saturday at Avarua harbour where a registration booth will be set up.

For more information check out the Te Aito Cook Islands website or contact organisers Fletcher and Vaea Melvin.

Te Aito Cook Islands presenting partner is Air Rarotonga and event sponsors include Cook Islands News, Turtles Sportswear, Whatever Bar, Pacific Resort and Spa, Cook Islands Tourism and Islands Craft Ltd.