Women’s touch in canoeing

YOU might not pick Marlene and Mairi Wally out in the crowd when canoe racing’s biggest event, the 2012 SP Vanagi Classic gets underway this Saturday along the Ela Beach foreshore.
But there’s a good chance you may get a glimpse of them on the winners podium.
The mother and daughter combination is something special in this male dominated sport – they’re not here to look pretty or merely make up the numbers.
The duo are going after the big prize money on offer by sponsors SP Brewery.
“To be honest, had a little interest in the sport from just watching races on weekends and looking after our family team but when my husband gave me a canoe it changed my life and the way I look at the sport now.
“I thank my husband for that,” Marlene Wally said.
“The best thing about our position is that we have nothing to lose against the more seasoned campaigners out there on the water. We’ll just give it our best shot.”
The mother and daughter follow and respect pre-race traditions as all canoe owners do – the only difference is that they add a woman’s touch to the sport.
“I treat my canoe ‘Somanada’ as if it was my baby,” Marlene said.
The pair are showing no signs of nervouseness in this male oriented domain.
Mairi turns heads just from her sheer passion to take things to the next level.
This was evident last Saturday when Mairi waded out to demonstrate her prowess on the water during a high speed training run, saddling up comfortably for crew duty on the outrigger of her canoe ‘Hanua Mero’.
“It’s great fun and exciting even though I won’t be on board on race day.
“I have every confidence in my skipper and crew,” Mairi said.
Even with several close top-three finish against some of the big guns of the sport, Mairi is not getting ahead of herself, knowing full well that with a lucrative prize money purse comes stiffer competition.

“The 2012 SP Vanagi Classic is huge and it will bring out the best in all canoe teams taking part. Our family knows that and like everyone else we are giving ourselves the best preparation to make it a good challenge this Saturday,” she said.