Working the Tower, Past, Present Future

Mar 11, 2008

So who remembers the old days? <br> A little bit of history from the Sprint Nationals...

It's been 5 years now since I started helping out at Nationals, so I thought I would share some of my experiences over the years, and record some of the history of the event.

In 2002 I heard a few of our club members talking about sprint nationals, races were always running late or being canceled, and the computer system was always breaking down.

Since I know a little bit about computers, I sent Maggie an email offering some help with the software.

Boy, was I in for a surprise, I got a little more then I bargained for. I had swapped my 9-5 job for a 7am to 3am job (yep 20 hour days)

3am was the standard knock-off time for those in the tower. It gave us just enough time to; get the results finished, investigate all the protests, update the lane draw for the next day, and if we were lucky, even a couple of hours sleep which is why for several years I ended up sleeping in the tower

The computers had to be restarted at least 5 times a day, just to keep things going.

We only had one printer, so every time we printed results, a runner would take it from the top floor down to the results board. By lunchtime the runners had all run-away and we were left to run to the results board ourselves.

Maggie didn't like the stairs, so she got a long bit of string and a bulldog clip, and lowered the results out the window.

I am not quite sure how many calories I burned, but I got to know the tower stairs intimately over the course of the week. The number of tower climbs per day became the new measure of how successful the event was running.

So what did we learn?

• It is physically impossible to run 422 races over 5 days.
• No matter how many volunteers we had or how fast we worked, we would always run behind schedule.
• Verdict, the Sprint Nationals was a victim of its own success.

In 2004 we did something about it.
The 1st W1 Sprint Nationals were held at Orakei basin. By separating the W1's we removed 106 races from the schedule. This is also the year we introduced Online Entries, Photo Finish, and got a results printer downstairs...

2004 was an improvement, but it was still a lot of hard work, and suffered many delays and computer problems.

A memorable quote from announcer, John Herbert
"it wasn't too bad this year, I remember one year when we had to line our cars up along the bank and turn the headlights on so we could see the final."

2005 rolled around
Due to a lot of feedback from clubs, the W1's were merged back into the Karapiro event. NKOA had to let the paddlers know that something was going to be done to fix the Sprint Nationals.

This is when the biggest decision was made, to eliminate the mixed divisions.
I see this decision as the turning point in the Nationals, it was a hard decision, there were a lot of people against the change, but it had to be done... and best of all .... It worked!

295 races over 5 days. We even managed to slip a lunch break into the schedule (which was unheard of). Three years of hard work paid off, with one of the smoothest running nationals ever.

2006 The last practice run before the World Sprints
So many improvements were being made in every aspect of the event, each section was fine-tuning of all the processes in anticipation for the World Sprints at Karapiro.

The 2006 Nationals gave the pit-crew a chance to prove that 2005 wasn't a fluke.

Just a few of the things that have changed...

• Maori TV televised broadcasts
• Wireless video camera at start line
• Handheld PDAs at boat loading and marshalling
• Multiple video cameras and DVD recorders for judging
• Houseboat for Start line
• ID Card printer
• Barcode scanners
• High Speed Internet connection
• 12 networked laptops
• Live Internet TV
• Dedicated security team
• Event manager

Aotearoa 2006 - IVF Va'a World Sprint Champs
Bring it on… everything that could go wrong did go wrong, video cameras not working, computer issues, Photo Finish camera problems, broken lane ropes, strong winds....

Without the 3 years of preparation we would have struggled to get through all the races, instead we ran a professional world-class event.

However, running two large-scale regattas within 2 months of each other left everyone feeling a little bit worn out. (Well that is how I felt, anyway).

2007 we have it down packed now.
We are now capable of running a pretty slick event, and repeating it. I am sure there are a lot of sports that are envious of what we have achieved and at the level of competition we are able to offer our paddlers.

Present & Future
Just because it works now, we can't rest on our laurels. If we want Waka Ama to be one of the predominant sports in New Zealand, we can't afford to stop moving forward, we need to continually improve and innovate each year, even if they are only small steps in the right direction.

One of the biggest challenges will be to manage growth; with the increases we are seeing in the junior divisions we will soon outgrow the current race schedule.

Reflection
After experiencing the 2003 event, I am surprised that a lot of the volunteers stuck it out and are still helping today. There is a dedicated bunch of people behind this event, and they have a lot of determination and willpower. Over the years, there have been a lot of people who have contributed to the success of the Sprint Nationals, far too many for me to name here.

It actually feels quite strange at nationals now, several of the runners I made redundant with my network cables & computers are now old enough to operate them…

So anyway, if you are looking for something to do next January, there is always room for one more, the 20 hour days are long gone, you get well looked after...

On a personal note, for me with kids and family, the last couple of years have been a bit of a blur; I have almost reached my goal, which is to make myself redundant. I just have a few more responsibilities to palm off onto unsuspecting people.

Nationals and Worlds have been a bit of a wild ride, but now for me the challenge is gone, and the people are in place to keep it running fine, so its time to move on to something else...

Alex

Reader Comments

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1. Kia ora Alex,
   You have been an inspiration with the humble beginnings that Waka Ama Sprints started on a national level. Now there is no stopping the national committee continuing with a good foundation that you help create. You have been great in replying to the many request with the website and been very paitent in not being overwhelmed with our lack of knowledge with modern technology. I know that you have also been supported by the likes of Maggie and Cece, with the many workers that work behind the scenes doing the long hours.And we think we are doing it hard paddling and looking after the juniors when yous are there till 3am in the morning only to have to get up 6am to do it all again!!!! Your whanau must be a tower of strength for you and i hope that the support continues to be there for you and the mahi that you do.
   
   Kia kaha Alex mo te mahi nunui me to maumahara o the haerenga o waka ama
   Nga Kaitiaki Waka - 18-Mar-2008
2. I wish i had found this sport many year's ago,coming together for a week in January is the highlight of my calender year,catching up with all the other volunteers and paddlers is like catching up with whanau.Having also seen some changes along the way,regarding the sprint nationals itself,i have to compliment not only yourself Alex,but also the amazing volunteers that come together to make this event happen,as for the racing itself,as the man himself John Herbert would say "anything can happen",and besides apart from being on a waka racing,being up in the tower is the 2nd best seat in the House,counting down until the secondary schools nationals start at Lake Karapiro..see you all there..!.
   Steven Harris - 13-Mar-2008
3. What an amazing person you are.To have you day and night at our beck and call and do whatever we ask of you. Thank you so much for being there for the clubs. I certainly learnt a lot from you my friend and I still have a long way to go. To have you 24/7 you have an amazing partner in Becks to put up with all of us. Thank you Becks for allowing us into your family and all the disruptions we have caused, but I think without you being there we wouldn't be this far ahead in the sport of waka ama, getting it out to everybody via the web site and emails, phone calls etc
   
   All the support behind the scenes everybody ka mau te wehi
   forever grateful - 13-Mar-2008
4. A big Kia ora to you all.
   As a Kiwi paddler living overseas, it was awsome to follow the races via internet, blow by blow.
   
   NZ worlds, set the standards to measure against.
   You certainly did us all proud.
   Thank you for all those years of hard yaka.... and many more to come:-)
   we all have fond memories of Nationals, world sprints and paddling in general.
   Much appreciated.
   Thank you.
   Daniel La'ulu - 12-Mar-2008
5. Kia ora and dobro dosli (croatian)
   vesna here, nz paddler and proud to be. Experienced waka ama 2003, loved it & got hooked.
   Its the whanau, friends, supporters and community working together to make it happen! And you did it, you are amazing! Thank you! You are like angels working behind the scenes making the event unstopable and memorable.
   My goal is to see waka ama become bigger than rugby before the world cup comes here in 2011 and we are well on the way.
   Thank you, puno ljbavi vesna aroha :O)
   vesna aroha radonich - 12-Mar-2008
6. Its been Great working with all these years.You always made life easy for us. There will always be a Coke and lollies up the Top of the Tower for you. And for those of you reading these messages it was Alex that gave me the name Oparoozy when I started send photos and video clips to the Waka ama web site
   Oparoozy - 11-Mar-2008
7. Ive been competing for the past ten years at the nationals and I have to say what you guys have done for this sport over the last few years is fantastic.
   The sport of waka ama has finally come of age ,long may it last.
   I feel proud of being part of this growing sport as do all my fellow South Island paddlers that have competed over the years.
   You guys are the backbone of this sport and you all deserve medals .
   See you all next year.
   Dave Haughin (Hoff) Te Awahaku...team Dogfish - 11-Mar-2008
8. awesome job over the years alex...you are the man...now you and becks might even be able to find time to have a paddle...
   riana & john... - 11-Mar-2008
9. As long as Alex had lollies, he would work all day long !! :-) We could always tell when it was Alex comin down those stairs, that's for sure !!
   
   It has been a pleasure to work alongside you and the rides may have been wild, but none of us in that Tower will ever forget them!
   Cheers!
   Hellz and the gang at the bottom of the Tower - 11-Mar-2008
10. Once again Alex, you've done an amazing job. And hope your apprentices are up to the challenge.
    Anon Paddler - 11-Mar-2008
11. Kiora Alex, youve done an awesomre job! I know many of my emails were answered in the middle of the night, which meant you were online doing waka stuff in the middle of the night! He mihi atu ki a koe me to whanau hoki mo to mahi katoa-the fruits of your labours have been awesome, Ka rawe!
    Bronnie Wikaira - 11-Mar-2008
12. I would like to congratulate all the committees, volunteers etc over the years for making it the event that it is. As Alex said it has become a very well run, professional regatta. That I feel all involved can be very proud of.
    I hope that the future is left in good hands and that we can adapt to the growth of our sport. Well done Alex for bringing it up to the level it is.
    Anon Paddler - 11-Mar-2008

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