Hon Grant Robertson
Minister for Sport & Recreation

7 March 2018

World-class canoe training centre opens in South Auckland

Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson today officially opened the Canoe Slalom New Zealand High Performance Training Centre at the Vector Wero White Water Park in Manukau, Auckland.

“This Centre is a world-class training environment for New Zealand. It was constructed as an add-on conversion to the existing Vector Wero White Water Park, opened in 2016,” Grant Robertson says.

“As well as its high performance aspect, the facility allows people of all ages and abilities to ‘give it a go’, aiming to cater for 15,000 children each year through kayaking, rafting and water safety sessions. These are important and valuable skills for our young people to learn.”

The opening celebrations included a pōwhiri with Tainui representatives, before Rio Olympic silver medallist Luuka Jones and World Championship bronze medallist Mike Dawson did a run of the course. A school group then took part in a Tamariki Rafting course.

“The shared facilities approach will allow for a strong focus on activities for young people wishing to pursue white water sport through the Momentum Hub at Wero,” Grant Robertson says.

The project is a collaboration between Canoe Slalom New Zealand, Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand and Wero operator Second Nature Charitable Trust. In late January, the Park hosted the Canoe Slalom Oceania Championship. Sport NZ invested $250,000 in the fit-out to upgrade the course.

© Scoop Media