What:             Junior U19’s 10km Open Ocean Race
When:            8am Registration with 9am Race Start
Where:          Avarua Wharf

Junior U19’s Men and Women will race together.

Please note that the race start times for the U19 races may change depending on the schedule of exams which is yet to be released.

What:             Junior U14’s 4km and U16’s 6km Lagoon Race
When:            1pm Registration with 2pm Race Start
Where:          Muri Beach in front of Sails Restaurant

After the unofficial junior races of 2006 when our local juniors welcomed the development squad from the Sunshine Coast, the first official U19 event was held last year. We had a great turn out, with top crews from New Zealand battling it out with the Australians from Sunshine Coast and the two local clubs.

The U19 races proved to be a highlight of the week for many.  To spice up the junior event, the accumulative time was taken from both the 10km and 15km races to decide an overall winner for both the U19 men and women’s U19 men’s division. 
An impressive battle took place between local U19 women’s crew Te Tupu o Te Manava and Sunshine Coast. They each took out one of the open ocean races and the overall title was won by Sunshine Coast by FOUR seconds – over 25km that made for some incredibly exciting racing!

In the sprints, the NZ crew Nga Hoe Horo were outstanding and their time was competitive with many of the open and masters mens in the 500m sprint. 

After the success of the U19 events in 2007, once again Pacific Resort on Muri Beach is proud to support the in Junior Vaka Eiva and will be providing meals after both the U19 races.

For the first time, 2008 will see junior races in the divisions of U14’s and U16’s and their races will be held in the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday at Muri Beach. For safety reasons, they will race in the lagoon and our hope is that they return as U19’s to race Open Ocean in future events. 
  
With Top Hawaiian paddler Manny Kulukulkalani on hand to give medals out to the juniors last year, Vaka Eiva is a unique event that allows the junior paddlers to watch and mingle with some of the best paddlers in the world. It looks like the future of O’e Vaka is in safe hands and we want to see these juniors back in open crews for many years to come.

After supporting the juniors, it’s the perfect day to enjoy some of the wonderful sights of Raro before the fun day of Sprints at Muri Beach on Wednesday. Try snorkeling at Fruits of Rarotonga or head off on one of the great tours available on the island.

What:             Trader Jack’s Boiler Swim (approx 750m)
When:            5pm
Who:              Everyone here for Vaka Eiva – paddlers and supporters!
Where:          The beach in front of Trader Jacks.
                        Gold Coin donation to local charity.

Swim out from the beach, around The Boiler and get back to the beach as fast as you can! Prizes given to top place getters and spot prizes to best dressed, best effort and/or best excuse……!! Swan dives off the top of the Boiler are judged separately! The surf lifesavers from Australia cleaned up in 2007 with the Le Marseny family from Mooloolaba showing us how it’s done!

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