THE SPRING CHALLENGE

Held in picturesque Cambridge alongside the mighty Waikato River, the venue for this year’s Spring Challenge made for a spectacular setting for the event.

- Vicki Knell

On Friday evening the teams from all over the North Island gathered at the Sir Don Rowlands Centre on the banks of Lake Karapiro for race briefing and a warm up challenge.

It is during this pre-race time that the atmosphere of nervous tension, friendly banter and connecting with other teams happens. One of the disciplines included this year was the paddling of 3 person inflatable self-bailing kayaks so an opportunity to have a little practise was able to be done on the Friday afternoon.

On Saturday with a race start of 12 pm for the 3 hour race teams the Mis-Adventure team were able to have a leisurely start to the day. We had found a very cute Air BnB farm cottage with extraordinary views out over the Waikato countryside to stay in for the weekend and fortunately for everyone the weather gods had put on a stunning day.

While support crew are not essential for this event we had support in the form of an injured team member – a ski injury put paid to my racing but did mean that I was able to take on the support crew role with gusto.