TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe

May 21, 22, 23 2015 in TahiTiDeparture from Mahina (Pointe Vénus) - island TourVia the west coast – arrival in Mahina (Pointe Vénus)

TYPe OF eVeNTV6 OuTrigger CanOe raCe

(Va’a)

BrieF DesCriPTiON OF The eVeNT The exceptional race provides the opportunity to discover a sport that is part of the Tahitian culture and history. The Tahiti nui Va’a is also a unique opportunity to discover Tahiti and her islands wit-hin the enthusiastic and warm atmosphere of a big sporting competition.

This Polynesian V6 «va’a ono» race takes place every two years, attracting the discipline’s best athletes to row around the island of Tahiti. The competition is divided into three heats for a course totaling 166km/103mi. it takes 700 participating paddlers three days of competition to complete the course and the best teams will be recognized in five different categories (Senior, Corporate, Veteran, Women and Junior).

among all the competitions on the yearly calendar, Tahiti Nui Va’a is one of the most popular as it is the longest of all the Va’a competitions. To make the race event more challenging, teams are allowed to make a changes.

Organized by the athletic club eDT Va’a in partnership with the Tahitian Va’a Federation

10th edition / 20 years

Va’a iN TahiTi aND

her islaNDsVa’a is the Tahitian word for outrigger canoe, a type of craft visible throughout all the islands in French Polynesia.

in Pre-european traditional civilization, the va’a was at the heart of daily life of the island communities as a means of trans-port, communication and different types of fishing.

With globalization, these functions have gradually disappeared and been replaced by the “era of canoe races, ”Te hOera’a Va’a.

Va’a racing is divided into two types. The va’a hoe concerns a single paddler whe-reas, the most popular one, involves six paddlers. Due to their degree of difficulty, the required technique and their tactical skills, va’a races are much more than just a simple athletic event.

Va’a represents an authentic immersion into the culture and soul of a people.

sPOrTs PrOgraMTuesday May 19 2015 : uniforms han-dout to the clubs. 3pm - 5:30pm :- Presidents of va’a club’s convocation in the eDT Puurai cafeteria.- Shirts, caps and flags handouts to escort boats.

Wednesday May 20 2015 : Weigh-in held in Mahina Pointe Vénus.8am - 4:00 pm :- Pointe Vénus Beach: Mandatory weigh-in for canoes.- Final regsitration/license inspection.

- handout wristbands to participating teams (Senior - Veteran - Corporate) for the three stages.- nomination of captains and determination of escort boat captains.

4:00pm : general informational meeting with all the club presidents or team managers under the tent sets at Pointe Vénus beach in regards to the Mahina-Vairao route. infor-mational meeting with all the captains.

• The Tahitian Va’a Federation counts more than 5 000 licenced paddlers.• Tahitians are the world leaders in the discipline.

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 2015

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 2015

1sT heaT : Thursday, May 21 2015Mahina - VairaO (70 km/44 mi, approx 5 ½ hours long)

6am : Paddlers gather on the beach at Pointe Vénus, Mahina6:10am : Opening prayer to bless the TahiTi nui Va’a race 6:40am - 7:15am : Speech7:30am : Canoe line up on the starting line.

8:00am : departure of the first heat MahINa-VaIraOCourse : Depart from the west coast in direction to the VairaO quay. Pass VairaO to arrive at the VairaO quay.

1:00pm : arrival of the first canoes at the VaIraO quay. Officials and paddlers’s welcoming.

1:30pm - 2:30pm : no food service (water, energy drinks, power bars)2:30pm : Welcome speech from the Mayor of VairaO.3:00pm : 1st stage award ceremony. Distribution of t-shirts to winners.5:10pm : Organizers of Tahiti nui Va’a (COTNV) and Tahitian Va’a Federation (FTV) confirm the teams for the VairaO-TauTira stage of the race.informational meeting at the VairaO town hall

- 1st stage reporting.- instructions and recommendations for the VairaO-TauTira leg.

raCiNg sCheDule

iMPOrTaNT NOTeall participating teams must present their licenses during license ins-pection.License inspection will be finally closed at 4pm.- any paddlers in non-compliance with licensing will be disqualified from the race. - Last day to register is Monday May 4, 2015 in PIraE at the Fare hotu.- Clubs that register after this date, with the exception of international clubs, will be assessed a 5 000 XPF late fee.

TO reMeMBer• 30 000 paddlers practice regularly/191 clubs• Tahitian Va’a Federation has more than 5 000 licensed paddlers • Tahitians are the world leaders in this sport

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 20152ND heaT : Friday May 22, 2015

VairaO - TauTira (46 Km/29mi, approx 3 hours 35 mins)

7:00am : gathering of paddlers and officials.7:30am : Opening prayer to bless the VairaO-TauTira heat.7:45am : Line-up canoes on the starting line.

8:00am : departure of the 2nd heat VaIraO-TauTIra. Course : exit through VairaO pass. arrival at TauTira beach.

From 8:00am : Canoe weigh-in on TauTira Beach(Mixed, Women and Junior).TauTira team’s confirmation by the Organizers of Tahiti nui Va’a (COTnV) and Tahitian Va’a Federation (FTV).- Mahina (Women - Junior - Senior - Veteran - Corporate).Wristbands for the teams participating in the TauTira.- Mahina heat (Women - Junior- Mixed).

11:30am : anticpated arrival of the first canoes on TauTIra beach.Officials and paddlers’s welcoming.

11:30am-1:00pm : no food service (water, energy drinks and power bars)1:30pm : Welcome speech from the mayor of TauTira.2:00pm : 2nd stage award ceremony.5:10pm : Organizers from Tahiti nui Va’a and the Tahitian Va’a Federation confirm the teams for the TauTira-Mahina heat.

- instructions.- 3rd stage final recommendations.

3rD heaT seNiOrs / Vahine, Taurea, MiXeD :saturday May 23 2015TauTira - Mahina (50Km/31 mi, approx 4 hours)

6:30am : gathering of paddlers and officials.7:00am : Prayer to bless the TauTira-Mahina heat. 7:15am : Line-up canoes on the starting line (Women, Junior, Mixed).7:30am : Departure of the TauTira-Mahina heat (Women, Junior and Mixed).7:45am : Line up of canoes on the starting line (Senior).

8:00 : departure of the last heat TauTIra-MahINa (Senior).

12:00pm : Officials and paddlers’s welcoming.

12:00pm - 1:00pm : no food service (water, energy drinks, power bars)1:30pm : Official speeches2:00pm : 3rd stage award ceremony and t-shirts distribution.4:00pm : Overall rankings’s ceremony award.

Photo : Va’a news Tahiti

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 2015

COurse

Prizes senior Corporate Veteran Women Junior Islands Mixed1st prize 800 000 xpf 150 000 xpf 150 000 xpf 100 000 xpf 100 000 xpf 100 000 xpf 100 000 xpf

2nd prize 400 000 xpf 100 000 xpf 100 000 xpf 75 000 xpf 75 000 xpf 75 000 xpf 75 000 xpf3nd prize 200 000 xpf 50 000 xpf 50 000 xpf 50 000 xpf 50 000 xpf 50 000 xpf 50 000 xpfTOTaL Prizes 1 400 000 xpf 300 000 xpf 300 000 xpf 225 000 xpf 225 000 xpf 225 000 xpf 225 000 xpf

Surprise awards are in store during the overall rankings awards ceremony thanks to the support of the fishing sector of the eDT association.

aWarDs aND PriZesTahITI NuI Va’a is one of the most heavily awarded races of the season with a total of 2.900.000 XPF (24.302€/$30K) in prize money of which 800.000 XPF (6.704€/$8K) goes to the winning team in the Senior category.

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 2015 CONTaCT

M. Jean-Pierre BarFF(President of the organizing committee) jean-pierre.barff@edt.pf

www.tahitinuivaa.com

Facebook : Tahiti nui Va’a - Outrigger Canoe race

eVeNT rulesMore informations in regard of the regulations list are available at www.tahitinuivaa.com

hEaT - dIsTaNCE - dEParTurE

1/ Men’s CourseThe TahITI NuI Va’a has three heats for a total of 166km/103mi :

- MahINa - VaIraO70 km/44mi (with free changes)

- VaIraO - TauTIra46 km/29mi (with regulated changes)

- TauTIra - MahINa50 km/31mi (with free changes)

2/ Course for women, junior males and mixed teams

This race has one heat :- TauTIra - MahINa50 km/31mi with changes

regisTraTiONPre-registration is available onwww.tahitinuivaa.com

IMPOrTaNT : application deadline: april 27, 2015

registration Fees per team :- Men’s senior: 40,000 xpf- Veterans: 40,000 xpf- Corporate: 40,000 xpf- Women: 20,000 xpf- Juniors: 20,000 xpf- Mixed: 20,000 xpf

a mandatory deposit must be paid at the date of transmission of this document. That correspond to half the amount of your registration fee (in case of cancellation or non-confirmation of your participation by the Tahitian Va’a Federation (FTV), it will not reimbursed by the Tahiti nui Va’a or-ganisers (COTnV).Your application will not be considered final until the Tahitian Va’a Federation va-lidates your participation documents and final payment of registration fees that must be received by May 07 2015.

Late fee penalty of 5,000 xpf(except for international clubs).

TahiTi Nui Vaa PaCKagesPackages are available.

For more informations, please contact :edouard TeMariietemarii@polynesievoyages.pf

eVeNT sOuVeNir PhOTOs

TahiTi Nui Va’aOuTrigger CaNOe raCe10th edition / 20 years May 21, 22, 23 2015