Four West Auckland māmā are taking kaupapa Māori into a global fitness arena, carrying te reo, whānau and values grounded from their base at Hoani Waititi Marae into a space they’ve never competed in before.
Te Raina Pihama, Anameka Paenga, Jani Hohua-Hayward and Kiriana Maxwell make up the team CITY SLICKERS, a cheeky nod to their urban identity. The group began training 10 weeks ago after some friendly encouragement from Pihama.
“Taku mātaki i [taku hoa], i reira au ka whakaaro - mēnā ka taea e ia ka taea e au, kua kite atu i ngā hoa, ko rātau kē i whakatauira mai i tēnei huarahi me tāku, āe, kite atu, he wero anō tēnei.”
HYROX is a global fitness racing competition. Competitors complete a total of eight kilometres of running, broken into eight 1km laps, each followed by a functional workout station.
The workouts include ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls. This can be done individually, in pairs or in teams of four.
He waewae tapu ki te atamira HYROX
For Anameka Paenga, stepping into this environment has come with nerves, but also excitement.
“He tauhou ahau, he tauhou mātau ki tēnei momo whakataetae. Engari kei te rongo i te wairua o te wahi nei - e rite ana.”
The māmā say their motivation mirrors the way they encourage their own tamariki to participate in sport and new experiences.
“Kua tino waimarie mātau i te hapori o Hoani Waititi Marae. Ko ngā tamariki, ka kuhu rātau ki ngā mahi hākinakina katoa, ko mātau ngā mama e pana ana i a rātau kia kuhu ki ngā mahi katoa,” Paenga says.
“Kua tae ki te HYROX ki te whakatinana i ngā kupu.”
Alongside physical wellbeing, the wellbeing of te reo Māori remains central to the team.
“Ahakoa haere mātau ki hea, katoa ngā māmā he korero Māori, a mātau tamariki he korero Māori, kei konei hoki te whānau ki te tautoko,” she adds.
“Ko te reo Māori te toa o HYROX pea i tēnei tau.”
Paenga, a familiar face on the kapa haka stage, says her training has strengthened her kapa haka performance, just as kapa haka has helped build her fitness.
“Ka tōia ērā āhuatanga ki roto i te kapa haka.”
Kia tipu mātoro te kaupapa HYROX i Aotearoa
This year marks only the second HYROX competition held in Aotearoa. With almost 11,000 people taking part in the Auckland event, participation numbers have nearly doubled since last year.
HYROX ambassador Abbas Nazari says the growth reflects increasing interest in hauora and inclusive competition.
“11,000 racers, last year was two days, this year’s four days. So, you can really see just in a year, the demand is there,” he explains.
“That’s pretty awesome to see people taking their hauora seriously. A strong representation from Māori and Pasifika here.”
Nazari also highlights the adaptive category as a standout feature.
“That’s a really really awesome division to just watch, you know, people of all kind of strength and levels and abilities getting involved.”
Te whainga matua
Mō ēnei māmā nō Tāmaki Makaurau ki te uru, kaore tēnei kaupapa i te kaupapa hauora noa, engari he whakatinanatanga i ngā uara o ō rātau whānau, ā, ka tukuna hoki ki ngā tamariki. Ko te whainga hoki kia hora haere te ao Māori ki ngā kaupapa katoa.
“He kaupapa whakakotahi i a mātau, he kaupapa whakapiki wairua, he kaupapa whakapakari tinana. Katoa ērā āhuatanga, he koha hoki ki a mātau whānau,” Paenga says,
“Ki te ora te hinengaro, te tinana, te wairua hoki, ka ora te whānau.”
