Northern Canoe Polo

News
Northern
My apologies for the lack of update of this site over 2003. The site has undergone reconstruction. Some pages have yet to be put into the new format. Please email us if you experience any difficulties. Feedback is apprecaited!
1 Mar	Affiliation to the NCPA is due by March 1st. Affiliation to the NCPA supports this website, and also affiliates you to the New Zealand Canoe Polo Association. Download the Player affiiliation form, the Club Levy Information and the Club list form and send to the Executive Director, Paul Rountree .
1 Feb	Membership forms for Pakuranga Canoe Club are available here. Send to Vashti Tymkin ASAP.
1 Jan	The NCPA are grateful to Steve Evens for donating a trailer for the transportation of kayaks and equipment. This will assist us to bring the equipment to your location, and support players and clubs who do not yet have access to canoe polo gear. Thank you Steve!
National
30 Jan	Entry to the National League 2004 was due on January 30th. Download guidelines and visit the NZCPA website.

Events
National League 2004
1 Feb	Pakuranga Canoe Club invites players to be part of the Open and Women's Squads. Contact Cameron Butler if you are a men's/open grade player, or Vashti Tymkin if you are a women's player and wish to be involved in this year's competition. Games will be played from March 27th until May 30th, with a single final tournament in Christchurch on Queen's Birthday Weekend, June 5th- 7th.
Art Deco Competition, 20-21 February, Napier
	Contact Phil Parry for further details and entry forms. Wine trails optional, highly recommended as alternate activity for support crew.

Results
Atahua Competition, 7-8 February, Feilding
PCC team, Kaos, started their 2004 preseason games at the Atahua Competition in Feilding this February. After suffering a convincing defeat against the Palmerston north Vikings, the team improved their conduct under pressure and came second in their pool. As Christchurch team Justice defeated the Vikings in a semifinal playoff, Kaos once again faced the Vikings, and while improving on their performance compared to the first game of the tournament, they were unable to rise to the level required to earn victory. The final results saw Kaos third, with Vikings winning the Atahua Stake and Justice earning second in a hard fought comeback in the final. In Women's grade, the Christchurch Dominatrix team dominated the opposition to remain undefeated in the tournament, even while simulateneously competing in the Open Grade against the top men's teams. Dominatrix contains many current members of the New Zealand women's squad, who performed admirably with a high level of skill and fitness, a good degree of communication and an ability to apply extreme pressure on the ball. Dominatrix receieved a somewhat incomplete trophy but are assured they will see a stronger opposition in the coming years, as coordinator James Mitchell insists the Women's grade will further develop. On a social note, James failed to repeat the previous year's thumb breaking stunt, much to the relief of the New Zealand squad, his team mates and his fiance. Unfortunately, Masterton team Marauders provided plenty of entertainment with Hayden Jacobs convincingly demolishing his shoulder in a Prijon paddle javelin throw on Saturday night. The Marauders had already lost a player to an accidentally debilitating paddle hack during the day, and were not in any position to field a complete team on Sunday morning. Contrary to polpular belief, this tournament was far from merely a social event, and while there was a bar available at the venue, this tournament is the closest I have seen to the level of play and organisation that is common in European competitions. Teams who boycotted the tournament in protest at the availablity of alcohol have done a disservice to their players and the development of canoe polo in New Zealand. This format of competition is tremendously popular and successful overseas. Hats off to the Vikings and Valkyries for their organisation and commitment to this event, and a huge thank you to the Dalziells for lending the dam and space on Atahua farm.
Northern Xmas Comp, Dec 13 2003
	Auckland Canoe Club Team "Top Secret" keep a close eye on the score... Nine teams competed at Massey Park Pools in Papakura, Auckland on Saturday 13th December. The sun beat down on spectators and players alike, with most participants as red as the average Santa Suit by the end of the day. Pakuranga Canoe Club took out the lead, with Top Secret coming a close second and Kaimai 2 managing third place. Teams from Tauranga, North Shore and Central Auckland took advantage of the excellent facilities at this new location. Download full results ...
Inter-Regional Championships Sep 13,14 2003
Northern came third overall at the Inter-Regional Championships with only 20 points compared to Central Region, who gained 66 points to lift the trophy. Northern lacked teams in the Youth and Veterans categories, but came second in both the Senior Women's and Junior Men's grades. Northern Men came fourth out of four teams in spite of some amazing games including an upset against the heavily stacked Central men's team. Our Junior Women were placed third and gained valuable experience.

National League , 2003
The Divas, Pakuranga Canoe Club, won the Women's Home and Away series and continued their success in the tournament fixtures. Defending champions, the Wellington Sirens, were never content with second place and battled steadily in a hard fought final in Christchurch. WIth less than a minute to go and one point needed to draw the match for extra time, the Divas won possession of the ball and shut the Sirens out of the championship title. Kaos, Pakuranga Canoe Club, came fifth in the 2003 National League. With no coach and limited training opportunities, Kaos found their defensive flaws exploited and found their performance inconsistent over the season. Though disappointed with the result, the team hopes to improve on this placing in 2004.
Features
Player Tip
Paddle Skills	Paddle skills are useful for speedy recovery of the ball when it is not within arms reach. To improve your paddle skills, spend some time getting used to your paddle and the ball. Practise picking up the ball from both directions, on both sides. You should be able to have the blade in front of the ball or behind it and still retrieve it. Bounce the ball on your blade. When you are comfortable with this, try throwing the ball straight up, following it with your paddle. To catch it, allow the blade to come downwith the ball when it hits the blade. This "give" when catching the ball means it has more chance of staying on your blade than if it slaps onto the paddle and the blade stays still. When you have mastered juggling the ball on one blade, practise throwing the b all from one blade to the other. You might want to try this by throwing the ball up at the front of the boat and then switching blades. The next step is to throw the ball over your head, from one side of your body to the other. These drills will improve your control of the ball so that when you attempt paddle dribbling, you will have a feel for the sweet spot on your paddle, where the ball can be easily thrown and caught.
Rules Focus
Hand Tackle	You may tackle an opponent with your hand under the following conditions: 1. They must be in possession of the ball. Possession means they are closest to the ball within arms reach, or that they have the ball in hand. It does not include receiving a pass. 2. Push with an open hand. 2. Push only on the side or upper arm, including the shoulder or shoulder blade 3. The tackle must not cause their head or body to come into contact with the side of the pool. NOTE: In ICF rules, it is at the referee's discretion to determine that a hand tackle is dangerous and penalise it accordingly. Pushing onto the side of the pool is not specifically mentioned as dangerous. Some people believe that tackling onto a kayak is dangerous. In NZ rules, this is only dangerous if it causes contact with the impact zone (front bumper) of a kayak.