The domestic paddle sport calendar is taking shape, with Canoe Racing NZ confirming major event dates across the 2026/27 season covering canoe sprint, ocean ski, and marathon disciplines.
The season kicks off with the Paddler Winter Series running July through September 2026, a series of club-run events held across Aotearoa. Attention then turns to the Aims Games on 8 September at Mt Maunganui, before the 2026/27 Darcy Price NZ Ocean Ski Series gets underway, spanning September through to May with eight events around the country.
Ocean ski paddlers have an early highlight with the New Zealand Ocean Ski National Championships on 19 September at Tutukaka, held as part of the Tawhiti Rahi Challenge.
The 2026 New Zealand 10km Championships follow on 27 September at Lake Karapiro. Marathon competitors can circle 31 October and 1 November for the New Zealand Canoe Marathon Championships, hosted by Waitemata Canoe Club in Auckland.
The sprint programme centres on Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua, with two regattas bookending the summer. The first runs 12-13 December 2026 as a divisional event, and the second takes place 23-24 January 2027, both providing lead-in racing ahead of the season's main event.
That main event is the 2027 NZ and Oceania Canoe Sprint National Championships, scheduled for 5-7 March at Lake Karapiro. It doubles as the Oceania Championships and an ICF continental qualifier on the road to LA 2028.
Rounding out the season, the NZ Secondary Schools Kayaking National Championship is pencilled in for 10-11 April at Lake Pupuke in Auckland. That date still requires NZ School Sport approval and will be confirmed when the Secondary School Sport Event Calendar is released in October.
Some slight adjustments to the regular annual schedule reflect changes to other watersport event dates around the country.
