I was lucky enough to catch up with Beau and Katie the night before they shot off to Northern Ireland to chat with them about their upcoming trip as they representative NZ in the junior paddle blacks and junior paddle ferns. Here’s what they had to say 

What age were you when you started playing?  Beau was 9. Katie was year 6 (9 aswell) 

What made you want to play canoe polo?  

Beau – Nicole Hinde made me when I was at parkvale. And I wasn’t very good at rugby so why not (shouut out Nicole).  

Katie – It was a new sport at Greenmeadows so I thought it would be really cool and it was the “cool” thing to do.  

What’s your position and why do you like it? 

Beau – I'm a back. I love scoring goals so it’s a great place to be.  

Katie – I play side guard on defence. It’s great being able to keep people outside, well trying to keep them outside, and getting to move the.  

What are you mostly looking forward to about going away and what are you hoping to learn?  

Beau – I'm really looking forward to playing against the european teams. I would like to look try and take on the little sneaky tricks they do and learn the european ‘dark arts’ of canoe polo. 

Katie – Can’t wait to play some international polo and secretly to see my family from over there! And just learning how they play over there and the interesting plays they might have that we can bring home.  

Who has been your biggest influence in the sport?  

Beau – AJ. He coached me since I was 9 years old and taught me heaps of what I know.  

Katie – You Kelly, you pushed me to try for A grade and helped me in my first year just to survive, and Hayley Cameron as my first NZ coach, she taught me so much.  

And finally is there anything else you would like to say or anyone you would like to thank?  

Beau – Thanks Ollie, Phil and Meryn. And thanks heaps to my parents (“hopefully that keeps him in the good books”). 

Katie – Thanks Kate and Shaz. Can’t contain how much I’ve learnt from Kate and to Shaz for looking after us and cooking amazing food! 

And from them both they would like to say a huge thanks to the HB community, committee and their friends and family for the support they have shown to get them over to Northern Ireland and Denmark! 

Hawkes Bay Canoe Polo and the wider community wish you both all the very best in your travels and games and hope it's everything you are wanting! What an amazing opportunity for you both. We also want to acknowledge one of our club coaches Rebecca Davis and previous club members Sophia Coram O'Kane and Khan Smith who are also representing our NZ teams. We hope you all have an amazing experience and we are immensely proud of your achievements. Play hard and am sure you will come back having learnt a lot! Good luck NZ. 

Article added: Sunday 20 July 2025