• * Sani Squad members front and rear: Left to right, Ngawai, Siobhan and Te Ārita wear QR codes on the front and carry hand sanitiser on their backs.

Combatting the potential spread of COVID-19 has been front and centre at this week’s Te Wānanga o Aotearoa National Waka Ama Sprint Championships at Karāpiro.

A key feature of the anti-COVID arsenal has been a Government-sponsored “Sani Squad”.

The team of Ngawai, Siobhan and Te Ārita has QR codes for the event on the front of their uniforms, a tank full of hand sanitiser on their backs and a dispensing gun ready for action.

Siobhan says the paddlers have been engaging with them really well: “The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Waka Ama NZ chief executive Lara Collins says adhering to COVID-19 tikanga has made the regatta possible.

All competitors and supporters have to use the COVID-19 tracer app to sign in each day and everyone’s encouraged to adhere to the Alert Level 1 protocols.