The Paddle Blacks are New Zealand's national senior men's canoe polo team. The Paddle Blacks have competed at the World Championships (held in even years) since the inaugural event in 1994 (with the exception of 2000). In recent years they have shown continuous  improvement in their World rankings as follows: 19th 2002, 13th 2004, 12th 2006, 8th 2008, 5th 2010,13th 2012, 7th 2014, 5th 2016. The Paddle Blacks finished 5th at the 2018 World Championship in Canada.