Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 8, 1 August 1997 — The sport of eanoe racing is alive and well in the islands [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The sport of eanoe racing is alive and well in the islands

by Uila Fotu vai Outrigger eanoe paddling is making its mark in i the world of sports, gaining in popularity locally and ' overseas. As early as 1920, the first two formal outrigger , eanoe clubs, the Outrigger Canoe Club of Hawai'i and Hui Nālu, were organized in the islands, according to Joan Malama, representative for O'ahu ( Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA). l Today, participation has increased to over 56 eanoe clubs with more than 8,000 paddlers statewide. i There's even talk of eanoe racing as an 01ympic 1 sport. Resolution HCR 239 HD1, titled Requesting 1 Recognition and Designation of Surfing and | Outrigger Canoe Racing as 01ympic Sports, was 1 introduced and adopted by the state legislature this past session. The resolution has received mixed feelings. While some support it, others, according to l Malama, "feel that eanoe racing will lose its cultural aspects if it becomes an 01ympic sport and that it is not in our best interest." Outrigger eanoe paddling is spreading like wildfire overseas. Renewed interest in the sport locally has sparked interest in many parts of the Pacific, including Tahiti, American and Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands and the Easter Islands. A web page devoted to eanoe racing details the sport's activity on these islands — http://www.ozemail.com.au/~kanu. Canoe racing has also made its way to California, Oregon and Washington and to countries such as Hong Kong, South Africa, Britain, France,

Italy, Hungary, Austria and Sweden, according to Steve West, author of the Kanu Culture website. Closer inspection of the sport's history will send you back about a century to the days of King David Kalākaua, the "Merrie Monarch." The sport was outlawed in the early

1820s, according to West, by an act of divine intervention with the arrival of the Boston missionaries. Kalākaua, West said, was a great lover of water sports. At the begirming of his reign in 1875, he instigated the rebirth of eanoe paddling, sailing races, surfing and Hawaiian song and dance. Little encouragement was needed and soon contemporary eanoe racing emerged. Outrigger eanoe racing is popular today for both young and old. At the regattas, you'll find many divisions ranging from Boys and Girls Divisions (ages 12-18) up to the Men's and Women's Golden division (ages 51 and up). According to Malama, there are six associations throughout the state that make up an "umbrella"

type of organization under the Hawai'i Canoe Racing Association (HCRA). The two largest ones are on O'ahu — OHCRA and Nā 'Ohana o nā Hui Wa'a (Hui Wa'a). The other members of HCRA are Moku o Hawai'i Canoe Racing Association on the Big Island, Maui County Canoe Association, Moloka'i Canoe Association and Kaua'i Garden Isle Canoe Association. There are also two associate members of HCRA - Nā 'opio Canoe Racing Association, made up of O'ahu Interscholastic Association

high school students, and Nā Wahine o ke Kai. This season, Lanikai Canoe Club and Outrigger Canoe Club of Hawai'i have dominated OHCRA. "Every club has at least one or two teams that have consistently been doing well this season," Malama said. "Lanikai and Outrigger, however, have been doing well throughout most of the divisions." For Hui Wa'a, Lōkahi and Koa Kai have ruled the AA division, according to June Leialoha, with Hui Wa'a. This is not unusual, Leialoha said, since both teams have held the lead for the past four or five years. In the A division, it's been a toss-up between Kāne'ohe, Windward Kai, Waikikī Beach Boys and Kalihi Kai. This season's best will face off in the state ehampionships this August in Hilo.

After winning a race, a crew is greeted by teammates on the shores ot Waikiki Beach.

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It's a fight to the finish for two Hui Wa'a crews who competed at a race in Waikiki.