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It's been a long time coming but finally the words "Paddles up!" will be for more than league pride.
The state holds its first
When and where
high school paddling
championship this weekendBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comFinally, the official state sport of Hawaii has an official state high school championship.
Tomorrow and Saturday, some 400 paddlers from 39 schools representing all five of the state's high school leagues converge on Keehi Lagoon. All six of the main Hawaiian Islands will be represented on the water for half-mile races that begin at noon tomorrow.
Championships in varsity boys, girls and mixed divisions will be decided. Only nine schools have qualified for all three, including Nanakuli.
The Golden Hawks have been practicing this week in perfect conditions off Nanakuli Beach Park. For Edie Van Gieson, who has been active in the Leeward paddling community for more than four decades, this weekend is a golden moment.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said Van Gieson. "It took a long time for the OIA to sanction the sport, but now, after just three years, we have a state championship.
"It's a really good sport for kids to be involved in. They stay out of trouble, they have to keep their grades up to participate ... we have definitely saved a lot of kids."
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Nanakuli Beach is home to three Oahu Interscholastic Association schools: Waipahu, Kapolei and Nanakuli. Only the Golden Hawks qualified for the state race, but paddlers from the other schools are practicing for two other events -- the Toots Minvielle Invitational at Keehi Lagoon on Saturday afternoon and the World Sprint Championships in Bora Bora next month.Until this year, the Minvielle Invitational was the unofficial state championship, drawing paddlers from all islands.
"It's about time that they put something like this together," said Van Gieson's youngest son, Ryan, who is coaching the Leeward crews. "It's nice that the kids can officially represent their schools in the state sport, especially the kids from down this side.
"It's something they enjoy doing, coming down to the beach and paddling. It's something they can benefit from in many ways. I wish it had happened when I was in school."
Van Gieson paddled for Damien in the late 1980s. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu has sanctioned the sport for some 20 years, but the OIA and neighbor islands hesitated until recently.
Keeping the sport alive in the Oahu public schools was Na Opio, which operated under the aegis of the Police Activities League. It began with three schools in 1976, grew, branched out to include kayaks, then reorganized in 1992 under the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association umbrella.
Two weekends ago, Na Opio held its championships with 12 clubs in 20 races. Paddlers can compete in Na Opio and the OIA or ILH concurrently.
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Such is the case of Nanakuli junior varsity steersman Leona Matthewson-Wright, who steered Leeward Kai's JV to a second-place finish in the Na Opio championships. Matthewson-Wright, a sophomore, will be competing in the Minvielle Invitational on Saturday in solo outrigger (0-1) and, if pulled up, she could be in Nanakuli's varsity canoe."Having a state championship is good because now we get to see how the other islands race," said Matthewson-Wright. "It's good to challenge someone else instead of the same people."
Matthewson-Wright will also get new challenges next month as part of the 16-person Leeward contingent going to Bora Bora.
"It will be a very different experience for these kids," said Ryan Van Gieson, who is also making the trip. "They're going to be exposed to other cultures who paddle. They'll see that the sport is worldwide, not just here."
Nanakuli is optimistic about its chances this week.
"They did well during the regular (OIA) season, they're strong," said Edie Van Gieson.
The OIA should have the advantage at Keehi Lagoon. Its paddlers competed on the regatta-style course all season, while the ILH races were open ocean races held off Magic Island.
The state course is a half-mile race, with a turn at the quarter-mile flag.
"We've been doing well and I think we can take 'em," said Richard Barrett, Nanakuli's varsity boys steersman. "We're practicing hard and we've got to have stamina at the end."
The same can be said for the supporters of the sport who have worked for years to make this week happen.
"It's a dream come true," said Mike Tongg, HCRA president. "It's been exciting to be able to help organize this on a statewide level. The next thing is to go to the university level, the natural step for the kids here. It makes fantastic sense.
"There were a lot of kids who turned out, some schools had over 60, and there weren't enough spots for all of them to participate. Next year, we're thinking about adding a double-hull race and maybe have a JV state championship. It's all about giving more cultural and competitive opportunities."
Keith Amemiya, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director, said he was pleased as well.
"Over 2,000 students signed up in this first year it was offered in the public high schools statewide," said Amemiya. "It's great that we are able to have a state tournament so quickly after the sport was sanctioned."
On Oahu, a lot of the credit goes to Tongg, Bill Titsworth, June Leialoha, Joan Malama, Mary Serrao and Edie Van Gieson.
"I started paddling back in 1959 with the Maili Sons," said Van Gieson, a 1935 graduate of Kamehameha School for Girls. "It's nice to see this happen for the kids."
Where: Keehi Lagoon. HCRA/HHSAA
State Paddling Championship
What: Titles in varsity boys, girls and mixed.
When: Tomorrow -- Opening ceremonies, 11:45 a.m. Preliminary heats, noon. Quarterfinals and semifinals to follow. Saturday -- Opening ceremonies, 8 a.m.; Finals, 8:30 a.m. All races, half-mile.
Admission: Free.
Parking: Free.
League champions
Boys: Mililani, OIA; Mid-Pacific, ILH; Parker, BIIF; Lahainaluna, MIL; Kauai, KIF.
Girls: Castle, OIA; Kamehameha, ILH; Kealakehe, BIIF; King Kekaulike, MIL; Kapaa, KIF.
Mixed: Castle, OIA; Pahoa, BIIF; King Kekaulike, MIL; Kauai, KIF (no ILH representative).
