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Thursday, January 20, 2000
Building a sport
and a tradition
The OIA moves a step closer
By Linda Aragon
to sanctioning canoe paddling
in high school athletics
Special to the Star-BulletinAlthough the season did not start out as planned, outrigger canoe paddling teams may finally have a permanent home in Oahu public high schools.
With the clock running on an already short season, last weekend's Oahu Interscholastic Association kickoff regatta was canceled due to contaminated water in Keehi Lagoon. The OIA and sponsoring Na Opio Canoe Racing Association now have just five weeks of competition beginning with this Saturday's races at noon.
Considering the long wait to get Hawaii's "state sport'' into the public schools, the delay is manini.
After many years of prodding, the wait may be over. The OIA is in the final year of a two-year project aimed at building the support needed to get the sport sanctioned.For paddler and canoe builder Sam "Steamboat" Mokuahi, these past two years have been the realization of more than two decades of work.
"I wanted to share everything so we could get this program going," he said. "That was my dream. I know what it did for me and I knew what it could do for other kids."
As a kid, Mokuahi found that canoe paddling kept him out of trouble.
With the help of teachers -- master wood craftsman Wright Bowman, and woodcarver of the Hawai'iloa voyaging canoe, Wally Froiseth -- Mokuahi learned the art of canoe building.
"I was around the people that really helped me. So this is a payback."
He said of the past 20 years that he has joined efforts to offer canoe paddling to public high school students.
The push to establish paddling in the public schools happened in the 1970s at the same time the Interscholastic League of Honolulu was developing its program in the private schools. But while the ILH programs have thrived, paddling in the OIA did not survive.
Funding and concerns over liability kept Hawaii's top ocean sport out of the schools, said Terri Anderson, president of the advisory board of Na Opio.Now under the pilot program, Na Opio helps the OIA by allowing the schools to hold their races after the Na Opio races. The OIA saves money by not having to pay for race officials and other expenses of hosting a regatta.
From the turnout of interested students, it looks like the project has accomplished its goal.
"The participation is growing," said Bill vonArnswaldt, athletic director at Kaiser.
This year, 19 of Oahu's 21 public high schools are participating. Anuenue, the Hawaiian language immersion school, became the newest team to join this year.
VonArnswaldt said students who may have been cut in the tryouts for highly competitive winter sports like softball and basketball, now have an alternative after school activity available for them.
"We are somewhat filling the void in there,'' he said, "and that is one of the things that we are happy about."
The next step is for a state high school championship.
"That is our vision,'' said Anderson.
But to do so, the sport must be sanctioned by three of the state's five leagues. Currently, only the ILH sanctions paddling.
"We're always looking at the possibility of adding more sports but costs and other resources are always a factor," said Keith Amemiya, Executive Director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. "Paddling is at the top of the list because it's a popular sport in Hawaii; there is large number of people now paddling, and it's unique to Hawaii."
The Maui Interscholastic League could be the third league to sanction the sport.
"My daughter is coaching in Maui,'' said Mokuahi. "It's catching on on the other islands. They're all getting involved.''
Funding is still one of the biggest obstacles for the OIA, but supporters of the sport are finding ways to cope. Corporate sponsors, like Tesoro Hawaii Corp., are helping to pay for the awards and materials to build canoes. Mokuahi is assisting the OIA by donating a canoe to every school.
Mokuahi has set up a workshop at Kaiser High School and teaches students from the Kaiser team how to build their own canoe. His students will, in turn, help the other schools build their canoes.
"We can almost put out three boats in one week,'' said Mokuahi, who also has his 23-year-old son, Micah, involved with the project. "It's easy when you get all the help."
After the season ends, Mokuahi said the other schools will be asked to come build their canoes. A Malia-class canoe costs about $2,000.
More important than the cost savings, vonArnswaldt said the student paddlers will have a connection to their canoe.
"We want them to learn a little of the history and tradition of canoe paddling," he said.
