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The ratio of kid paddlers to adult staff within the Kumulokahi-Elks Canoe Club is nearly 20 to 1. The youth crews outnumber the adult crews 13 to three. Elks paddlers get education
By Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-BulletinA recipe for chaos? Yes, sometimes.
But the Elks Canoe members also say that their unique mixture lends to a family-oriented atmosphere, one that is conducive to learning about much more than paddling.
"The kids are great," said first-year head coach Gino Dayton, one of the five adults who work almost daily with approximately 90 Elks youth paddlers during the summer regatta season.
"They're willing to learn, learn something new and keep the sport going. ... They come down every day and they're happy about it."
A big part of the reason this large group is so happy is that the club provides them an opportunity not found among the other 15 Na Ohana O Na Hui Waa clubs. All are preparing for the association's first of nine regattas -- tomorrow's Adam Ahai Memorial at Keehi Lagoon.
Unlike most everyone else at other clubs, the Elks kids do not have to pay membership or race fees. They have these and other incidentals, like their equipment, provided for them, as part of the youth activities program sponsored by the local branch of the Elks Club Lodge 616, based in Waikiki.
"(The best thing) is that our food after the races is really good," said 16-year-old Anne Antonio, the stroker for the club's Girls 16-under crew. Antonio's crew is back this year gunning for another successful season after being the only one from the club to qualify for the state championships on Kauai last season.
"They really take care of us," she added.
Said Kimberly Swaney, 17, the steersman of last year's states crew: "It's all about the paddlers. Everything we do revolves around all the kids."
The canoe club started four years ago as a way for Elks 616 to contribute to the community by helping underprivileged youths. The Elks adult paddlers have to be members of the lodge, but the kids do not.
Since then, the program has opened up to any person under the age of 19, and the Elks' youth paddlers have grown in number from about 40 to nearly 100.
Besides sponsoring the paddlers through the regatta season, Elks 616 backs Kaimuki High School paddlers during the Oahu Interscholastic Association season, and a Na Opio police league team as well.
"It's just a way of getting kids to realize there are other ways of living other than gangs, drugs or whatever," said Ronald Mizuno of Elks 616. "Getting them active and keeping them out of trouble is our main concern. ... Every kid, we feel, is worthy of participating."
What: Opener to the Na Ohana O Na Hui Waa season, sponsored by Kamehameha Canoe Club ADAM AHAI MEMORIAL
Where: Keehi Lagoon
When: Tomorrow, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Who: 16 Hui Waa clubs will participate in 13 youth and 23 adult divisions. Oahu's other canoe paddling association, the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association, begins regatta competition on June 2.Youth representative Margaret Bush said that the kids not only learn paddling skills and history, but also things like how to take care of the ocean and drug awareness. Inclusiveness is a priority with the club; one such example is 17-year-old Cody Santiago, a special-needs youth who was given the opportunity to paddle with others in his age group.
"This Sunday, I go race at Keehi and I want to win," Santiago said. "(The coaches) told me, 'Want to paddle?' And then I said, 'Yeah!' "
Each member has responsibilities at the club's practice site at Ala Moana's Magic Island, from the older kids carrying the canoes in and out of the water to the younger ones hosing them down. With so few adults, the older kids must also take responsibility for keeping the rest in line.
Though it enters a crew in each youth division, its small number of adult crews means that Elks Canoe will likely not be contending for the Ahai Memorial or any other club championships this regatta season. However, that's not really important to the coaches or paddlers.
"We're doing good now (in practice)," Greg Pang, 14, said. "But we're just going to try our best. (The coaches) teach us to try our best."
Added Dayton: "We're not in it to win it. Just having everybody race and getting all the kids involved is more important. If (winning) happens, it's a plus."