Hawai'i crew shines at contest

By Stanley Lee
Special to The Advertiser

It took about two minutes for a local canoe crew to pave the future for their sport.

At the International Va'a Federation World Sprints at Hilo Bay, Team Hawai'i won the inaugural demonstration race for handicapped crews on Aug. 14. The event was the first of its kind at a regatta considered the world championships of outrigger canoe racing.

"It was an awesome experience," said Susannah Rice of Honolulu. "In my experience, I've heard of fantastic ideas for the disabled community, but none of those suggestions have actually happened that I've been involved in. After we got into the finish, my eyes started welling because I couldn't believe it."

"We had been waiting for like two years for this event and we had expended all that energy in two minutes," added Francean McClain of Wahiawa.

Of the 12-person crew, six were handicapped while the other six were able-bodied paddlers. Some of the handicapped paddlers had been training together on O'ahu but the entire crew, a few of which were from the Neighbor Islands, didn't practice together until the day before the event.

"It was nerve-racking that we haven't all paddled together as a crew," Dawna Zane of Honolulu said. "Once I met everyone, I knew we had good team camaraderie."

The able-bodied paddlers, who were invited to be a part of the crew by coaches Aka Hemmings and Michi Wong, said they felt honored to compete in the race.

"It was an honor for me and an eye-opener because it just opened a whole new door for the sport and people with disabilities," said Mike Judd of Hawai'i Kai, who paddles for Lanikai Canoe Club. "To be a part of that scene was the best canoe race I've done in my career."

Team Hawai'i had to come from behind in the 500-meter race. Hawai'i edged out Team Italy at the end by just inches. Since it was a demonstration sport, no official time was kept.

Adam Sanders, a 14-year-old from the Big Island, credits the win to steerswoman Kisi Haine, who came up with a racing plan.

"We sprint hard at the beginning, take it long in the middle and the last bit, we knew we'd be tired so we'd take off as fast as we can," said Sanders, an eighth-grader at Connections Public Charter School. "When she said, 'go,' we just took off. It was a great plan on her behalf and they never saw us coming."

Crew members felt having the race at the World Sprints was already a victory in itself. That is the first step in getting outrigger canoe racing established at the Paralympic Games. For that to happen, there needs to be races for adaptive crews in four internationally recognized regattas.

"We won and that was cool," Judd said. "But seeing this even happen for the first time was a success already."

"That would be the ultimate dream for this to be a regular part of the World Sprints and a Paralympic event," Rice said. "I'm really proud that I was a part of this and I hope it won't end at this."

Sanders hopes to paddle in the Paralympics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; McClain hopes for a chance to prove herself.

"What I hope to accomplish from this was acceptance," McClain said. "All I wanted was to be recognized as a competent paddler and somebody who could be in the competition in the future."

Crew members were: Haine, Judd, McClain, Rice, Sanders, Michael Cheek, Cindy Grover, Donna Kahakui, Thibert Lussiaa, Mesepa Tanoi, Keoni Turalde and Zane. Coaching staff included Hemmings, Wong and Lon Kamanu.