WORLD VA'A SPRINTS 2012
Gil canoe racing in Canada August 8-15th
While I was enjoying friends at
home, Gil took off for Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were hosting the World Va’a Sprints this
year – an event held every two years; va’a is Hawaiian for outrigger canoe. It was in New Caledonia,
South Pacific in 2010 and will be in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
in 2014. Canada, it seems, got really crazed
with sporting events after hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. So while it seems an odd location for
Hawaiian canoe racing, they did an excellent job and the race course was on a
fresh water reservoir.
Let’s give them a cheer:
C eh? N eh? D eh?
Yea!
Gil’s part was to arrive on the 8th and meet up with
team-mates from Kauai. This was a combination of 60s guys and 70s
guys that were competing. FYI: 70s guys can paddle in 60s category but not
the other way round. Some of the 70s
guys (Gaylord Wilcox, Nappy Napoleon, and Nick Beck) happen to be paddlers that
have competed together for the last 40-50 years – in nearly every long distance
race there is including every Molokai
Hoe! Also from Kauai
were three generations of one family: Nick’s son Hobey, and grandson Braden.
Now Gil has pretty much been a 6-man
paddler since he started eight years ago but he also entered the one-man race,
the V1 (see page above about upcoming races).
He was loaned a boat to practice on here and spent a month training for
it along with Kawika Goodale, the current silver medalist, in addition to all
the regular 6-man practices. After the
overnight flight, they went out for the first practice on the reservoir 8-8.
The more than 1200 paddlers had accommodations in the dorms of Mount Royal University – perfect.
Dorms at Mount Royal University, Calgary
Each “nation” or entry group had a tent on the grounds to place
their backpacks, paddles, etc.
Registration was done in advance and then again onsite. Paddlers were issued security badges in order
to even enter the race site – all very official. Groups ranged from Hawaii,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
England, Pacific NW, France, Italy,
Brazil, Rapa
Nui, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tahiti (although Tahiti
guys had flight problems and did not make it).
Sorry if I missed anyone.
The Heritage Center
Badges allowed entry to tents and races
Front row: Steve Landis, Art Chow, Mike McHenry
Tent City for paddlers representing their "nations"
Checking out the race course on Glenmoore Reservoir
On Friday August 10th the
nations gathered in groups so they could parade toward the large tent for the Opening
Ceremonies which included dances and a blessing by 27 of the Seven Native Band Elders. A BBQ followed the ceremony.
Hawaiians gather
Hawaiian Nation
Canadians
Aussies
Kiwis from New Zealand
Hawaiian Parade
Enjoying the others in parade
Performance at Opening Ceremonies
Treaty 7 elders
RACES
V1, V12, V6, men
& women, ages 16-70s. There was also
a category of Adaptive paddlers (like Special Olympics) that were all qualified
by trials and had the canoes “adapted” to accommodate them. Vic Allen, a legend from Kauai
is blind, and had a follower to tell him how to guide his boat which he manned
alone. For instance people without use
of their legs had seat backs installed in the canoes that they could be
strapped in. A whole phenomenal story
that deserves to be told in depth elsewhere would feature Jan Whitaker whose
efforts have been responsible for making that part of the race a reality.
The sprint course was set at 250 meters.
500 meter = 1 turn, 1000m = 3 turns, and 1500m
= 5 turns
August 11th and 12th were the one-man and
12-man outrigger qualifying heats and races. The one-man and six-man races
continued over the next three days with waiting in between.
Kawika at right, finished first in this heat, and moved into finals
V1s are racing, V6 Women getting ready to go
Streaming near tent complex and shops selling gear
Between races, the guys tried to be mellow but dinners were often after
10pm and days were long.
Mike & Steve on KP duty in dorm
Kawika working on strategy left, Gaylord right
The Olympics in London were a perfect distraction for the athletes.
Trying to keep the kittens in the box and get everyone to each
staging site and through the queue on time was a challenge, always harder for some
:)
Steve
Mike
Nappy on guitar, right (not sure of uke player)
Ed
Kawika in tent, lots of waiting
What a shame the medals pictures were all blurry, best of the bunch,
this hardly does them justice
Medal awards were
on Wed. August 15th.
V1 70s Kapuna
guys, all Hawaii
buddies!
They went on to
win a total of three Gold medals in the V12 500m double hull race.
They also won
the V6 500m, V6 1000m as Hawaii's Anuenue team
In the V6 1000m, their first place time 5:20, Canada 2nd with 5:30 and Hilo 5:47
Seat 4 in the Hilo boat was Hilo Bob and he died on the course of a massive heart attack
The World Sprints were suspended for tribute for several hours
his wife sent an email thanking everyone and being grateful that Bob went out
doing what he loved
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED AND LIVE EVERY DAY AS IF . . .
60s Golden Masters
– 1000 meters
Gil guys won Bronze
9 seconds after 1st place; 4
seconds after 2nd
Kawika, Ed, Gil,
Brian, Gaylord, Nick
