Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 2, 1 February 1988 — Na Opio Season Underway; Ends Mar. 23 with Hillo Title Races [ARTICLE]

Na Opio Season Underway; Ends Mar. 23 with Hillo Title Races

The Na Opio Canoe Club Association's ninerace competitive season began Jan. 23 and eoncludes Mar. 23 with the state championship races in Hilo. Six teams meet daily, Monday through Friday, from 3:30 p. m. to 6 p. m., at city parks along the length of the Ala Wai Canal and near Magic Island at Ala Moana Beach Park. Rain or shine eaeh afternoon the young paddlers ean be seen dipping powerfully into the ealm waters as their canoes dart swiftly forward. The competitive schedule includes identica! events for boys' and girls' teams. Training varies according to age group, experienee level and conditions of a race. For example, paddlers need to know how to read the current, know how the wind is blowing and how to race with endurance under different seaconditions. Practice generally begins with a warmup run on land, then canoes are put in the water and teams take % mile

and y2 mile sprints. Kealii Loo, a junior at Sacred Hearts Academy, has paddled since she was 8-years-old. She comes from a paddling family — her sister, mother and father (Na Opio's Gary Loo, who assists Gardner Brown) have been involved in paddling. Kealii paddles with the Kanalui Canoe Club and is vice president in Na Opio, and a member of the finance committee, whieh decides how to raise funds for the Association. Mana Crozier, a senior at St. Louis School, was invited by a friend to join, and has been paddling for three years. He is a race chairman for Na Opio, and his job is to see that race courses are properly set. He is also on the committee that handles protests by clubs during a race. What does he like about canoeing? "I like that there is a lot of unity in the events, everybody just comes together. I like the parties, too."