A legend from the past helped ease the pain by passing out $150,000 on Monday.
The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation gave college scholarships and grants to 68 Hawaii athletes and nonprofit organizations involved in water sports and volleyball at its 21st Mahalo Luncheon.
Those honored ranged from Olympic kayaking hopefuls Patrick and Ryan Dolan to high school graduates from Molokai (Kawena Puhi and Kailana Ritte-Camara) and the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science (Aaron Harkness).
Scholarships to "support the development of individuals who perpetuate the spirit and legacy of Duke Kahanamoku" went to twice as many women as men and nearly as many from the neighbor islands as Oahu.
For the past four years, ODKF has given a $10,000 Duke Kahanamoku Ambassador of Aloha Scholarship to an exceptional Hawaii high school senior who "embodies Kahanamoku’s spirit of aloha and character."
This year it is Kahuku graduate Gabrielle "Keola" Kaha‘ulelio. Her precocious resume includes captain of the Red Raiders’ water polo, paddling and swim teams and Surf Club president. She is fluent in Hawaiian and hula, passionate about photography, works at Aoki’s Shave Ice and will major in nursing at the University of Hawaii while playing water polo.
The University of Hawaii women’s water polo team is searching for a coach for its top-10 team. Kaha‘ulelio has a suggestion for a program that ended last season without a Hawaii player.
"I want to see more Hawaii girls because there are so many good water polo players here in Hawaii," Kaha‘ulelio said. "I’d like to see more of them be able to play on the team. They go to UH, but they aren’t able to make it on the team. I just don’t get it."
Kaha‘ulelio had reached an agreement with former UH coach Michel Roy to play for the Wahine, redshirting her first season. She hopes to get the same chance with the new coach. That could help UH immensely if it wants more of a local presence: Keola’s younger sisters, Tasha and Tiffany, are good enough to get ODKF grants for USA Water Polo Olympic Development programs.
ODKF has also taken the lead in filling the huge void the USOC left when it cut funding to its sprint kayaking program last year. The senior national team trains on the Ala Wai Canal with head coach Guy Wilding. The Dolans are attempting to perpetuate the sport’s success in Hawaii, which produced at least one Olympic paddler from 1988 to 2004.
According to Shelley Oates-Wilding, Guy’s wife and head coach of the Hawaii Canoe & Kayak team, ODKF wants the national program to stay here and has done everything it can to support it. The foundation’s support has been financial and also involves marketing, events and promotions as athletes head overseas for World Championships and the Pan Am Games — both Olympic qualifiers — this year.
The future is bright. Along with the Dolans, HCKT’s Shawn Kahookele, Alex Cheung and Trenton Tam were just named to the 2011 U.S. Junior Sprint World Championships Team.
The Wildings came here because they saw unlimited kayaking potential in a place where kids grow up around water. Kaha‘ulelio would be a candidate if she didn’t have a shot at a water polo scholarship.
Guy Wilding was asked Monday if she could be molded into a world-class kayaker, based on her frame and background.
"It wouldn’t take long," he said.
ODKF will induct Peter Cole, Ethel Kukea, Aileen Soule and Nainoa Thompson into its Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame at its second awards dinner on Aug. 21.
2011-2012 ODKF COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEES
| NAME |
SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY |
SPORT |
| Tyler Amina |
Kamehameha/Princeton |
Water Polo |
| Logan Borowski |
Hawaii Prep. Academy/Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo |
Swimming |
| Tyson Chihara |
Kauai High/Pomona College |
Swimming |
| Mason Chock |
Kamehameha/Puget Sound |
Canoeing, Surfing, Water Polo |
| Iiams Fu |
Kamehameha/University of Hawaii |
Canoeing, Kayaking |
| Nanea Fujiyama |
Kamehameha/Occidental |
Water Polo |
| Kristen Fuller |
Lahainaluna/UCLA |
Swimming, Water Polo |
| Saryna-Brooke Garcia |
Kauai High/UNLV |
Volleyball |
| Koral Gill |
Lahainaluna/Occidental |
Surfing, Swimming, Water Polo |
| Aaron Harkness |
Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science/UH-Hilo |
Surfing |
| Brailey Hirose-Hulbert |
Punahou/UCLA |
Water Polo |
| Katelynn Ho |
Hawaii Preparatory Academy/Washington |
Water Polo, Volleyball |
| Kaitlyn Jarry |
Kapaa/Purdue |
Swimming |
| Gabrielle “Keola” Kaha‘ulelio |
Kahuku/UH |
Swimming, Surfing, Paddling, Water Polo |
| Shawn “Kalei” Kahookele |
Mid-Pacific Institute/UH |
Surfing, Paddling, Kayaking |
| Skyler Kamaka |
Kamehameha/Concordia |
Volleyball |
| Tori Kawahara |
King Kekaulike/Oregon |
Surfing, Volleyball |
| Anna Koethe |
St. Francis/UH |
Canoeing. |
| Francesca Koethe |
St. Francis/UH |
Canoeing |
| Taylor Langstaff |
Kapaa/Point Loma Nazarene |
Swimming, Volleyball, Surfing |
| Olivia Le Coque |
Hualalai Academy/UH |
Paddling |
| Krista Ann Li |
Roosevelt/UH |
Canoeing, Volleyball |
| Xinhe “Cindy” Li |
Roosevelt/Yale |
Water Polo |
| Sarah Lockwood |
Punahou/Tufts |
Canoeing |
| Sara Middendorf |
St. Andrew’s Priory/Notre Dame |
Volleyball |
| Malia Moore |
Lahainaluna/McGill |
Swimming, Water Polo |
| Makamaekanani Namahoe |
Hilo High/Long Island–CW Post Campus |
Volleyball |
| Nicole Ng |
Sacred Hearts/Seattle University |
Canoeing |
| Edward Parish |
Campbell/Creighton |
Paddling |
| Beau Pickering |
Kamehameha/Princeton |
Swimming |
| John “Jack” Pope |
Lahainaluna/Pacific |
Swimming |
| Kawena Puhi |
Molokai/Lewis-Clark State |
Canoeing, Swimming, Volleyball |
| Ocean Radtke |
Castle/Marist |
Swimming, Water Polo |
| Reyanne Ramones |
Maryknoll/UH |
Canoeing |
| Morgan Rapozo |
Waiakea/Portland |
Volleyball |
| Emma Rausch |
Kapaa/San Diego State |
Swimming. |
| Kailana Ritte-Camara |
Molokai/Linfield |
Canoeing, Volleyball |
| Brigitte-Gregoria Russo |
Punahou/Lewis & Clark |
Volleyball |
| Savath Saepoo |
Kalani/UH |
Swimming |
| Aubree Shipman |
Kalaheo/San Francisco |
Volleyball |
| Richmond Steele |
Moanalua/UH |
Swimming |
| Kaopu Nani O Ke Kai Sutton |
Kamehameha-Hawaii/Carleton |
Canoeing |
| Grant Uekawa |
Waiakea/UH |
Swimming |
| Mark Walker Jr. |
Seabury Hall/San Diego |
Volleyball |
| Megan Walters |
Kealakehe/West Hawaii Community College |
Swimming, Water Polo |
| Ashley Williams |
Kamehameha Schools/Syracuse |
Volleyball |
| Kent Yamada |
Mililani/Columbia |
Swimming |
2011 ODKF ATHLETIC GRANT AWARDEES
» Geodee Nonohelani Clark (Surfing) Roxy ASP Women’s World Championships-France
» Patrick Keoni Dolan (Kayaking) National and World Competitions
» Ryan Kawika Dolan (Kayaking) National and World Competitions
» Crystal Dzigas (Surfing) Noosa Festival of Surfing-Australia
» Tasha Kaha‘ulelio (Water Polo) USA Olympic Development Regional Championships
» Tiffany Kaha‘ulelio (Water Polo) USA Olympic Development Regional Championships
» Kaimiola Rocha (Volleyball) NCAA DIII
» Christel Simms (Swimming) Conoco Phillips Senior National Championship, Janet Evans Grand Prix, Swim Meet of the Champions, 2011 Grand Challenge
» Grant Uekawa (Swimming) Speedo Championship Series
» Madisyn Uekawa (Swimming) Speedo Championship Series
» Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, 10th Annual Duke Ocean Sports & Fitness Day
» Hawaii Canoe & Kayak Team–U.S. Nationals-California and Pan American Games-Mexico
» Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Academy–Water Sports Days, Development Grants
» I MUA Athletics–Junior Nationals Volleyball Championships
» Ka Ulukoa GU14 Black–USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Championships
» Kamehameha Swim Club–Northwest Regional Senior Sectional Championships-Washington
» Keiki Oceanfest–Body Boarding
» Ku‘ikahi Wahine 16 RoSHamBo–USA Volleyball Junior National Tournament, AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championship
» Na Opio Canoe Racing Association–Lane Laying, Safety and Official Boats
» Oahu Volleyball Club 18’s–USA Junior National Volleyball Championship, AAU/JVA Girls National Volleyball Championship
» Outrigger Canoe Club–Cline Mann Paddleboard Race, Dad Center Outrigger Canoe Race, and Macfarlane Regatta.
