Paddling with a purpose

In an effort to make its regular summer regattas more exciting and less time consuming, the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association recently ratified its race rules to rejuvenate the competitive experience.

In a vote taken by representatives from the organization’s 16 member clubs on Jan. 7, the lengths of 11 races in each regatta were shortened with the goal of generating more excitement, as the sprints will lead to closer finishes. The changes were also made to speed up the weekly competitions, which normally take all day to complete — sometimes lasting 10 hours or more.

The events affected include: the men’s novice B, girls 15 and boys 15 races, which will be shortened from half a mile to a quarter mile; the men’s and women’s freshmen races, which will be cut from one mile to a quarter mile; and the boys 18, men’s novice A, sophomore and 40s and women’s sophomore and 40s events, which will be trimmed from one mile to half a mile.

The measure was approved by a decisive 12-4 margin.

"The whole focus behind the changes was to rejuvenate the regatta experience, and make it more spectator-friendly with the inclusion of additional sprint-type races," said Stan Dickson, OHCRA’s race director. "With the move to the quarter-mile course, all the races will be in front of the spectators — everyone will see all the turns, so things get a little more technical because in a short race, you don’t have as much room for error.

"Saving time was part of the equation, but just trying to bring some more excitement and innovative racing to the association was our main goal."

The race course, which traditionally included flags at quarter- and half-mile marks, will now simply include quarter-mile flags. Crews racing longer than that will make turns around their designated marker and the corresponding flags at the starting line until the event is finished. For instance, those competing in the 1.5-mile senior event will end up making five turns and finish back at the initial starting flag.

"I think it’s new and exciting, something to reinvigorate the regattas," said Mike Willett, OHCRA’s race rules chairman and vice president, board member and coach at Kailua Canoe Club — the four-time defending OHCRA champion. "For someone that may have not paddled for a while because of the way things were run in the past, now maybe they’ll say ‘I’ll go check it out.’ It’s going to create some excitement, and it’s a good thing that happened."

Another rule change will allow paddlers who race in upper-division races to "drop down" and paddle in other events as long as it is not done in the same regatta — a practice that was previously not allowed. For instance, a paddler could participate in the boys 18 race one week, move up to the junior race for the ensuing regatta, and drop back down to the freshmen competition the following week. Also, the senior event remains open, meaning that paddlers ages 15 and over can paddle in the race and still move back to other "upper division" races without being locked into that division for the remainder of the OHCRA campaign.

"There are more lanes that score points at regattas now, so there is more incentive to enter a crew (in a race that a club may have skipped in previous years) with the goal of gaining more points for the club," Willett explained. "There are new strategies that we haven’t even thought of yet, and that’s the exciting part. I don’t think we’ve ever seen elite paddlers go a quarter-mile blast without any turns — usually that’s for the novices and beginners — so that’s another big change as well."

The distribution of team points was also altered, as the top six finishing crews from each race will now accumulate points that count toward each regatta’s team standings.

Under the previous system, the top four finishers received points. Now, the top six crews will be awarded 7-5-4-3-2-1 points.

"We were thinking it might provide more incentive for clubs to enter crews in more races with more points available," explained Dickson. "Clubs might be more apt to field crews in races they might not have participated in before when only four crews earned points."

Na ‘Ohana O Na Hui Wa‘a, Oahu’s second-largest outrigger canoe paddling organization, does not plan on making any major rule changes at this point, organization officials said.

The OHCRA’s regatta season is scheduled to begin June 2 with the Clement D. Pa‘aina Regatta at Keehi Lagoon. The sprint season culminates Aug. 3 with the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association’s state championships, also at Keehi Lagoon.

REC CENTER

3 teams qualify for volleyball nationals

Ka Ulukoa qualified two teams and Ku‘ikahi one for the open division of the USA Volleyball Junior Boys National Championships following top-five finishes at last weekend’s SCVA Junior Boys Invitational in Anaheim, Calif.

Nationals are June 27 through July 4 in Reno, Nev.

Ka Ulukoa 17s (7-1) saw its 111-match winning streak snapped in the semifinals by SCVC 12-25, 27-25, 15-12 to tie for third. It was the first loss for the team since beginning competition in 2008 in the 12-under division.

Members of the team were Skylan Engleman, Evan Enriques, Micha Ma‘a, Kahiau Machado, Kainoa Quindica, Casey Takahashi, Trent Thompson and Larry Tuileta. Coaches were Pono Ma‘a and Charlie Jenkins.

Also tying for third out of 87 teams was Ku‘ikahi Red 18s (8-1). The only loss came in the semifinals against Club 949, 25-23, 25-20.

Members of the team were Jevin Chang, Kupono Fey, Michael Fisher, Kaehu Kaaa, Nicholas Ng, Sam Orcutt, Luke Owens and Colin Peros. The coaches were Teoni Obrey, Myles Shioji and Danford Chang.

Ka Ulukoa 14s (6-2) also earned a bid into the open division, tying for fifth after a quarterfinal loss to MVVC.

Other Hawaii teams in the 14s were Ku‘ikahi (5-3, 13th place) and Pai‘ea (0-8, 46th).

Also in the 18s, Ka Ulukoa (4-4) placed 13th, Hawaii Elite (3-6) 36th and Ku‘ikahi White (3-4) 60th.

Also in the 17ths, Ku‘ikahi (3-4) finished 21st and Hawaii Volleyball Academy (5-4) 35th.

In the 15s, Ka Ulukoa (4-4) was ninth and Ku‘ikahi (3-4) 17th.

In the 16s, Outrigger Canoe Club (4-4) placed 19th and Ku‘ikahi (5-4) 25th.

The teams that did not earn open division bids will compete in the club division in Reno.

Speed & Quickness clinics at Kaiser

The 13th Hawaii Speed & Quickness Clinics, focusing on fitness, health and improving athleticism for ages 5-13, are being held Sundays at Kaiser High gym.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with sessions starting at 8 a.m. Participants are divided into age groups (5-8 and 8-13) with a teen elite class with Chad Ikei.

There also is a parent class with Brick House Training from 8:10-9:10 a.m.

Each class is $10 ($20 for teen elite).

Sessions run through July 28 with breaks on holidays.

The staff includes co-founder Rich Miano, former Hawaii football associate coach and current Kaiser football coach.

» hawaiispeedandquickness.com.

Kanaka Ikaika opener Saturday

The Kanaka Ikaika Racing Association’s three-month season starts Saturday with short and long courses for OC1s, surfskis and prone and stand-up paddleboards.

The 5-mile short course starts at Waimanalo Beach Park and the 8-mile long course at Makai Pier. Both finish at Kailua Beach Park.

Registration is from 7 to 8 a.m. at Makai Pier.

KIRA also features competitions within the competition with its Poai Puni and Waterman’s series that offer cash prizes for the top point finishers. The Poai Puni awards points to the best four of six finishes in one discipline, while the Waterman’s has designated craft for four of eight races with participants competing in prone paddleboard, SUP, surf ski and OC1.

The Oahu championships are scheduled for March 17 and the state championships March 30.

» kanakaikaika.com.

Boxing coaches, officials clinics this week

USA-Boxing Hawaii is offering certification clinics for coaches and officials this weekend at the Pearlside Boxing Gym in Kapolei.

The coaches clinic is Saturday from noon until 5 p.m. Coaches wanting to work corners must take the certification class.

Sunday’s certification clinic is for officials. It is free but officials must be registered with USA-Boxing. Registration is available online at usaboxing.org or prior to the clinic. For information, contact Eiichi Jumawan at coach-jumawan@hawaii.rr.com or coachjuma1@gmail.com

» amateurboxingofhawaii.com

3 boxers win at regionals

Three members of the inaugural Hawaii Silver Gloves Boxing teams won their respective weight class last weekend in Pasadena, Calif., and will advance to next month’s national championships in Kansas City, Kan.

Those competing Feb. 1-3 are Kawano Boxing Club’s Vincent Siordia in the 12-13 70-pound weight class, and unattached boxers Stanford Aquino II (10-11, 70 pounds), and Ashley Perreira (12-13, 106 pounds.) Siordia’s brother Nicholas lost in the regional semifinals in the 12-13, 95-pound class.

The regional for 10- to 15-year-olds brought together champions from Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona.

Boxing championships coming up

The Hawaii State and Regional Open Boxing Championships is set for Jan. 19 and 20 at Palolo District Park Gym.

Competition is in ages 17 through 34. Bouts begin at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19 and at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20.

Admission is $15. For more information, contact Bruce Kawano at bkawano@aol.com

» amateurboxingofhawaii.com.