More Than Just Paddling Outrigger Canoe Paddling is a sport that has deeper meaning than its externality. People that do not paddle only see the outside of the sport: a canoe with a flotation device on the side, and people putting paddles into the water. However, as a paddler myself, I discovered the internal aspect of the sport. During a long search I have discovered four intriguing sources. First is a book titled Hawai’i Sports: History, Facts, and Statistics by Dan Cisco. Cisco holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Hawai’i 1991. The next source is an article titled Digging To Diamond Head by Kenny Moore. Moore is an athlete and journalist that graduated from University of Oregon. Third source
…show more content…
When you are paddling in a canoe filled with five other people, age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc. does not matter. In that moment of you and your crew going out on the water, the only thing that does matter is teamwork. In the article Digging to Diamond Head gives perfect explanations when I speak of diversity. One part of the article talks about a women’s crew for Outrigger Canoe Club racing in Nā Wahine O Ke Kai. This specific section in the article really defines the word unity because it talks about how different each person in the boat is, but all of them come together to accomplish something big. Moore describes the crew, “Outrigger has several former mainstays… including its own Olympian. Among them are kayakists, triathletes, surfers, water polo and volleyball players… a teacher, a graphic artist, a biology major, a practitioner of spiritual massage, a potter, a Special Olympics staffer and a fertilizer distributor,” and not only that but they all are “mothers to nine children” (Moore para 3). So even though every single paddler within that crew may have differences, they all came together to help one another across the Ka’iwi Channel safely and as a team. In my experience I have paddled with all different types of ages, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc. But that did not matter to us. When we paddle together none of that matters because all we are focused on is passing that finish line as one. There are times when I would say, “Different people with the same passion” because not only is it true but that is how it has been for a very long time now. An additional section in the article that describes this topic is when another women’s crew crossed the channel. Moore describes the women 's crew, “This sport...demands that athletes blend with their team, their boat, their water, their history” (Moore para 11). If the crew let 's diversity get in the way then there is no blend and
When you are paddling in a canoe filled with five other people, age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc. does not matter. In that moment of you and your crew going out on the water, the only thing that does matter is teamwork. In the article Digging to Diamond Head gives perfect explanations when I speak of diversity. One part of the article talks about a women’s crew for Outrigger Canoe Club racing in Nā Wahine O Ke Kai. This specific section in the article really defines the word unity because it talks about how different each person in the boat is, but all of them come together to accomplish something big. Moore describes the crew, “Outrigger has several former mainstays… including its own Olympian. Among them are kayakists, triathletes, surfers, water polo and volleyball players… a teacher, a graphic artist, a biology major, a practitioner of spiritual massage, a potter, a Special Olympics staffer and a fertilizer distributor,” and not only that but they all are “mothers to nine children” (Moore para 3). So even though every single paddler within that crew may have differences, they all came together to help one another across the Ka’iwi Channel safely and as a team. In my experience I have paddled with all different types of ages, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc. But that did not matter to us. When we paddle together none of that matters because all we are focused on is passing that finish line as one. There are times when I would say, “Different people with the same passion” because not only is it true but that is how it has been for a very long time now. An additional section in the article that describes this topic is when another women’s crew crossed the channel. Moore describes the women 's crew, “This sport...demands that athletes blend with their team, their boat, their water, their history” (Moore para 11). If the crew let 's diversity get in the way then there is no blend and