It’s all in the family, and that’s the secret to the success of the young Paddlers of Laka, still surging strongly on an unprecedented run in the Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association.
For the fifth straight regatta, the club claimed the first five races — girls 12, boys 12, mixed 12, girls 13, and boys 13 — on Saturday at Hilo Bay, a streak not seen in the 60-plus years of Moku O Hawaii history.
“I’ve paddled all my life, and I don’t recall something like this,” said Pua Kalaniopio, the Paddlers of Laka youth coach along with Christine Pakani-Brown.
Kai Opua, with a full field of 41 crews, took home Division A (15 to 41 races) with 189 points, barely ahead of Puna, with 39 crews, which finished with 185 points.
Paddlers of Laka pocketed the Division B (1-14 events) with 77 points, ahead of Kailana (13 races), which had 36 points at the Paddlers of Laka/Na Wa’a Hanakahi regatta.
The day started with quarter-mile domination from Paddlers of Laka’s young guns.
The girls 12 crew (Kale’a Kuamoo, Precious Kuamoo, Dejalei Pakani, Kamaile Pakani-Flores, Selah Stefaniak, and Ka’ano’i Young) has captured six in a row.
The boys 12 crew (Keoni Bacdad, Makana Bumatay, Dalten Fely-Sanborn, Alon Halsted, Skyler Macomber, and Kenan Quintos-Freeman) has won the last five.
The mixed 12 (Keoni Bacdad, Makana Bumatay, Dejalei Pakani, Kamaile Pakani-Flores, Kenan Quintos-Freeman, Ka’ano’i Young) is still undefeated in seven regattas.
The girls 13 (Hinano Ahin-Ganir, Maia Biegler, Hi’ilei Hauanio, Isabel Paulo, Sara Santos, Kaiulani Young) and boys 13 (Wyatt Andrade, Kainalu Bumatay, A.J. Germano, Jacob Pakani Jr., Tyler Spencer, Kaiulu Tiogangco) have six consecutive wins.
“At one point, we counted 70 kids, including specials (non-scoring keiki), and the numbers have stayed that way,” Pakani-Brown said. “It’s the first year we’ve had this many kids, and they’ve blossomed. It’s family oriented. A lot of them have cousins or brothers or sisters or uncles or aunties in the club.
“It’s the kids. They take what we tell them, and the kids really want it. A lot of them are returnees. They have friends who paddle or family. If they have cousins or brothers or sisters, they follow into the club.”
It hasn’t been easy keeping the five-race winning streak alive, not with a bull’s-eye on each crew’s back.
With the Aunty Maile Mauhili/Moku O Hawaii championships ahead, the Laka Group of Five’s next task is to add championship medals.
“We keep telling them the same thing over and over, help each other out,” Pakani-Brown said. “It’s easy because we’re all family. Everybody takes care of each other and has each other’s back.”
The Paddlers of Laka girls 18 (Ihi Kamau, Tia Kualii, Loke Kuamo’o, Kaui Pakani-Tsukiyama, Isabel Paulo, Emma Piianaia) and mixed 18 (Mina Acosta-Cabamungan, Ihi Kamau, Kayden Lampman, Holu Lyman, Jake Nishimoto, Kaui Pakani-Tsukiyama) crews also placed first.
Sister coaches
Pakani-Brown and Kalaniopio grew up paddling together. The relationship they have is carbon-copied and passed down to the youngsters.
“I’m a teacher (for Kamehameha). You have to have a relationship with the kids. It’s really important, and for paddling, too,” Kalaniopio said. “I’m strict, but I’m also nurturing and caring. I’ll have the hammer and get on them, but Christine does, too. But she’s quieter.”
They both live up to their aunty/coach roles in their own way.
“I’ll tell the kids, ‘Come over here and I’ll tell you what Aunty Pua means,’” Pakani-Brown joked.
Kalaniopio pointed out that the strong family bond even extends in the water with the canoe holders. AJ Brown is the husband of Pakani-Brown, who has young nieces paddling. Kenny Santos, Frank Stefaniak, and Moku Young all have daughters.
“It’s neat. We keep it all in the family,” said Kalaniopio, who’s the sister of head coach Doug Bumatay. “It’s been a great year, but it’s hard to stay on top. We have a lot of competition from the West side. It’s hard to keep the motivation, but they’ve been doing it.
“We have good support. All the kids are from good families. The parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunties all come down. That makes it even better.”
Growing up
Ka’ano’i Young is cousins with Kaiulani Young and Selah Stefaniak. Ka’ano’i and Kaiulani have been paddling for four years and Stefaniak for two years.
“I like learning about the old ways of our ancestors, and paddling is great sport, and I like the water,” Ka’ano’i said.
Ka’ano’i has been attending Ke Kula o Nawahiokalaniopuu since preschool and is fluent in Hawaiian. Like most youngsters, she’s a multi-sport athlete. She’s into rugby and plans to join basketball.
She’s thinking about becoming a doctor someday. She’s hoping to land a scholarship for either rugby or basketball but the club sports run the same time during the summer.
Ka’ano’i doesn’t have to make a sport-of-choice decision until much later. Until then, she’s enjoying her unprecedented summer of glory.
“I like coming to the beach and having fun with family and friends,” she said.
Car wash
Paddlers of Laka is holding a car-washing fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 22 at Napa Auto Parts.