NCOCA: News

News

State Championships are Pau!

June 29, 2009

Photos by Chris Tacy

Yup, the State Championships are pau and so is our 2009 sprint regatta. Eight weeks sure went by fast, but what a way to end the season...so much camaraderie and spirit as the day unfolded with Village People coming out of the wood work again...thought those guys went by way of disco...the 1980s was revisited with Flash Dancers masquerading as paddlers...and Titas in work out gear...was dat da theme? Cannot forget the NCOCA Championship T-Shirts...sold out before races started...no worries...more is being printed as we speak...so go get a commemorative shirt ASAP. Oh, and da food...spam hotdogs...go figure...bacon frying, pancakes being flipped, spam musubi...yummy...who wants to race with that great smell of breakfast foods in the air...makes you want to just sit back and relax.

But "no can do" as there were some final matches that need to be ironed out on the water and see which club will be crowned state champs. In the AA (Large Club) Division, it was nearly impossible to unseat HPOCC as they again dominated the waters with number of crews and strength of crews. At the end of the day they took both State Champs and Season...a double whammy. Congrats to Joe Muin and the gang from Foster City for a strong season.

The same scenario in the A (Small Club) Division as Hui O’ Sacramento took double whammy honors as they also dominated the day and the season with their solid crews in the Masters Division. Congratulations to John Green and his gang.

And congrats to O’Kalani who returns to the podium after a long absence with their 2nd and 3rd place for Championship and Season, respectively. Their story is interesting, as the strength of their placing is largely on the shoulders of six determined and strong 12 & under girls who went undefeated the entire season. They are the daughters of mothers who, as keiki, paddled for O’Kalani back in da day. Awesome! That’s what I call perpetuating da sport!

Lastly, hat’s off to the crews who participated in the fun events in between the heats, especially the NCOCA Executive Board against 2 crews of club presidents. But the big hit of the day was the "fly da ama" contest. Face Book and emails were a buzz by the hands down, or shall I say feet up exhibition by SFOCC...they win for longest in the air, distance travelled and showmanship. Hope someone got that one on video...Youtube maybe?

Anyhoz, I hope y’all enjoyed racing this year and just wanted to thank Kilohana the host club for hosting the last race and putting together some great awards. Though summer is fast coming to a close, NCOCA racing is not pau. Next week is the Alcatraz race, and a couple weeks after that are the Klassic and the Tampalias races. There is also Catalina and the Hawaii long distance races. This year several crews form various clubs will be sending crews to Na Pali Challenge, Na Wahine, Molokai Hoe, and the Queen’s Race. So continue to train and cheer these crews as they will represent us folks here in the NCOCA.

Imua,
Bernie