HILO – After a two-decade hiatus, the world stage of canoe racing has returned to the Aloha State.
From Tuesday through August 24, nearly 30 countries from all over the world will converge in Hilo for the 2024 International Va’a Federation World Sprints – offering residents of the island of Hawaii the opportunity to experience some of the world’s best paddlers in their own neighborhood.
The World Sprints were last held in Hawaii in 2004 – also in Hilo. The Big Island was the most promising candidate to host the Sprints again in 2020, but the pandemic led to the cancellation. In response, the IVF granted the municipality of Hilo the opportunity to host this year’s event without a bidding process.
“It’s a great showcase of our culture,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “It’s an opportunity for us to meet our friends and families from the paddling community from all over the world. And it’s a great way to showcase our island, as we have one of the best paddling cultures anywhere.”
The nearly two-week event begins with course familiarization days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This gives foreign paddlers the opportunity to test the courses on the ocean in the ARE Tahiti V6 Matahina canoes, which are the only boats allowed to compete. The public is invited to watch along the bayfront as the paddlers prepare for the big event.
“Many of these paddlers have only competed on lakes before, so we wanted to give them a fair opportunity to try out these waters,” added Dana Miyake, president of the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association and lead local organizer. “And that’s exactly what these days serve.”
After the course tests, an opening ceremony will take place on the Hilo Bayfront at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The ceremony will have an Olympic character and will resemble the famous parade of nations before the Ironman World Championship on the Kona side.
The official racing begins on Friday and Saturday with the World Elite Championship, which brings together the best paddlers from each club to represent their respective countries in various races. Hilo held timed competitions in late April to determine these teams.
“These are the best of the best paddlers,” Miyake explained. “Basically like an all-star team.”
Because Hawaii is considered a separate country in the IVF, Team Hawaii will compete separately from the U.S. in the sprints. Hawaii has the largest pool of paddlers at this year’s event – more than 20% of the participants, or about 600 people.
After the two-day elite field, the nearly week-long Club World Championship begins on Sunday, with the main event featuring most of the sprints. This division consists of all the individual clubs from each country competing in Hilo.
With the competition once again taking place on the windward side, local organizers want to highlight the uniqueness of the World Sprints for the community’s keiki. With the sprints taking place all over the world, Miyake explained that this may be the only opportunity for the local young generation to face a global competition.
To ensure that keiki paddlers do not miss out on this special opportunity, there will be divisions for boys and girls under 16 during the sprints during the event. The minimum age to participate is 14 years.
“This is probably the only opportunity for many of our youth to participate,” Miyake said. “So the idea is that when they see others participating, hopefully they will be inspired and want to do it in the future.”
“It gives our kids a really good opportunity to have an anchor in Hawaiian culture,” Roth said. “I look for things that help our kids find an anchor and give them the opportunity or the desire to stay in Hawaii. You don’t find that in most places on the mainland.”
IVF has also added an 80s division at the 2022 World Sprints in London and will continue to use this division at this year’s sprints. Previously, the oldest age group was the 70s division.
There will also be an exhibition race for paddlers with disabilities.
Roth also emphasized that the sprints are expected to be a financial boon for the city of Hilo, as thousands will visit the islands for the first time and stay for an extended period of time.
“Our community will receive millions of dollars,” he said. “Financially, it’s a great boost. We have a lot of people who will be hosting craft fairs and other activities in addition to paddling. I’m sure our restaurants will be pretty busy.”
“It provides many people on the island of Hawaii with the opportunity to earn money that they otherwise would not earn.”
Because the community expects thousands of people to be downtown each day, parking is available at the Wailoa River State Recreation Area in the field between the Wailoa River and Kamehameha Avenue, with access from Bishop Street.
Heavy traffic is expected on Kamehameha Avenue near the Bayfront throughout the sprint route, so the county is urging all motorists to plan accordingly.
Other initiatives/events
During the Sprints, several non-profit organizations focused on environmental protection and the appreciation of cultural values have planned complementary events and initiatives to the races.
Miyake and other organizers have worked closely with nonprofit waste management organizations that have already helped with Ironman and Lavaman to offset some of the trash generated during the 11-day event. They plan to mandate food trucks, limit the sale of plastic items, install hydration systems throughout the city of Hilo and encourage the public to bring their own reusable water bottles to watch the races.
Given the long sprints, Miyake stressed the importance of hosting an environmentally friendly event.
“We really want to try to make it very environmentally friendly,” she said. “Most of us are ocean people. We’re very protective of the oceans, so I think it will be a positive thing. It’s more about the spectators, but hopefully when spectators see the athletes doing it, they’ll jump on the bandwagon and see how you can be environmentally friendly too.”
In addition, the organisers have been in talks with the BBC, which happens to be on the island at the time of the sprints, to make a documentary about professional athletes and plastic bottles. The broadcaster has expressed interest in filming parts of the sprints and also doing some educational work.
“We are very environmentally conscious, so we are doing our best to make this a waste-free event,” Miyake continued. “We hope we can change people’s attitudes (towards waste management) when they come to an event of this magnitude.”
As for the cultural side of the Sprints, canoe carving tents are set up daily throughout the bay for anyone interested in learning more about Hawaiian paddling culture.
There will also be a cultural evening on August 20 at 6 p.m. in the Edith Kanaka’ole Multi-Purpose Stadium, where all participating countries are invited to meet their fellow competitors. Each country is asked to present something meaningful that represents their culture – be it a skit, a poem, a song or another type of interactive presentation. Each country will have seven minutes per presentation. All are welcome.
Participating Big Island Clubs
The following HCRA Big Island clubs will participate in World Sprints
Hoemana
Hui Wa’a ‘O Waiakea
Kai ‘Ehitu
Kai Opua
Kailana
Kamehameha Hilo
Kawaii
Keauhou
Keaukaha
Keoua Honaunau
Miloly
General schedule
13 August (Tuesday) — Course briefing
14 August (Wednesday) — Introduction to the course
August 15 (Thursday) – Course orientation/opening ceremony (4:00 p.m. at Hilo Bayfront)
16 August (Friday) – Elite World Championship
17 August (Saturday) – Elite World Championship
18 August (Sunday) – Club World Cup
19 August (Monday) – Club World Cup
20 August (Tuesday) – Club World Cup and Culture Night (6pm at Edith Kanaka’ole Stadium)
21 August (Wednesday) – Club World Cup
22 August (Thursday) — Club World Cup
23 August (Friday) – Club World Cup
24 August (Saturday) – Club World Cup (if necessary)
