Outrigger

Pearl City High is one of the underdog schools for Outrigger Paddling. A lot of the students there do not paddle because they are not as close to the water as most schools are. Prior to qualifying in 2016, Pearl City High School’s Paddling team did not see the States race in over 2 years.

In 2016, we had both the Varisty Boys and the Varsity Mix qualify. Although in 2017, all 3 teams were on the path to qualifying, both the Varsity Girls and the Varsity Boys team got disqualified in the OIA Championships. The Varsity Mix team was made up of 3 boys from the Varsity Boys team and 3 girls from the Varsity Girls team, all 6 of us were sad and mad that we got disqualified, but we put that distraction on the side and qualified as a Mix team.

Both years, I was on the qualifying team as well as one of the Team Captains. As a Team Captain, it was my job to lead stretches and make sure that when we are in the canoe away from our coaches, that everyone is practicing and not playing around. As a seat 2, I would constantly be pushing whoever sat in seat 1 to push as hard as they could. Everytime they slowed down, I would encourage them that we are almost there and theres just one small push left.

There have been times where my teammates and I did not get along. Anyone who has been in an outrigger canoe, or has seen people in one, knows that outrigger paddling revolves around teamwork. Whenever there was tension within the team, as a Captain, I would sit down with the team before practice to talk it out. Or the other Captains and I would plan a team bonding during the week after practice. There will be times where you are on a team and there are people you don’t like, but in a professional world, you need to learn to work with those you don’t like. Paddling has helped me develop the skills needed to accomplish that.