HILO — After a two-decade hiatus, the world stage of canoe racing has returned to the Aloha State.
Beginning Tuesday through Aug. 24, nearly 30 countries from every corner of the globe will convene in Hilo for the 2024 International Va‘a Federation World Sprints — giving Hawai‘i Island residents a glance to witness some of the top world paddlers in their own backyard.
The World Sprints were last held in Hawai‘i in 2004 — in Hilo as well. The Big Island was the leading candidate to host the sprints again in 2020, but the pandemic caused cancellation. In response, the IVF granted the Hilo community the opportunity to host this year’s event without a bidding process.
“It’s a great showcase of our culture,” Mayor Mitch Roth said. “It’s an opportunity for us to meet up with our friends and family from around the world in the paddling community. And it’s a great way to show off our island when 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 an opportunity to test the ocean-based courses in the ARE Tahiti V6 Matahina canoes, which are the only vessels allowed in the competition. The public is encouraged to watch along the Bayfront as paddlers prepare for the big event.
“Many of these paddlers have only competed in lakes, so we wanted to give them a fair opportunity to test these waters out,” Hawaii Canoe Racing Association president and lead local organizer Dana Miyake added. “So these days serve that purpose.”
Following course trials, an opening ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at Hilo Bayfront. The ceremony will have an Olympics feel to it, also similar to the famous Parade of Nations ahead of the Ironman World Championship on the Kona side.
The official races will commence Friday and Saturday with the World Elite Championship — which consists of the top paddlers from each individual club banding together to represent their respective country in a variety of races. Hilo hosted timed trials to determine these teams in late April.
“These are the best of the best paddlers,” Miyake explained. “Basically like an All-Star team.”
Since Hawai‘i is considered its own country in the IVF, Team Hawai‘i will be competing separately from the United States in the sprints. Hawai‘i has the largest pool of paddlers in this year’s event — consisting of more than 20% of the competitors, which is roughly over 600 individuals.
Following the two-day elite field, the near-weeklong World Club Championship will get underway Sunday, which will take up the majority of the sprints as the main event. This division will consist of all the individual clubs from each country competing in Hilo.
With the competition back on the windward side, local organizers intend to strongly emphasize the uniqueness of World Sprints to the community’s keiki. Since the sprints are held all over the world, Miyake explained that this may be the local younger generation’s only opportunity to face global competition.
To ensure keiki paddlers don’t miss this special opportunity, the sprints will have 16-and-under boys and girls divisions during the event. The minimum age requirement to compete is 14.
“This is probably going to be the only opportunity for a lot of our youth to be able to participate,” Miyake said. “So the idea is that by seeing other people participate, it will inspire them hopefully to be able to want to do it in the future.”
“It gives our kids a really good opportunity to have an anchor with Hawaiian culture,” Roth said. “I look at things that help anchor our kids, giving them the ability to stay or the desire to stay in Hawaii. You’re not going to find this in most places on the mainland.”
IVF additionally added an 80s division during the 2022 World Sprints in London, and will be utilizing that division in this year’s sprints, too. Prior, the oldest age group was the 70s division.
There also will be an exhibition race held for paddlers with disabilities.
Roth also maintained that the sprints should serve as a financial boon for Hilo town, as thousands will be visiting the islands for the first time and will be staying for an extended period.
“There is going to be millions of dollars brought into our community,” he said. “Financially, it’s a great shot in the arm. We have a lot of people who will be doing craft fairs and activities outside of paddling. I’m sure our restaurants will be pretty busy.
“It gives a lot of people from Hawai‘i Island a chance to earn funds they usually wouldn’t.”
With the community anticipating thousands to be in the downtown area each day, parking will be available at Wailoa River State Recreation Area on the field between the Wailoa River and Kamehameha Avenue, with access from Bishop Street.
Major traffic is expected along Kamehameha Avenue near the Bayfront for the entirety of the sprints, so the county encourages all motorists to plan accordingly.
Other initiatives/events
Throughout the sprints, several nonprofit organizations centered around environmental preservation and cultural appreciation have planned events and initiatives ancillary to the races.
Miyake and other organizers have worked closely with waste management nonprofits that have assisted with Ironman and Lavaman to help offset some of the waste that will be produced across the 11-day event. They plan to require food trucks to limit the sale of plastic items, install hydration systems across Hilo town, and encourage the public to bring their own reusable water bottles to watch the races.
With the sprints lasting as long as they do, Miyake emphasized the importance of hosting an environmentally-friendly event.
“We really want to try and make it very Earth-friendly,” she said. “Most of us are ocean people. We are very protective of the seas, so I think it’ll be a positive thing. It’s more about the spectators, but hopefully, if the spectators see the athletes doing it, then they’ll jump on the bandwagon and see how to be environmentally-friendly as well.”
Additionally, organizers have been in talks with the BBC, which will coincidentally be on the island filming an upcoming documentary about professional athletes and plastic bottles at the time of the sprints. The network has expressed interest in filming part of the sprints and incorporating awareness as well.
“We’re very Earth conscious, so we’re doing our best to make this a zero waste event,” Miyake continued. “The hope is that we can change people’s attitudes (about waste management) when they come to an event of this magnitude.”
On the cultural side of the sprints, canoe-carving tents will be set up across the Bayfront daily for anyone interested in learning more about the Hawaiian paddling culture.
There will also be a cultural night held 6 p.m. Aug. 20 in Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium, inviting every participating country to come and learn about their fellow competitors. Each country is encouraged to present something meaningful to represent its culture — whether it be a skit, poem, song or any other type of interactive presentation. Each country is allowed seven minutes per presentation. All are welcomed to attend.
Participating Big Island clubs
The following HCRA Big Island clubs will be participating in World Sprints:
Hoemana
Hui Wa‘a ‘O Waiakea
Kai ‘Ehitu
Kai Opua
Kailana
Kamehameha-Hilo
Kawaihae
Keauhou
Keaukaha
Keoua Honaunau
Miloli‘i
General schedule
Aug. 13 (Tuesday) — Course Familiarization
Aug. 14 (Wednesday) — Course Familiarization
Aug. 15 (Thursday) — Course Familiarization/Opening Ceremonies (4 p.m. at Hilo Bayfront)
Aug. 16 (Friday) — World Elite Championship
Aug. 17 (Saturday) — World Elite Championship
Aug. 18 (Sunday) — World Club Championship
Aug. 19 (Monday) — World Club Championship
Aug. 20 (Tuesday) — World Club Championship & Culture Night (6 p.m. at Edith Kanaka‘ole stadium)
Aug. 21 (Wednesday) — World Club Championship
Aug. 22 (Thursday) — World Club Championship
Aug. 23 (Friday) — World Club Championship
Aug. 24 (Saturday) — World Club Championship (if needed)