The first kayaks were introduced to Hawai'i’s athletes over
40 years ago at the Ala Wai Boat House. John Bustard, heading the
Amateur Athletic Union, envisioned the great potential for finding
Olympic talent in our 50th State. In 1959, he said “ With
our natural interest and ability in water sports and a vast field
of outrigger canoe paddlers to draw from, kayaking racing could
be a natural for Hawaii.”
The first boats were imported from Europe and Canada. George Downing
of the Outrigger Canoe Club was one of the first to master the
craft, and handled most of the coaching. Then, Miklos Tottossy,
a Former Olympic Hungarian Team member was brought to Hawai'i by
the A.A.U. to coach Hawaiian paddlers.
Two Island girls were the first to represent Hawai'i in the Olympic
trails. Coached by Tottossy, Karen Knudsen (17), and Anna Naone
(18), were selected to attend the Olympic Trials. The pair finished
second, missing a berth on the 1960 team by one spot.
It was an inspiring feat, encouraging further development of the
sport in the islands. In 1962 the A.A.U. received 3 four-man kayaks
to be used to train high school athletes. I'olani High School was
the first U.S. school to start a kayaking program. UH, Lanikai
Canoe Club and Hawaii Kayak Club also started a program in 1962.
1963 was the year of the first kayak regatta in Hawai'i featuring
singles, doubles and fours. By 1964, four Hawai'i paddlers were selected
to attend the Olympic Trials, Knudsen and Naone along with Tom Schroeder
and Bernard McKeague. However, it was not until 1968 that the first
Hawai'i paddler made it on to the Olympic Team. Hawaii Kayak Club
coach Bob Schroeder, a former U.S. Olympian, “discovered” Virginia
Moore at a surf meet in Makaha. He encouraged her to try a kayak
and within four months she was producing times capable of winning
the National Championships. In 1967 she became a gold medalist
in the Pan American Games, and in 1968 became the first Hawaiian
kayaker to make the U.S. Olympic Team.
For the next ten years, kayaking took a downturn in the islands,
because of a lack of organization and the difficulty of the initial
learning stage of the sport. In the early ‘80’s the
introduction of the “surf-ski” kayak breathed back
life into competitive kayaking in Hawai'i. Once again Hawai'i kayakers
were competing in mainland competitions and earning spots on U.S.
national teams. In 1988, Tracy Phillips became the second Hawaii
woman kayaker to make the Olympic team and Mike Harbold became
the first male kayaker to make the U.S. Olympic Team.
A one time, one-year grant from the United States Olympic Committee
in 1988 provided the initial catalyst to launch a long-term development
effort designed for junior athletes in Hawai'i. The Hawaii Canoe & Kayak
Team was this program. Founded by Billy Whitford, long time Offshore
Canoe Club Coach from Newport Beach, Ca. Billy enlisted many of
his friends in the paddling world to make the program a success
from the start.
The first team to go to nationals in 1988 consisted of 18 paddlers. The group won a total of 76 medals including several National Championships. For the next five years HCKT was untouchable at Nationals winning
every year by large margins. Not only was HCKT dominating at Nationals,
but HCKT paddlers were dominating the Jr. World Championship and
Pan American Games Teams. In 1992, Peter Newton and Wyatt Jones
became the first HCKT paddlers to make the Olympic Team joining
Harbold and Philips for their second Olympics. Wyatt Jones became
the first Hawai'i paddler to represent the United States in the
Olympic Canoe. The 1996 Olympic team once again include Newton, Harbold and Philips. The 2000 Olympic Team added Kathy Collin,
a Punahou Graduate who started kayaking in the Private High School
(ILH) Surf Ski Competitions. HCKT paddlers have now competed for
the United States in countries all over the world including Asia,
South America, all over Europe, Australia and throughout the United
States.
