About Team Hawaii::

Nine women, three different Hawaiian islands, one competition: the 2006 International Va’a Federation World Sprints Competition in New Zealand in March. After competing with 2,000 other paddlers from 26 countries, Team Hawaii took home two gold medals, a silver and a bronze, and were finalists in each the of nine events they competed in.

How did Team Hawaii qualify for the 2006 IVF Va’a World Sprints?
We qualified by attending the trials held here in Hawaii.  Each country is only allowed so many slots per country to enter in the sprints.  So we went with the intent of trying out to gain one of those eight slots. We entered nine events and won eight out of the nine. Even the event we placed second in was very close. Due to our strong showing in the trials we were then not only offered the slot to represent Hawaii but we were also offered sponsorship money, which we chose to put toward air fare and entry fees.

How did you come together as a team?
There was a core group of women who were chosen for the world sprints in Fiji in 1998.  We have stayed together every two years to compete in the world sprints since then.  We currently hold the record for master women in the 500-meter and 1000-meter races.   Since 1998, the IVF no longer has a coach to train the women in the sprints, so teams just enter.  We are unique in that all the other crews are from one club and have paddled together prior to these sprint events.  We come together for just these competitions. We decided to do this one last sprint competition together and added a few women to be able to compete in ALL the women's events (open, masters, and senior masters).  We intend to sweep all women’s events with our team from Hawaii.

How do you train as a group given you’re from different islands?
When we received the sponsorship money, we decided as a group to split the money up so we all got assistance with our airfare to New Zealand. The women from Oahu pulled some of our money to offer the outer island girls a few trips back to Oahu to train together.  We had set times where the girls would fly in and we would practice together two or three times during the weekend while they were here. During the off times when we are not together, we all train on our own.  Most of the girls paddle one-man canoes to stay in shape. They also lift weights, and cross train with swimming, running, biking etc.  

Anything interesting that you want to share about the team?
Like we said before, we are unique in that we are all from different clubs and different islands and we come together to do just these IVF World Sprints.  The synergy we have when we are in the canoe together is unlike anything any of us has experienced with our own clubs, or other crews.  We all paddle well together, we get along well together, and we don't seem to have the usual issues that arise with women athletic teams.  We take our competition very seriously and we are all able to analyze our performance or times without personally attacking each other. Individually, we are each fierce competitors and would strive to beat each other in one-man canoes, but when we come together to crew, we all strive for excellence as a team.

The following are short profiles on each team member:

Cherisse Kelii

• Age: 33
• Hometown: Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii
• Occupation: Systems analyst for Hawaii Health Systems Corporation
• How long have you been paddling? 11 years
• How often do you train? She works out every day doing something different.
• Specialty on the team: As the newest member to the crew Cherisse has been such an asset. She sits in seat three -- the"Bull."  She is the power house in the middle of the boat!

Nicole Pedersen

• Age: 37
• Hometown: Hawaii Kai, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: Part-time book keeper
• How long have you been paddling? She’s been paddling forever (over 20 years) and a serious competitor for the last 10 years.
• How often do you train? She trains as much as her schedule will allow (she has two very young children), tries to get it in 4-5 times a week.
• Thoughts about the competition: There will be a lot of competition at these sprints, especially Tahiti and New Zealand.
• Specialty on the team: Nicole is the only girl to be multi-positional in our boat—actually at opposite ends of the boat. She is able to sit in the first seat and set the steady pace of the boat needed for the longer 1500 M race. And she also sits in as the steersman to steer the boat in the 500 M events.

Denise Darval-Chang

• Age: 44
• Hometown: Hawaii Kai, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: P.E. resource teacher
• How long have you been paddling? 33 years.
• How often do you train? 4 times a week.
• Thoughts about the competition: She wants to get first in everything.
• Specialty on the team: Besides being a turn extraordinaire, this lady can spin a canoe like no one else. (One of the aspects we have going for us as the 1500M and 1000M course in New Zealand is a shorter race course; each segment is 250 M, which creates more turns.) In seat six Denise is the steers woman who naturally and calmly guides and controls the boat and all us women! (Not an easy feat.) Denise has been the team mom, organizing us and taking care of the business aspect of racing.  

Kelly Fey

• Age: 44
• Hometown: Hawaii Kai, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: Self employed
• How long have you been paddling? 20 years.
• How often do you train? She trains (she feels) not often enough, but does something every day.
• Thoughts about the competition: She feels we have the ability to do well in the sprints.
• Specialty on the team: Kelly is the very quiet woman on the team who sits in seat five. She and Denise have a system worked out where Kelly assists with the turns and helps to communicate with Denise what the boat needs. (We like to call it her secret squirrel moves in the back.)

Margie Kawaiaea

• Age: 40-something (depends on what's happening)
• Hometown: Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii
• Occupation: YMCA fitness instructor and law office administrative assistant
• How long have you been paddling? 28 years.
• How often do you train? Trains everyday, often times twice a day.
• Thoughts about the competition:  She feels really good about this race, very confident in our crew!
• Specialty on the team: As seat four, Margie is the power, energy, and strength we need to be able to propel the 400-pound canoe to go fast!

Gail Grabowsky

• Age: 43
• Hometown: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: Professor at Chaminade University
• How long have you been paddling? 14 years.
• How often do you train? Trains everyday, doing something; run, lift swim, often a couple of things in one.
• Thoughts about the competition:  "Cannot wait to go 100% for 2:15" (the fastest time of our 500 M event)
• Specialty on the team:  Dr. Gail is our whirlwind of strength, energy, and power to help move that canoe from seat three!

Donna Kahakui

• Age: 42
• Hometown: Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: Works for the Environmental Protection Agency; also Founder and Director of Kai Makana (an organization to raise ocean awareness)
• How long have you been paddling? 20 years.
• How often do you train? Trains 4 times a week, does something everyday, her history is with endurance paddles.
• Thoughts about the competition:  "This is a wonderful opportunity to go against the best in the world sprint arena, paddle together and meet people from different countries. I see our crew with the potential and skills to be the best."
• Specialty on the team:  In seat two, Donna helps the stroker (seat one) maintain the rhythm as well as she controls the changes in the boat from side to side. She also assists the steersman to turn the canoe.

Cindy Razga

• Age: 44
• Hometown: Waimanalo, Oahu, Hawaii
• Occupation: Resource teacher
• How long have you been paddling? 19 years.
• How often do you train? I am following a program designed for me from our first sprint coach, Steve Scott. I lift 3 times a week and paddle 3 times a week. I try to fit other things in also: running, swimming, etc. I have been doing this since October 2005 in hopes of training my body to be able to do back to back sprints very efficiently.
• Thoughts about the competition:  I am so excited to have this opportunity to travel and paddle with these awesome women! I want to sweep all the events we enter!
• Specialty on the team:  I like to go REALLY fast.  My favorite event is the 500 M. I stroke the boat in seat one.  I set the pace for the canoe and assist the steersman with the turns.