Change Season - Dana Point 2nd Place!

So in change season, typically our tiny team runs two gender crews in the "minor" races before the Catalina US Championships.  Everything, of course depends greatly on logistics with our limited budget and paddler supply, but either way change season has always, always been my favorite part of the sport of outrigger.  You go crazy long distance, you have to think strategically, you have to go crazy all out yet you have to be ready to be in the canoe for a very, very, long time.

This past week was the Dana Point 9-man race (change race) and the first of this season.  To our delight, we were told we would be running co-ed with our top people.

Expectations were pretty high, but happily we had an amazing race, during which we had first place a few times, but ultimately were bested by a large club from down South.  This 2nd place tasted very sweet nonetheless, and reminded all of us once again why we love this sport so much and that hard work really does pay off.  As our coach said as we were out on the water, "These are the moments that make coaching totally worth it."

A few of us stayed behind for the afternoon to collect our bling.  (Which included a really cool plaque made of island wood of some kind ... it was very special, so we decided to give it to our coaches.)

Only a couple months ago many of us would have said Ka Nai'a was going to have a laid back, more relaxed year which was less focused on being competitive and more focused on building its base.  Oops? :)