Kagman women row, row, row their boat to victory

Two months of racing outrigger canoes in the Saipan Lagoon every other weekend came down to two days of competition, as the girls of Kagman High School dominated the 2005 Interscholastic Outrigger Canoe League Championships last weekend on the waters off Kilili Beach in Susupe.

Kagman I ran away with the title by finishing in first place five times out of the possible seven, and narrowly placing second in the other two heats to finish with 42 points, while their classmates on the Kagman II team finished in second place overall with 101.5 points.

Much like windsurfing, the outcome of the outrigger canoe events are determined by the team with the lowest overall point total at the end of the competition. Coming into the final round of competition, Kagman I led the pack with a total of 18.1 points, and finished what they started by taking 10.2 points for one second place and two first-place finishes in the 500-meter sprints, another 10.2 for similar finishes in the three 1,500m heats, and 3.5 points for winning the 7.2-mile long distance race.

Kagman II was tailing the Dolphins of MHS heading into the finals by one point, but a combination of a first place, two second places, two thirds, and a pair of fourth place finishes allowed them to squeak into second with 101.5 points to MHS’ 107.9.

Saipan Southern High School also had a strong outing in the competition, and managed to finish first in one of the 1,500m heats and second in the other two, but slipped in the 500m sprints to finish fourth overall with 120.8 points.

“Overall the event went very well. All together, there were roughly 70 high school students who took part in this season’s races, with the emphasis on sprints.” said league coordinator Robert Jordan.

The paddlers set out early Saturday morning to take part in the multiple heats of 500m and 1,500m sprint races before tackling the challenge of the 7.2-mile final race.

On the men’s side it was the Dolphins who surged ahead from a 2.3-point deficit to overcome the Ayuyus by 25 points to finish with 58.1 overall. MHS paddled to five first-place finishes, one second, and one third in the finals to send the Kagman men into second place with 73.1 points. SSHS had three strong second place finishes, but was never able to crack the top spot—finishing in third with 93.5 points overall.

According to Jordan, the teams drastically reduced their times since they started practicing last November as a result of the hard work put in by both the coaches and the students, and he recognized them for their efforts.

“I would like to congratulate and thank all the athletes and their coaches, such as Sachiko Adachi from Marianas High, John Smith from Southern High, as well as coaches Rosalyn Ajoste and Sharleen Sakisat from Kagman High School.”

This is not the end of the road for the NMICF, as Jordan has already begun to look ahead toward expanding next season.

“It would be great if we could get a private high school team together for next year. In my opinion, there are few sports that can produce bonds like those that are generated between teammates paddling the same canoe. It is part of the whole experience that I hope the paddling community will impart on the youth of Saipan for many years to come.”

The next stop on the NMICF’s road to the South Pacific Mini Games in Palau is sending the high school teams to Guam next month to compete in the finals of the Commonwealth’s southernmost neighbor.

“This could be the first of many Inter-island high school championships, and we’ve got loads of possibilities for the sport of outrigger here in the Marianas.”

For more information about the NMICF or the Interscholastic Outrigger Canoe Championships, contact Jordan at 322-2745.