What would make the Molokai Hoe better?

Free beer!

#1 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 11:53am

i think they said coverage. not beverage, James

i think the coverage is great right now with the show ocean paddler puts together. doesn't one of the local channels also tape a show?

figuring out a way to do a good live video feed of a new unlimited division would help. even just a live blog with updates every 5 minutes or so. there has to be a way to get something like that done. for people like me who are too lazy to do the race the next best thing is knowing what's going on out there.

#2 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 4:06pm

Our poll is now working, please tell us what you think!
www.VelzyHawaii.com

#3 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 5:37pm

Is this about media coverage? To make the Hoe better is what so much of these forums seem to stress.....an unlimited class. HCRA changed before and still bowed to tradition...there is a koa and malia class. Now change again and allow an unlimited class. If you still want to keep the fiberglass 400#'s around....then have the unlimited as also an ironman. For insurance reasons..they can still have an escort boat to fillm them as they kick everyone's okoles and might be having a lot more fun doing it.

#4 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 5:57pm

Two words for my opinion please:

RAMBO UNLIMITED

UNLIMITED RAMBO

aloha,
pog

#5 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 5:52pm

well if we are talking iron unlimited, then I'd train for the race.

and yes, camera work by rambo and others on this site would be nice. but there should be a coordinated effort. not just ten or twenty cameras out there shooting their own video. if everyone was filming as a team and came together to make one killer HD movie of the race... that would be great.

tried to go to the velzy site. but it needs Flash to be viewed. oh well.

#6 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 6:05pm

VelzyHawaii....a poll ?

#7 Thu, 06/24/2010 - 5:30am

More international teams. I have only been there for 1man. Still cost ahell of alot. Tried to get a 9man there but that cost a lot more. Its hard work. I'm sure most hawaiian teams would love to be racing 20 teams from aus, 20 from nz, 20 from italy etc.. Maybe not 20 tahitian teams haha. But yeah a full on packed international turn out would be Mean.

#8 Wed, 06/23/2010 - 9:04pm

More Prize money spread to first 10 canoes and separate prize money for Koa division.

#9 Thu, 06/24/2010 - 2:03pm

My two cents:

Coverage -> A video like Pa'a does... So many people would buy it for a keep sake....

Mixed Crews -> Right now one weekend is the Male race and one weekend is for the Womens race. I think allowing mixed crews would allow more international crews to come. It is a large cost and only one can race out of a couple.

#10 Thu, 06/24/2010 - 2:28pm

More sponsorship and marketing.

#11 Thu, 06/24/2010 - 6:06pm

if you've got the *budget to follow teams pre-race and post-race then splice the race footage with more pre-race team interviews. get inside the teams 'locker room' and see what their strategies are - coaches, changes, lines, equipment rigging.... and then after that cut to them racing. then after the race ask them how their strategy went - that way viewers get a total appreciation for what a team can go through. follow maybe one tahitian team, one hawaiian team and on international

the heli footage is great. keep it up
Kingi

#12 Fri, 06/25/2010 - 11:31am

K, I think you have what it takes to be a producer. Good creativity to make the sport a little more interesting by getting to know the storylines behind the paddler's, preparation, and teams. Velzy- I hope you took note of this.

And of course open division- that's my two cents- it's simple and obvious- I'm a simple guy though.

#13 Fri, 06/25/2010 - 1:19pm

We are making note of all this! Thanks for the two cents--this is what we are looking for. Another way to look at it:

If there was no budget for this race, what would you do to it? Keep Posting!

Velzy Hawaii

#14 Fri, 06/25/2010 - 2:56pm

In answer to what would make the race better .....drug testing IMO

 As to what would make the Coverage better, just have some footage that can be viewed online , here in Austalia we have PAL not the US NTSC  so we have to get any TV footage converted so we can watch it on TV .Online footage eliminates that hassle .

As to the number of crews that may come from Australia there is rarely more than 2 open contenders and others may come for their division or the holiday only . The same $$$ reasons most Hawaiian crews don't come in June to Australia is the reverse in oct when the Crosssings are on. cheers Lats

#15 Fri, 06/25/2010 - 8:07pm

Aloha,

Mahalo for being open to comments.

I mentioned this a year ago, but I think it is more important now.

There needs to be premier OC-1 and OC-6 events. There are too many now and organizations are fighting each other- in the long run it will hamper the sports-maybe in the short run too.

You have to make it easy. So visiting teams know what is important and feasible. The move is to longer races. If people travel they want to go longer.

Cancel some traditional OC-9 races on Oahu and make a 42 mile 9 man change race 3 weeks before Molokai around Oahu. Logisitics, TV, advertising are easier on Oahu, Have a mandatory shore buoy to go around in middle of race so people can see what is happening. Women and Men same day same time.-Canoes might be tough but I think it can be done

Molokai becomes Iron again.
Maybe same course Manny created but go to Waikiki

#16 Sat, 06/26/2010 - 4:31am

Velzy,

what's your general idea/plan/thoughts?

#17 Sat, 06/26/2010 - 10:08pm

what would make the race coverage better would be more info on the individual crews, clubs, and paddlers. Give us history, interesting stories, statistics, etc. every year the coverage seems like the same thing, just different interviews and different footage. paddlers know all about the beauty, culture, and fun of paddling already. its a competition and making the show more interesting would make it more exciting. it would be better if the coverage was more like an actual sporting event geared towards athletes vs a show that seems to be geared towards people who know nothing about paddling

#18 Sun, 06/27/2010 - 9:01pm

Hey guys this is a very informative thread, some great feedback here about what people want to see in media coverage, video and print. Thank you.

Just following on from where Kingi and others posted about getting the ''Inside" of what a crew goes thru to prepare for a big race like Molokai Hoe. Last year i had plans to do full video story about the very successful Mooloolaba Masters crew (i think 10 wins out of 15 attempts) plans fell thru so it didn't happen, but we are looking at doing it this year. A larger project based on the whole event would be a fantastic idea.

You guys are so right, it is so much more interesting exploring what a crew do to prepare, team selections, training, bonding, the joys and highs of sharing the win/loss etc, than just showing video of race footage. This however is not easy to do, as it involves the film maker being skilled enough to tell a story, capture all the emotional content and then produce imagery/sound that will convey all of that to a wide audience. At the end of the day, it is not the result, but the journey that is interesting.

There is a lot of time to invest here, as you need to be in the crews pocket the whole time, early morning training sessions, team meetings etc, and have an understanding of what goes on in a paddlers head.

I think the cultural imagery/content is very important to include, as many paddlers outside of Hawaii do not have the understanding of the connection. I know when i lend my copy of Tommy Holmes book ''The Hawaiian Canoe'' to a new paddler, they have a whole new appreciation and approach to paddling after they return the book, but i understand it is their choice as to how much they embrace. One thing that really left a lasting impression on me, was listening to Nappy and Kamoa at a clinic and seeing the respect Kamoa has for Nappy, allowing him to "tell stories'' rather than stick to the prepared clinic format, ... ears are for listening, we have 2 and only one mouth hey.

The older videos of the Bankok Molokai Hoe with Walter Guild and co host doing live commentary during the actual race were great, with Walter giving background info on the crews and the tactical changes as they happened.

Please keep this thread alive with feedback and ideas, it is very valuable to people like Velzy, myself and other media providers.

Cheers Rambo
Ocean Sports media

#19 Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:26pm

Mixed crew racing would help us overseas travellers. Last year we had to make a choice when my wife paddled Molokai. With the break between mens and womens it makes it hard as a couple to have enough money to stay for both. All other places we race in the Pacific we can both compete in the same event.

#20 Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:56pm

Making the race more spectator friendly and accessible. That would bring more interest, sposors, international paddlers, etc. Continue covering the tradition, but take it further than the intro to canoe paddling motif. If money is no problem- maybe live GPS tracking of canoes online- course, speed, map it on Google Earth in realtime, plus have some live coverage. For example, The Battle of the Paddle had a live webcast. Do that plus some pre and post race coverage with "imbedded" reporters.

#21 Tue, 06/29/2010 - 3:03am

Rambo,
You are on the right track with how the story needs to be told, at some point, by someone, hopefully with a lot of talent, insight and time/money to do it. Ideally a filmmaker who is also a paddler or has paddling ties.
There are a few that I know of that also share this idea, to show a) the human experience, the pain, the sacrifice, the drama -that play a big part of our lives and are interlaced with reaching for the goal of the Hoe, or for some Tahiti. b) the sport, competitiveness, physical conditioning and training, the explosive action of surfing c) the culture, history, open ocean, what it means to cross channels, the spiritual aspects that are personal to each paddler.

The potential is awesome when I envision it.

#22 Tue, 06/29/2010 - 9:18am

Interesting thread. Sadly, It all comes down to money, those of you not in the media business may have no idea how expensive it is to film this event. We would LOVE to be able to give everyone what they want. We try our best to please the masses. The Molokai hoe organizers do a great job with what they are given to spend on media. As an FYI, you can buy a dvd of the race, contact the Molokai hoe organizers. Last year we tested a live web-cast, the issue as some of you may know is the signal mid way across the channel goes dead. With that being said, we are hoping this year to do it again on a larger scale. Our EP Alex, has figured out a way to keep things moving and as we get closer we will share it with you and how you will be able to again watch it live!

Keep watching gang, and be sure to tune into the new episode of Ocean Paddler TV starting on the 5th. UNREAL footage and segment of the Eono hoe. Alex, Dolan and the rest of our team out did themselves.

I hope you all know how much we apprecaite you, we do our best to keep you happy when watching our show.
A hui hou,
Terry

#23 Tue, 06/29/2010 - 3:53pm

One more thing gang, if you watch our shows leading up to and after the races, you will see we do have segments relating to what Rambo and others have suggested. Insight, connections, training, behind the scenes etc..If you live outside of Hawaii, check your local cable channels called "untammed sports" we air 3 times a week on that channel in millions of households. You can also watch the show live at www.oc16.tv (they stream our shows) we air at times thru out the week that fit into anyones time zone. You can also go to our web-site www.oceanpaddler.tv and watch previous episodes and segments all of which go to what you all are asking for:)
xoxoxo
Terry

#24 Tue, 06/29/2010 - 4:23pm

Have you ever seen the show wipeout?

They have to ditch the boat at the shore and do something like that

#25 Fri, 07/16/2010 - 6:26am

The no one under the age 18 rule should be thought over. There are some guys who've done the solo, and the eono hoe, and done quite well, but they're not allowed to do the molokai because they're "too young". Yet novice guys are allowed to do it, because they're "old enough". I think age shouldn't matter, it should be what you're capable of.

#26 Sun, 07/18/2010 - 11:54pm

I think you hit it on the nose. Again the powers to be are missing the boat here. Its sad that you have novice paddlers doing the race without even showing any ability; but they can show their ID that they are an adult (not necessarily a capable paddler but an adult) and thats all that matters. If its a safety issue then thats who you need to worry about not the under 18's that do the channel on a one man. If its about keeping it a prestigious race thats supposed to be so difficult, Too Late. The pa'a eono race is here.

#27 Wed, 07/21/2010 - 9:23pm