FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/7/11
CONTACT : Shelley Oates-Wilding
Phone: (808) 388-3207
Email: shelleyoateswilding@gmail.com
headcoach@hckt.org
RYAN DOLAN qualifies Olympic Berth for the USA!
Honolulu, HI ~ Ryan Dolan of Kailua, Hawaii won the bronze medal in the Men's K1 200m final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico to qualify the only USA men’s kayaking spot for the London Olympic Games.
Ryan arrives back in Honolulu this Wednesday November 9th at 1:15 pm. We will be having a Big Welcome home and Congratulations and would like to invite you to join us at:
HONOLULU AIRPORT
9th November.
Wednesday 1:15pm
Hawaiian Airlines #15
The elation was short lived when 2 days after qualifying the spot for the London Olympics,
USA Canoe/Kayak terminated the employment of Ryan’s coach and National Men’s Coach Guy Wilding due to lack of funding for the national sprint program.
In April 2010 when Coach Guy Wilding accepted the position as Men’s Head Coach for the USA Sprint Canoe (aka sprint kayak) team, he brought all 6 USA men’s senior team to train here in Honolulu.
Coach Guy had a 6-year plan to build the men’s team into a formidable powerhouse for the USA leading into the Rio 2016 Olympics. Ryan has trained with Coach Guy for the past 18 months along with brother
Pat Dolan, Tim Hornsby, Morgan House, and twins Luke and Jake Michael, all improving in this short time and accomplished amazing results at National and International competitions.
"Only the people involved in sprint kayaking know how incredibly tough it is these days to qualify for the Olympic Games .... Ryan Dolan has just turned 21 years old, he is a true Hawaiian waterman and although
he has only been in the Olympic kayak for a relatively short time, he excels in all paddle sports. He has done extremely well so far and it goes without saying that he has enormous potential. I am extremely happy
for him, for his family and for all the people in Hawaii that have shown faith in Ryan and supported him to get this far." Applauded his coach Guy Wilding, Men's National Team Coach
Ryan now has one foot in the door with another national selection race in April. If he wins again or is the best American at the first world Cup in May he is on his way to London to represent Hawaii and the USA.
Ryan’s quote : “We have worked so hard to qualify this spot for the Olympics and then to find out that our governing body is unable to find the funds to support my coach is devastating! If I’m going to continue to
improve and be prepared to represent the US against the rest of the world I need to continue with Guy’s expertise and daily guidance here in Hawaii. Hopefully we can make this happen, because it’s pretty dream shattering right now.”
Hopefully Hawaii’s community can rally behind Ryan Dolan to support his dream and help keep his coach here in Hawaii through the Olympics 2012.
Ryan was born and raised in Kailua, HI. He began paddling with Lanikai Canoe Club at age 10 and was sponsored by John Foti and Pete Rooney for their youth canoeing program. When Ryan won races in his age group for OC1,
local paddling coaches took note and began coaching him. Kai Bartlett offered coaching plans via email and intermittent one-on-one contact with Ryan at outrigger races. As a Junior at Maryknoll, Ryan began paddling surfskis f
or ILH and won the State Championships. That was just 3 years ago. He joined the Hawaii Canoe and Kayak Team under the direction of Robyn Singh and Blane Chong to continue his training.
HCKT is now in the process of establishing “Hawaii’s Center for Excellence” which is a World Class Training Facility due to open just after the Olympics this year. This non-profit social venture will support our paddlers from development
through to those with the Olympic Dream.
If you are able to assist now with Hawaii’s effort to send our local boy to the 2012 London Olympics, please consider donating through contacting us or online at www.hckt.org. All proceeds will support Ryan’s coaching, training and trip
to the London Olympics.
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Submitted by DubbleD on Wed, 11/09/2011 - 10:44pm
aloha All Had a hard time formatting text.But the message is clear ,come together get behind this and lets make this great thing stay in Hawaii,
#1 Wed, 11/09/2011 - 10:49pm
DubbleD here!Paddlers put on your thinking hats and show that we are a nation of paddlers and can make Hawaii the epicenter of the paddling world.We are proud of you Ryan.
#2 Wed, 11/09/2011 - 11:06pm
Just wondering ... What does Coach Guy have to say ? Double D and Ryan, do you know what he is thinking / picturing for the future and is he able to still stay in the picture ??
aloha,
pog
#3 Wed, 11/09/2011 - 11:50pm
Unfortunately the community that visits this site will not rally around much. Actually I don't believe the paddling community in Hawaii would rally around any oppurtunity. Of course we have a few people, but not nearly enough to make any progress. (Please nobody tell me to go back home after this) The town I am from would be going nuts and not just fundraising but we'd be attending practices for these guys. If the parents didn't have the means for the kid to get good coaching then another family would pick up the tab. People would find away for these kids to earn money. I remember perents hiring HS school athletes and paying them good money to help coach their kids. The community just found a way to make it happen. I always hear this talk about how we look out for eachother and how ohana is our focus in Hawaii. It's all talk and very little action. I def don't speak for the the parties involved and they probably don't want to be associated with these statements.
Maybe the Dolans won't accomplish much measured by medals. But, maybe coincedentally this has happened, I see so many more kids paddling in the Ala Wai these last couple of years. I think it has something to do with Guy/Sheila and the Dolans. These kids take up the entire canal sometimes and I love having to wait for them to pass so I can get in the water. In the morning we almost run into eachother in the dark Ala Wai. I would fall in the Ala Wai water everyday as long as I get to see these kids with passion, striving for something great inside them. To me they own the Ala Wai and I'm just a guest. The bond that these teammates have must be something that money and material goods could never fullfill. It's def something that I lvoe seeing. One day these guys/gals are all going to be racing. I'm very sure one of these kids with and ealry enough start will have the focus and determination to be number 1. As sure as I am of that, I am sure that he/she will be doing it mostly on their own.
#4 Fri, 11/11/2011 - 10:53am