IVF Hilo World Sprints, Sunday Aug 8 Report

Today, while no official events were held, there was still a lot of activity on the calm Hilo Bay. Thousands of paddlers from every corner of the world continued to arrive and fill the streets of Hilo. (It's a good time to be multilingual in Hilo) Tiger's V1 canoes and Outrigger Connections Mirage OC6 canoes were being set up and rigged by officials and organizers. Onlookers checked out the canoes in amazement. The sheer number and quality of the brand new canoes are an impressive sight.

Many paddlers got out in some of the older canoes from Hilo Bay clubs for some early practice. Hawaiian Canoe Club's youth program, coming from Saturday's State Championship victory, took out eight canoes for several miles of practice. Assigned practices begin Monday, with the official opening ceremony on Tuesday.

Out on Coconut Island in Hilo Bay there was an Awa ceremony with both Hawaiian and New Zealand chants. Check out the photos in today's gallery.

OCPaddler will be updated daily with news from the Hilo World Sprints.
[Photos, Sunday Aug 8]

Posted by keizo on Sun, 08/08/2004 - 10:49pm