Campbell powers to victory at world distance championships

As he trained in the months before the world distance championships in Brazil, Kīkaha’s Brent Campbell put his faith in slowing down. 

Instead of leaning into his fast-twitch muscle fibers and a speedy pace, which Campbell said is his norm, he focused on miles and miles of Zone 2 training, which requires an athlete to train at a low to moderate intensity. He put steady power into every stroke and increased his strength with a weightlifting routine. 

That work paid off on Aug. 18 when Campbell won the Master 40 Men’s V1 race at the 2025 IVF World Distance Championships in Niterói. He bested a field of 20 paddlers, finishing the 24-kilometer race in 1:29:13.2. Tahiti’s Charles Taie finished second, 1:54.9 behind Campbell. 

“I trained a lot differently,” Campbell said. “I did a lot of base work. Low stroke rate and power. When you are just using your muscles it’s all about mental fortitude and how tough you are. Top end cardio has a limit.”

Finding waves during the race was a key to victory, said Campbell, who added that he doesn’t know how to surf that well.

“The race was all about feel,” he said. “Tiny, little bumps. They kept me from falling off the pace. I was still not going hard. I knew I could sprint for waves. I never felt tired at any point.”

The race, streamed live on YouTube, was thrilling to watch. Campbell and Taie battled from the start, trading a lead that was never more than a boat length for either paddler. Campbell said he felt focused.

“From the start until we got into the surf my goal was to push hard but not overdo it,” he said. 

At the halfway point, Taie rounded the buoy first, but the battle continued on the return leg.

When Campbell and Taie approached the massive Santa Cruz Fortress, Campbell stopped to bail water from his canoe. Taie shot ahead, quickly building a 30-meter lead that appeared insurmountable from the drone footage being shown. Campbell said he wasn’t worried.

“I was waiting on the downwind to catch a wave and get some water out,” he said. “Poke and bail. It was hard to surf with all that weight. I knew he wasn’t that far ahead.”

But on the first wave, all the water rushed to the front of the canoe and Campbell didn’t get a chance to keep bailing.

Taie appeared to take a risky line as he rounded the fort, the ocean heaving behind him, swells crashing on the rocks.

“I saw him cut in early and get pushed out,” Campbell said. “It’s rough there and the water pushes you. He was inside and got pushed out around the curve. I went wider and got tucked in around the curve. I was able to catch a wave.”

Campbell closed to within a boat length after a four-minute surge and just after the hour mark in the race, he took the lead for good.

When he had crossed the finish line, Campbell buried his face in his hands. It was a moment he had not expected.

“I was crying,” he said. “It was emotional. I didn’t expect to win and when I looked back and Taie wasn’t there… It was a weird moment. I couldn’t believe I was there.”

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Kīkaha works with high school students to expand the sport in the PNW

For six weeks at the height and heat of summer, a small group of Kīkaha volunteers shared their love of paddling and Hawaiian culture with Tacoma area teenagers in a partnership with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center. 

The program, led by Boy Chun Fook, drew 25 to 30 youth from the cultural center each session. They learned about the importance of canoes to Hawaiian culture, how to use a paddle and what it takes to make a canoe go fast. By the end, they had fallen in love with paddling.

Kīkaha has held a similar but shorter summer program for about 10 years, Chun Fook said. It was expanded this year, however, because Chun Fook wants the program to evolve into high school paddling competitions in Washington. 

“The reaction when I said high school paddling –- their eyes opened wide,” Chun Fook said. “They are all waiting to see what we are going to do with the schools.”

Not everyone was an athlete, but it didn’t matter. 

“At first it was hard because none of them had paddled before,” Chun Fook said. “After the first day they got the hang of it. Each week we got better.”

Paddling has been a fixture on the high school athletic calendar in Hawaii since the late 1970s. Chun Fook knows it won’t be an easy sell to Pacific Northwest education leaders, however. 

Kīkaha already has a keiki program, which focuses on races during the sprint regatta season, but the paddlers are typically younger than 14. A handful of junior paddlers, three to four that are older than 16, also paddle. Chun Fook envisions his high school paddlers racing during sprint season in JV and Varsity divisions. Ideally, they would start in April, when most high school sports programs have ended for the academic year, he said.

“If it doesn’t happen with the schools, we will still invite them down,” Chun Fook said. “It is going to take time with the schools, but we can get them in our sprint season. All the club leaders in the Pacific Northwest are going to say hell yeah. It would open the doors for each club to have a junior program.”

Chun Fook, a kupuna 60s paddler, isn’t afraid to dream big. Paddling has defined his adult life and gives him joy every day. It gives his friends joy. He wants that for the next generation. 

“Look at me and look at John (Richardson) and Russ (Woolsey), guys who paddled in Hawaii when we were young,” he said. “We are paddlers who contributed to paddling. If we get younger people involved, we’ll have more Boys and Johns and Russells to help clubs and mentor.”

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E Komo Mai puts Hawaiian culture on display, delights the public

Blue skies, warm weather and Hawaiian culture were out in force for Kīkaha’s 2nd annual E Komo Mai on Aug. 10 at Owen Beach in Tacoma. 

Hundreds of people were treated to music, food and an up close look at the club’s canoes. 

“We do not have the total numbers for the event, but we project they surpassed last year’s total by a lot,” said Kīkaha’s Joe Villegas, one of the event’s organizers. “It was another sunny day with a lot of volunteers.”

The event, which drew more than 1,000 people in 2024, was possible because of funds Kīkaha received from Tacoma Creates, which works to increase access to culture, heritage and science in Tacoma by reducing barriers to access, especially for underserved youth.

“The organizing committee would like to thank Tacoma Creates and all the volunteers for their efforts,” Villegas said. “We had more cultural activities than last year. We received great reactions from the public.”

Entertainment was provided by Island Bound, Monday Ukulele ‘Ohana, Halau Hula Ka Lei Mokihana I Ka Ua Noe and Seattle’s Totally Relaxed ‘Ukulele Musicians.

Seattle Poi demonstrated poi pounding, there were educational booths from the Asia Pacific Cultural Center and Moku’āina A Wakinekona Hawaiian, TJ Leis made leis for the public. Island Fusion was the caterer.

Kīkaha’s Beth Wolfe, one of the event’s organizers, said this year’s event was better than last year’s. 

“From what I was told and saw, it was very well received,” Wolfe said. “I think a large part of that was our entertainment. They were so good. I think that is what the crowd enjoyed the most.”

The success of the E Komo Mai may be felt for months to come as well as next summer, when Kīkaha uses the event to help mark the club’s 30th year of existence. Wolfe said she’s already been approached by an area event showcasing Hawaii that wants to include a Kīkaha booth in October, a physical therapist who wants to become a sponsor for the 2026 E Komo Mai and officials at Tacoma Parks, who want to discuss possible involvement in the event. 

E Komo Mai 2025 showcased a range of music. From left: A member of Seattle’s Totally Relaxed ‘Ukulele Musicians and Isaiah Chun Fook of Island Bound. — photos by Kanai Hyke

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Summer of 2025 shout out! Kīkaha members flash shakas around the world

Kīkaha members were everywhere this summer, flashing shakas, showing off club gear and sharing aloha everywhere they went. 

Matt Taufa’asau raced with Tai Wa’a Coast to Coast at the Na Pali Challenge on Aug. 9 off the Kaua’i coastline. His crew included Jono Saunders, a former Kīkaha paddler who spent time with the club this summer, as well as paddlers from Hawai’i, Arizona, Baltimore and the Pacific Northwest. “The race course was changed from its usual Hanalei to Kekaha due to anticipated gnarly conditions at the finish,” Taufa’asau said. “However, the same big swells made for a bumpy ride at the start. This is the first time the race has ever been run this way and the first opportunity for a lot of folks to see that side of the island. Plus, finishing in Hanalei was a treat in itself.”

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Wahine Wayfinding

Paddling, training and everything in between from a woman’s point of view

By Mariko Roths

Hello there! If you don’t already know me, I’m Mariko Roths, that quiet girl you may have seen at practice. I’m excited to introduce the Wahine Wayfinding section of our newsletter, where I’ll share whatever fun paddling topics I have on my mind!

This month, I want to talk about water changes. I got my first taste of water changes when we practiced them ahead of the Aug. 23 PNW Challenge, which has an event for a 9-person changeout crew. 

There are two popular ways for getting into the canoe during a water change: using your arms to pull yourself over the gunwale and into the canoe, and hooking your leg over the gunwale and under a seat, then leveraging your leg to pull yourself in. 

While the pull-up method seemed to be easier for the men, it was not for me, and I had a far easier time with the leg-hook. This preference could simply be attributed to differences in upper body strength. However, I think it’s also important to consider the differences between men’s and women’s center of gravity, which is the location where your upper and lower body are balanced.

On average, women have a lower center of gravity than men because women have wider hips and tend to hold more weight and muscle in their lower body. Men, however, tend to hold more weight and muscle in their upper body. The average woman might have a center of gravity around her pelvis, while for the average man it might be just above his belly button. 

Your center of gravity has a big influence during a water change because the gunwale acts as a pivot for your body. When using the pull-up method, paddlers with a higher center of gravity may start to shift into the canoe once their stomach is balanced over the gunwale. But my center of gravity is near my pelvis, which means I would need to pull myself up an extra foot to achieve the same result. 

For this reason, I found the pull-up technique to be extremely difficult. I had to strain myself higher over the gunwale and lean heavily forward to get into the canoe, which resulted in a very sore and bruised body the next day. 

When I tried the leg-hook, it was a night and day difference with how much easier it was for me. First, getting my leg over the gunwale at the onset meant that a decent portion of my lower body weight would be out of the water. Then by locking my foot under the seat, I could leverage my leg to pull the rest of my body over the gunwale and into the canoe. The leg-hook allowed me to utilize my stronger and larger leg muscles to easily lift myself into the canoe without needing to overexert my upper body muscles.

The overall point I’d like to make is that every body is different. While the pull-up method may work for some, and while it’s certainly not impossible for women to succeed using this approach, it may not work for others. I had to learn how to work smarter, not harder, by manipulating my weight distribution to my advantage and leveraging (literally) my strongest muscles. Even if you never plan on doing a water changeout race, it is still helpful to know how to get into a canoe in case of a huli, and there is no shame in trying out different methods until you find something that works best for you and your body!

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Aw’ryte!

Don’t forget to plan for the last race of the 2025 season, the Chicken Long Race Solo/Relay in Tacoma on Oct. 18. You can race with a relay team or solo. Worried about the cold? Auntie Bren’s chicken long rice soup will be there at the finish to warm you up…

Mark your holiday calendars: The annual Kīkaha Christmas party will be from 1-5 p.m. Dec. 13 at the old Asia Pacific Cultural Center location on Portland Avenue.

Aw’ryte!

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Kīkaha O Ke Kai, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that paddles out of the Foss Waterway, would like to say mahalo to its sponsors and supporters: Asia Pacific Cultural Center,  Papa Ola Lōkahi, Nordlund Boat Company, Katie Downs Waterfront Tavern & Eatery, Tucci Energy Services, Hawaiian Paddle Sports, Aloha Carpet Cleaning and Moku ‘aina Wakinekona Hawaiian Club. 

Talk Story seeks to cultivate a strong, unified identity for Kīkaha O Ke Kai, reflecting the spirit of Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling. It is dedicated to sharing club news and managing information promptly. It aims to provide members and supporters with a newsletter that enhances their connection to the club and represents our shared values on and off the water.  You can contact us at kikaha.info@gmail.com.