Outrigger Canoe Club began sponsoring paddleboard racing in 1974 and was the first to offer competition in Hawaii on a fair and consistent basis.
In the 1960s OCC member Cline Mann commissioned Joe Quigg, also an OCC member, to make two 12-foot balsa paddleboards. Over the years these boards were loaned to many paddlers for paddleboard races including the Lanai to Maui Paddleboard Race. They became the prototypes for the stock boards being used today.
With Quigg, George Downing, Donny Mailer and other paddlers, Cline established the criteria for the new class of paddleboards: 12-feet in length and 20 pounds, with no mechanical rudder. Cline’s idea was to enable more paddlers to participate by offering a board that did not have the advantage because it was made from costly materials. This kept the sport fair for many years. As new materials became more affordable decades later, lighter boards entered the arena.
When Waikiki Surf Club cancelled its 20-year sponsorship of the annual Diamond Head paddling championships in December 1974 just days before the scheduled event, Cline Mann stepped in at the last minute, got a sponsor and personally put on the race on Christmas Day which was open to the public. A few weeks earlier on December 1, 1974, not knowing that the Christmas race was in jeopardy, he put on the Club’s first paddleboard race for members only, as a warm up for the Diamond Head race. The Club continued to sponsor the Christmas race through 1977. Then with Cline’s leadership, the Club began sponsoring the Waikiki Winter and Summer Ocean 10K Paddleboard races. In 1981, the annual Summer Surf Paddleboard Race was added. To encourage participation in the races in the early days, OCC charged no fees for entry and provided a free lunch afterward at the awards ceremony.
In 1985 the Paddleboard Committee changed the name of the Summer Waikiki Ocean 10K Race to the Cline Mann Paddleboard Race and reduced the distance to 5,000-meters. In 2000, the Paddleboard Committee changed the Cline Mann 5K to the Cline Mann Memorial Ko`olaupoko Paddleboard Race, a 17-mile race from Makai Pier at Makapuu to the Club beach. Cline had long thought about such a race because of the challenge it offered and because it hadn’t been done. Today, the race is held on the Saturday after the 4th of July as a prelude to the Molokai 2 Oahu paddleboard race.
Outrigger was the exclusive sponsor of paddleboard races for two decades, giving the sport the opportunity to grow and prosper. Races are now held several times a month that include paddleboards. In addition to the traditional prone paddleboard races, hundreds are entering stand up paddleboards (SUPs) in races across the islands and the world.
The Club continues to promote paddleboarding by holding clinics for keiki where skills and good sportsmanship are taught, and keiki can enter fun races to gain experience.
Outrigger has produced many great paddleboarders including Dale Hope, Bret Goodfriend, Kiki Spangler, Mike Fox, Kainoa Downing, Chuck Kelley, Keone Downing, Chris Moore, Heath Hemmings, Dawson Jones, Mark Rigg, Jimmy Austin, Kanesa Duncan, Eric Abbott, Travis Grant, Trey Balding, Robin Smith and Fred Fong.
A new group of paddlers has emerged from the keiki program and are very competitive in paddleboarding. They include Hunter Pflueger, Nat Yee, Jon Chee, Aukai Manson, Hobey Moss, Riley Kawananakoa, and Peter Cross.
To learn more about the paddleboard races that Outrigger has sponsored see below:
Cline Mann Paddleboard Races
Scratch Fest Surf Relay
Summer Surf Paddleboard Race
Waikiki Ocean 10K Paddleboard Races
Diamond Head Buoy Paddleboard Race
Other Paddleboard Races
Stand Up Paddleboard
Paddleboard Committee