1st German Championship in Vaʻa/Outrigger

Polynesian flair on the venerable Olympic regatta course in Munich Oberschleißheim

On the weekend of 6/7 July, the 1st German Sprint Championship in *outrigger and vaʻa took place on the Olympic regatta course in Munich Oberschleißheim. On this history-steeped course, where the canoe and rowing competitions of the 1972 Olympic Games were held, the delegation of our club, the Frankfurter Ruder- und Kanusportverein Sachsenhausen 1898 e. V. (FRVS), was able to win medals in several categories. Races were held over 250 m, 500 m and 1500 m.

All of our 3 female and 3 male athletes won at least one gold medal and thus hold the title of German Sprint Champion in outrigger canoe sport.

In 5 events we paddled our way to the gold medal, honoured with 5 pennants on our flagpole.

Among other things, our athletes took the gold medal in the categories OC1 mixed 4 x 250 m relay, gold in the OC-6 mixed over 500 m, silver in the OC-6 mixed over 1500 m (with 5 turns), gold in the OC2 men over-50 over 500 m, gold in the OC1 men open 500 m and gold and silver in the OC1 men over-50 over 500 m, and silver each in the V1 men over-40 and over-50.

„We're delighted to be able to build on previous successes,“ says Lars Littfin, chair of the FRVS, an active paddler in the outrigger team and a coach in canoe sport. „All our efforts have paid off, and on top of the Hessian long-distance championship over 15 km in the outrigger and a silver medal at the German long-distance championship in Rerik on the Baltic Sea over 23 km, we've now also taken the sprint title.“

We're very proud of our athletes and this year's performances.

The field was very strong and, for the first event of its kind, very well received by the athletes and attended by many participants. Saturday was very sunny at around 30 °C, although thunderstorms moved in towards the afternoon and somewhat disrupted the race schedule. As a result, some races had to be postponed to Sunday. That day was unfortunately very rainy, at times windy and, at around 16 °C, also very chilly.

Organised by the German Canoe Association (DKV) and the Bavarian Canoe Association, and supported by the state capital Munich in Bavaria, the awards ceremony was conducted in person by the president of the Bavarian Canoe Association, Oliver Bungers, despite the at times very rainy conditions.

The FRVS is one of 3 canoe-sport clubs in Frankfurt and Offenbach that offer outrigger canoeing (OC and vaʻa) as a sport.

*Outrigger (OC) and VAA (V) are outrigger canoes originating from the Polynesian cultural sphere. The sports around this class of boat enjoy great popularity from New Zealand through Tahiti to Hawaii and are deeply rooted in cultural life, much like football or handball are for us. Many traditions about the settlement of the South Seas are inseparably linked to the outrigger canoe. The boats we use are of course designed for the more sporting needs. In Germany, outriggers and vaʻas are more of a niche sport. But already with our neighbours in France, this sport is celebrated and noticed much more thanks to the cultural exchange with France's overseas territories. Many still-active and former squad athletes of the Olympic canoe disciplines in the German Canoe Association (DKV) are involved with this class of boat.

Outriggers, which come more from the Hawaiian region, are outrigger canoes with a foot rudder. There are pedals in the boat that operate a steering fin at the stern. This class of boat exists as a single or a double.

Vaʻas, also called wakaʻamas, are outrigger canoes steered by paddle stroke – that is, not with a steering fin operated by foot pedals. They exist as singles, doubles, threes, fours and sixes, and with a sail.

At the German Championship, singles and doubles outrigger (OC1, OC2) and singles and sixes in the vaʻa (V1, V6) were raced.

We can now count multiple German champions among our previous successes. Back in May we became Hessian champions. In August we set off on the journey to Hawaii, where we'll take part in the IVF World Sprints (World Championship).

Since 1972, the regatta facility, built specially for the XX Olympic Games for rowing and canoe regattas, has been a fixture in rowing and canoe racing. It lies half on Munich city and half on Oberschleißheim municipal territory in the Dachau Moss and covers an area of around 850,000 square metres.

The following titles in detail:

Gold:

OC1 500 m over-50 men, J. Hüttenberger

OC1 500 m open/men over-40, F. Späth

OC2 500 m over-50 men, J. Hüttenberger, L. Littfin

V6 500 m mixed J. Brüggemann, C. Pape, J. Hüttenberger, L. Littfin, F. Späth, G. Dieckmann

OC1 relay mixed 4 x 250 m C. Pape, F. Späth, G. Dieckmann, J. Hüttenberger

Silver:

OC1 500 m over-50 men, L. Littfin

V1 500 m over-40 men, F. Späth

V1 500 m over-50 men, L. Littfin

V6 1500 m mixed J. Brüggemann, C. Pape, J. Hüttenberger, L. Littfin, F. Späth, G. Dieckmann

Bronze:

OC2 500 m open mixed, C. Pape, F. Späth