SOCC heading to Tinian

A few of the top athletes in the CNMI are on a mission to show their skills this summer, and while none of them are eligible to compete in this summer’s 6th Micronesian Games due to the strict residency requirements, members of the Saipan Outrigger Canoe Club are taking the plunge in the deep waters paddle from Saipan to Tinian.

By the time today’s paper reaches newsstands everywhere, a crew of SOCC paddlers and supporters will test the open seas between the islands by fighting through 42-kilometer of waves to prepare for the best from California, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Australia that will be entering the Hamilton Cup in Queensland, Australia from Wednesday, June 28, through Saturday, July1.

The crew has been consistently building up training distances since they committed to the races in February, but before they tackle the 1,000m, 16km, and 42-km events, they will make a stop on Tinian for the fiesta this morning.

While the longest distance paddle equates to an aquatic marathon, the intrepid members of the SOCC are used to taking on challenges, much like they did during their latest attempt at the channel crossing to Tinian. While they’ve attempted the treacherous course once before, they were forced to turn back in the “severely rough water” and nearly capsized.

While they will have a full squad and substitute paddlers this morning, the team is taking on a challenge within the challenge as well when they head south to Australia for the Hamilton’s Cup. While most teams tackle the monster 42-km race with six paddlers in the outrigger and three to swap out every half hour from a chase boat, the men of the SOCC are going the distance with six.

The Hamilton’s Cup is one of the largest paddling events in the world, and this year there’s $100,000 on the line that will be evenly distributed between the best of all the divisions. In addition to the top finishers, those who display the true spirit of paddling will walk away with $1,000 and the Charles Pene “Spirit of Aloha Award.”

This morning’s trip will be one heck of a challenge, but it’s nothing compared to staggering cost to send the team to compete down under. Now the SOCC is looking to the community to help them compete with the world’s finest on one of the biggest stages.

“We’ve got a nice clean boat and we’re looking to put some decals on it. We’re looking for anybody to come out and sponsor our team,” said SOCC secretary Sonny Downer.

Joe Przyuski added that the team also has some “nice clean uniforms” that will be arriving soon and sponsors can add their names and logo to blank canvas by contacting their secretary via email at sonny.downer@gmail.com.