RIDE THE TIDE
Since the age of 12, junior Noam Elroi has competed in outrigger canoeing. Outrigger canoeing uses boats that feature one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to the body of the boat and allows it to sail in rough ocean water. Competing both individually and with a six-man team from the Lanakila Outrigger Canoe Club in Redondo Beach, Elroi has traveled to various locations around the world, including Hawaii and Tahiti, to compete, and has consistently placed in the top five at competitions.
At the age of seven, Elroi was introduced to sailing, which led to an interest in paddleboarding and then outrigger canoeing. Outrigging had a greater appeal than other water sports he tried particularly because of its emphasis on speed.
“[When] I [tried outrigging for the first time], I loved it,” Elroi said. “The best part is the surfing. Because [the waves] are long and fast, you can surf miles out where there is [ocean] swell, and you can go fast.”
Competitions entail racing over lengthy distances that vary with the season. During the six-man team competition season, Elroi and five other juniors from different schools compete in roughly 10-mile races in the Open Division despite the standard 18 to 29-year-old age range for this category. During the individual season, Elroi competes in approximately 20-mile races.
Currently, Elroi is training for the Distance World Championships in Australia that will take place in April 2019. To compete at top-tier international competitions, the team spends a considerable amount of time training during the school year.
“We train at a pretty high level,” Elroi said. “We [practice] all year round, anywhere from four to seven times a week depending on the season. I [try to] balance school and paddling, [but] sometimes it does not work out. When I have too much homework, I [would rather train during the day and] stay up late doing homework.”
According to teammate Keoni Rohrbach, the team’s successes can be partially attributed to their participation in the activity from an early age.
“Our team has been very successful since we were all young,” Keoni Rohrbach said. “We have basically always been the top junior team in [the Southern California Outrigger Association]. The [required teamwork] of the sport [has] challenged us together as a team.”
Teammate Blake Rohrbach believes that Elroi plays a pivotal role in the team’s progress. They have known each other for a long period of time and he has seen Elroi grow as an outrigger.
“[Elroi] has been an amazing teammate as well as a challenging [competitor],” Blake Rohrbach said. “A very valuable strength that he has is grit [as well as] amazing mental strength. When the odds are against him, he always finds the fire inside of himself to push through.”
Elroi’s mental strength is especially necessary for long-distance races during which exhaustion is the primary obstacle.
“[Having] to keep on going [in long-distance races] is the hardest part [of outrigging],” Elroi said. “You are dizzy, you can barely feel your arms [and other] things [can] go wrong when you are paddling for that long.”
Elroi feels that participating in outrigging has impacted his life positively as he was able to meet and learn from a diverse group of people, especially the members of Lanakila.
“Our club is the biggest club in California [with] 300 people,” Elroi said. “[The] motto that we live by is ‘include everyone’, and I feel like [Lanakila] is my biggest family. I have learned so much from all the people there.”
