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FIOCCI Club History
Outrigger Canoe Racing is one of the fastest growing water sports in the world. 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of the Hamilton Island regatta, Australia's longest running outrigger canoe regatta. The NSW Outrigger Canoe Association was formed in 1995.
It was against this backdrop that the Illawarra's only outrigger canoe club was incorporated in 2002. Five Islands Outrigger Canoe Club grew out of a fortunate association between a Fairy Meadow based Maori cultural group "Nga Hau E Wha" ,and experienced Sydney outrigger canoe paddler, (and current Senior coach) Brett Rice.
Literally translated as "the people of the four winds", this inclusive phrase is often heard used during traditional Maori welcomes to describe those people of other tribes, or even cultures, who may not have a traditional connection to the land which they are standing on.
Central to the cultures of all the Pacific peoples is the concept of what Maori call whanau and the Hawaiians ohana. In English we call it the extended family.
From the Clubs inception this kaupapa and all it entails has been Five Islands guiding principle. This collective vision not only encourages family groups to participate as paddlers within the club. It also encourages all paddlers within the Club to see each other as members of one large extended family.
Tu August designed the Clubs dynamic logo, and collated the constitution for forwarding to the Office of Fair Trade.
The Clubs first canoe purchase was made possible through the generous foresight of Wollongong scaffolding buisness B-TAK who advanced the Club enough money to fund the purchase of our first canoe.
Rob and Letty ......... of the Cringilla Hotel were keen supporters of the Club and regular raffles and fundraising events were conducted there over the next few years to repay the loan for the first boat. An evergrowing membership base however meant that more canoes were soon needed.
Word of some unused canoes in the Coffs Harbour area reached Wollongong. The Cringilla Hotel sponsored the purchase of two of these and they were duly recovered from their cow paddock
resting place. One of these canoes "the Dugong" was from the first ever shipment of outrigger canoes to Australia. The long term loan of another six person canoe from a South Coast resident took the Clubs flotilla to four.
In 2005, Five Islands hosted their first State OC6 regatta at Belmore Basin, With a welcoming ceremony featuring Maori and Pacific Island dance and music on a specially built stage it was a truly memorable event for the hundreds of paddlers from other clubs who witnessed it.
In 2006 the Five Island women’s crew including two of the founding members juniors coach Leia Sakarai-Nati and Angela Psaila won the gold medal for the State titles short course event.
At the 2007 National Titles Five Island juniors were ranked a close second overall, taking first place in the OC2 division.
Under the gentlemanly guidance of long serving President and Social Paddling Coach, Milton Stoyles, the Club’s membership has grown to over thirty Senior and twenty Junior paddlers with many more paddling socially on Saturday mornings at the Basin.
This was creating further pressure on available seats however. A new more-competitive canoe was desperately needed. Mostly due to the superhuman fundraising efforts of Steve, Julie and Kate Latham this money was raised from a number of sponsors and fundraising activities.
In one of the proudest moments of the Club’s short history the new canoe was formally blessed
in a moving ceremony at Belmore Basin prior to the first regatta of the 2007/8 season. This was only the second regatta Five Islands had hosted. Hopefully it will prove as memorable for other participating clubs as the previous regatta.
Fittingly, the new canoe was named
"Ohana".