Error benefits Kailua

When Lanikai Canoe Club was declared the victor in a highly competitive Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship Regatta on Aug. 4, Lanikai’s head coach Scott Freitas had one word to describe what seemed to be a triumphant end to the season-long chess match: checkmate.

However, after a stunning turn of events, Lanikai and neighboring Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association rival Kailua actually are at a championship stalemate. A routine recount on Monday had the two teams finishing in a tie.

Lanikai had originally claimed the state title with 330 points, and Kailua was left to ponder the "what ifs" as it was declared runner-up with 329 points. However, on Monday morning, HCRA race secretary Samantha Moikeha determined that an error occurred in entering the results of the mixed 55 race, the 36th event of the regatta. According to Moikeha, the error was discovered as she organized the paperwork from all the races as part of her normal audit conducted after each regatta.

"There was no protest or (any club) asking for recount," said Moikeha. "(The change) was the result of a final audit that is part of my responsibility to make sure all the results are in order, and during that process, I had a few questions and just happened to come across the mixed 55 race results, and noticed that the (disqualification record) of Kihei was missing."

According to Moikeha, the crew from Kihei was disqualified by officials at the regatta, and thus, should have earned no points. However, the crew was originally credited with a fifth-place finish and, at the time, was incorrectly awarded 10 points that corresponded with the result. When officials corrected the mistake this week, all other crews in the race finishing below fifth place essentially moved up a spot. Since Kailua ended up gaining a point in the race by finishing eighth instead of ninth, and because Lanikai did not participate in the event, the change resulted in a tie for the overall championship at 330 points apiece.

For Lanikai, the championship remains the club’s third in five years.

"There’s a rule in the HCRA handbook that once the day ends and the regatta is over, the results are final," said Freitas. "Once you start splitting hairs, you could go back and look at every race and probably find something. It’s an unfortunate thing, but it just proves that with the scoring in the state race, every point is important."