In the Fun Meet’s heyday, Mokihana Aquatics was able to net $15,000 from its biggest fund-raiser of the year. Mokihana head coach Orlando Anaya would like to think his club is headed back to similar numbers. The next step will
In the Fun Meet’s heyday, Mokihana Aquatics was able to net $15,000 from its biggest fund-raiser of the year.
Mokihana head coach Orlando Anaya would like to think his club is headed back to similar numbers.
The next step will be taken beginning Saturday morning at Kaua’i High School pool, when the club hosts the Mokihana Fun Meet. It will be the second consecutive, after a 10-year hiatus that began in 1992.
“In 1991, we had 300 swimmers and almost 2,000 entries,” Anaya said. “That’s the year we made about $15,000.”
This year there will be 100 swimmers and 567 entries. Last year, 68 swimmers competed.
“We’re on the rise,” Anaya said.
This year, four clubs will journey to Kaua’i for the event: Aloha Aquatic Association, Barbers Point Swim Club, Maui Gold Swim Club and Punahou Aquatics.
“I’ve been looking at the entries and racing line-ups,” Anaya said, “and it looks like we’re going to have some really competitive racing.”
Anaya hopes that some of that comes from the members of his own club. A broken pump at the KHS pool kept Mokihana swimmers out of water for three weeks. Friday, July 27, marked the team’s return.
“We’ll have had 10 practices by race time,” Anaya said. “But I think we can still go fast.”
Anaya said the meet costs about $5,000 to run. A Moloka’i Sweet Bread sale was responsible for funding the event, the coach said.
“We want the public to come out and enjoy the swimming,” Anaya said. “It’s their bread buying that helped make this possible.”
The Skinny
– What: Mokihana Aquatics Fun Meet
– When: Saturday and Sunday
– Time: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
– Where: Kaua’i High School
