Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Commentary

Media Credit: Trevor Atkins Eight members of the Warrior football team stand for an applause at the opening of the 2008 Legislative Session. Senate President Colleen Hanabusa also acknowledged the women's soccer and volleyball teams for their WAC championship seasons. [Click to enlarge]

I would like to begin by saying that, as an alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Athletics Department, I am extremely proud of all the work our current athletes have put into this past season and I believe that all of the fall championship teams are well deserving of the honors they received. These young individuals bring great honor to both the university and the state of Hawai‘i.

Unfortunately, I was discouraged to discover that the UHM sailing team was not included in the Parade of Champions or the ceremony at the Legislature, which honored the university's fall champions from this past season. By winning the Fall 2007 Men's Singlehanded Championship and the Fall 2007 Sloop Pacific Coast Championship, the UHM sailing team worked hard to claim the titles to two different Pacific Coast Championship Conference events.

The UHM sailing team competes against teams in PCCSA, which include powerhouses such as Stanford, USC, UCLA, UCI, UC Berkley, and UC Santa Barbara, to name a few. After winning both Pacific Coast championships, senior Mark Spector went on to represent the university on a national level at the Men's Singlehanded Championship, where he placed 10th. Mark Spector, along with junior Ryan Wild and freshmen skipper Samuel "Shark" Kahn, went on to take another first place finish in the Pacific Coast Sloop Championship for the first time since 1997, earning yet another title for the university and going on to compete in the National Collegiate Regatta.

So, while I am extremely proud of UHM's championship football, volleyball and soccer teams, I am also proud of the champion sailing team. In the future I hope that all UH sports teams, even the "little" ones, are accorded the honor they deserve, an honor they have earned by being champions.

Sincerely,
Cassandra S. Harris
Member of the 2004 UHM National Championship Sailing Team

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