"There is more to come as we make adjustments to the website...so just a quick off the top of my head info. Some facts and acknowledgment should be known with the youth that participated in the first years and cannot be forgotton. The first year was almost cancelled due to 40 plus knot winds, 10-15 foot swells, but no sweat to a couple of little kids....
8 year old Connor Baxter, and 9 year old Kai Lenny showed what was possible and paved the way for other youth to follow. Names of all the other youth will be added as we double check last names, and their parents who made the crossing as their chaperones...We cannot forget their parents as if it was not for them these youth would not have been allowed to cross although most of them outsped their parents as they closed in to the shores of Molokai.
Zane Schweitzer chose to do SUP one year and raised a bunch of money for the youth. Over the years challenges arose as the event grew from a small idea to one of the best ocean crossings in the world. The past two years it has been going back to the drawing board so that the original concept could be reestablished.
For 2010 the format is close to the first year in 2003 with the exception that this is a team event because of the safety and rescue costs. This is not a race as this is about giving back to the sports with a spirit of wanting to show the future generation that opportunities exist in this world.
Which ever sport the participants choose this is to remind us about the essence of why a person took it up in the first place. This is also about how as individuals progress through life, reflect on their choices, and yet be given a chance or opportunity to give back to our youth who are the future generation. I can not forget those adult individuals in my teenage years who helped me with my windsurfing career. Without them the opportunties would not have existed as they showed what was possible in life. This is what this event is about.
For the youth that participate, well it is for them to be the role model for other youth in showing that with a dream, determination anything is possible especially in this day and age with technology and the vast opportunities that present themselves to the youth of today."
Clare Seeger Mawae -Event organizer and Chairman of Youth in Motion
