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V1 canoe racing serves to provide a continued connection to the craft and the skills associated with its handling, as well as its historical lineage within the Oceania cultural family.
The evolution of the V1 canoe racing craft has been fuelled and therefore nurtured not just out of cultural pride, but mainly because of the existence of key festivals, events and the International Va'a Federation, which have kept this graceful and highly skilled sport growing and growing. We have the people of French Polynesia to thank for this, along with those visionaries who have shaped the sport into what it is today.
On the 11th December 2010, in Guangzhou China, para-canoeing was given a positive vote by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to become Paralympic. The net result of this recognition, has brought respect, greater world-wide recognition of the sport and increased future investment by companies and paddlers alike.
V1 canoe sport really began its metamorphosis from around the mid 1980s, morphing from being a cultural touchstone into full blown going concern as an area of high end specialisation. V1 canoe design had to be reconsidered and along with it, paddling skills were elevated along with training regimes and the prestige associated with winning emerging V1 specific races, which singled out the islands leading exponents and stars of their national sport
Ta'amura'a te va'a (Binding together of the va'a). Whether you're a novice or elite paddler, you'll want your V1 canoe to run smooth and straight and much of the secret is in taking the time to rig the ama so as to be in near perfect tune with the primary hull, your paddling style, body weight and the conditions.
From the outset, if it's not already obvious, double-bend paddles are the preferred choice of paddle for either V6, V3 or V1 canoe for the Tahitian paddler. The question you may be asking is 'Why?' the answer to which has very much more to do with off-handed remarks, that, '. . . it's just a question of personal choice and ergonomics' a summation which signifies a lack of understanding as to the real reasons which go way beyond merely executing a forward stroke.
The forward stroke for V1 canoe craft, brings emphasis on bio-mechanical 'smoothness' with the greater part of power being generated through the arms and shoulders with only marginal amounts of rotation and torque applied in the process. The exit and recovery also rely heavily upon arm and shoulder extension and movement.
Away from the Tahiti and her islands, much of what is promoted as the technique for steering a V1 canoe, are techniques borrowed from open Canadian styled canoes and while some are certainly transferable, some fail to bring about specificity to the mechanics of steering what is after all, a uniquely different craft.
In the hands of a highly skilled and conditioned V1 canoe paddler, the upper limits of control can be maintained and the craft will do most all that which an OC1 will do - this reality is only relative, relative to the skill levels of the paddler.
The concept of V1 canoe race strategy and preparation is a complex issue, it is however what sets those who take their racing seriously from those who ‘also raced’. Ultimately it is a form of management. Preparation is primarily a pre-race strategy for success, a strategy which bringing together all the facets of that pre-race preparation when on the start line and once the race begins, ensures the greatest success.
You may wonder why include a section devoted to carrying and lifting your V1 canoe, but the fact is, good technique (physics) is required when handling not only such a relatively delicate, expensive and no doubt 'precious' craft, but one which is ultimately awkward on account of it's length and the added issue of the i'ato and ama. So delicate are some of the racing V1 that the there is an art and protocol in place with regards to how they are handled.
If there's one commonality shared by some V1 canoe and OC1 canoe paddlers it's pain and numbness radiating from the left buttock, along the hamstring (seemingly) into the back of the knee and on occasion resulting in pins and needles or even a numb left foot. In some cases it's just sheer pain in the butt. The culprit in all of this, is the sciatic nerve.