Meet Master Coach Billy Tupea, of Mataiea Hoe Vaa, Tahiti, who along with several other outrigger coaches will be bringing a team of junior paddlers to the 2025 Queen Lili’uokalani outrigger races.
Tupea is one big dude. But it’s never slowed him down on the water. And he’s even bigger on bringing more juniors into the sport of Va’a. After a successful career as a competitive paddler, Tupea started coaching in 2008, then shifted to coaching juniors in 2021, where he could nurture the growth of young paddlers.
He likes training juniors because when they’re young, they’re more trainable, and he gets a lot of satisfaction out of “watching their evolution.” In Tahiti, where there is no shortage of young paddlers, he is currently training about 100 paddlers. “When they’re training,” he says, “I can help them stay away from drugs and other bad influences, focus their minds on the sport, and win races. In no time, some of my juniors are ready for Open competition!” Here’s the Mataiea-Hoe junior team, preparing for the Va’a Rio World Championships in Brazil.
Tupea’s junior team will be on hand at the Queen Lili’uokalani canoe race with 2,500 paddlers and several races for juniors. Sunday, August 31 will be a day full of Teen Single Hull, Double Hull, OC1/V1, OC2, and SUP at Wa’a Kaulua, with all these 5-mile races starting and finishing at the Kailua Pier. (See Race schedule.)
Tupea hopes to connect with other coaches in Hawaii—in a Tahitian-Hawaiian mind-and-paddle meld. After that, ARE Tahiti will welcome him to the mainland U.S. to train young paddlers here—a passion that doesn’t stop at paddling. “The discipline of paddling,” Tupea says, “better prepares these kids for jobs when they’re not paddling.” He beams with satisfaction at the joy that gives him.
Visit https://qlcanoerace.com for complete Queen Lili’uokalani event details and www.aretahiti.com to learn more about ARE TAHITI canoes. Or see what’s available at ShopOutrigger.com, your ultimate destination for everything a paddler needs, including canoes, clothing, and floatation vests.
