Tess Whittet
Sports Editor
Junior Blake Rohrbach is paddling further into the sport of outrigger.
Rohrbach competes in outrigger paddling, which is done in a Hawaiian canoe, with his team Lanakila, which consists of six paddlers. He competes in many competitions that occur in various places.
“[I paddle because] of the bonding I have made with the boys on my team and family that was made from it,” Rohrbach said. “I have [met] so many people from all around the world from it and it’s super fun.”
Rohrbach started paddling seven years ago, when his good friend and teammate junior Ryland Hart introduced him to the sport and convinced Rohrbach to try it. According to, Rohrbach, he started with his first practice and never stopped doing it afterwards.
“Ever since I started getting good I have wanted to try getting as far as I could in it and competing in whatever teams I could,” Rohrbach.
Rohrbach tries to get in the water to practice about five to six times a week. He paddles out of a little club in the Redondo Beach Harbor and also does land workouts in his garage in the morning and after school.
“I do a lot of body weight exercises that I can do in my garage, but they’re mostly high intensity low weights,” Rohrbach said. “They help me paddle harder for a longer time.”
Rohrbach’s competes as a team in the six man, nine man, or one man races, when they compete in competitions. Rohrbach’s team compete in local races, such as ones to Catalina or up and down the coast, as well as ones far away, such as when they went to tahiti for the World Championships.
“I like [to race in the] six man more because it’s faster, which is more fun and the bond that we created as a team and how we practice all the time,” Rohrbach said.
The last competition Rohrbach raced in was the ““Another Dam Race” in Arizona on the Colorado River right below the dam, where his team places first overall. He will compete next in a one man race or solo race in a few weeks.
“I think I have a pretty good chance to place in juniors, but also a lot of my teammates have been training hard too,” Rohrbach said. “I think I can get at least top 10 overall.”
There is no college division for paddling but in Hawaii a college team is made, which travels all around the world to different places. Rohrbach plans to join this college team if he makes it into Hawaii for college.
“I think the culture of it and the people that surround it are amazing and they just help you get better,” Rohrbach said. “And you strive to be better and it’s just like one big family kinda so it’s fun.”
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