Aloha mai kakou! In an effort to align with our club’s Kuleana and with our organizational philosophy, mission, and values, SOCC has made a commitment to expand our capacity, as a hui, to be gender inclusive.

Outrigger paddling originated in the Pacific–a vast Ocean of languages, traditions, and cultural diversity. In many Pacific cultures, gender identity and expression expands beyond the gender binary of male and female. Examples of these identities include: Māhū (Hawaiʻi/Tahiti), Vakasalewalewa (Fiji), Palopa (Papua New Guinea), Sistagirls/ Sister-Girl (Torres Strait), Faʻafafine (Samoa), Kakōi (Marshall Islands), Akavaʻine (Cook Islands, Fakafifine (Niue), Mamflorita/Palaoʻana (Guam) and Fakaleiti/Leiti (Tonga)--to name a few. In several Pacific societies these individuals held high positions in villages and were often keepers of ancestral knowledge and wisdom. Many Pacific communities revered gender-expansive peoples because of their ability to navigate the sacred in-between spaces. However, their place in Pacific societies rapidly declined with the advent of western colonization and the introduction of Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Fast forward to today, the sport of Outrigger Paddling has evolved and spread beyond the Pacific to these Coast Salish lands and waters and the rest of the world. In an effort to organize regionally, SOCC was grafted into a larger institution– Pacific Northwest Outrigger Canoe Association (PNWORCA). Historically, PNWORCA has organized race crews according to the gender binary (i.e., male, female, and mixed crews) aligning with the global standard for Outrigger Paddling. For DaGrind 2026, we have decided to create an “All Gender” category, which removes gender restrictions, instead of offering a typical “Mixed” category which requires a minimum of 3 women. The “All Gender” Division is open to all paddlers, regardless of sex or gender identity. There are no minimum or maximum gender requirements for crew composition. Teams may register any combination of eligible paddlers. In this category, we welcome crews that include mixed genders (like the traditional PNWORCA mixed crews), while also creating a space for paddlers whose identity does not fall within the gender binary. We also recognize that non-binary and other gender diverse paddlers may opt to paddle on “wahine” or “kane” crews and we do not intend for the creation of this space to limit that participation.

SOCC affirms and celebrates the expansiveness of gender as reflected in Pacific cultures and peoples. We, like many of you, exist in the tensions of navigating what once was and the structures that exist today. Our intention and goal is to create an inclusive club so that all who are interested in paddling feel welcomed and celebrated. Therefore, we are committed to cultivating gender inclusivity within our hui and to model change for the larger PNWORCA community.

We encourage our members to update your pronouns in Team Cowboy as you are comfortable. We have also included some resources and highly encourage our members, as well as our broader paddling community, to learn more about gender expansive identities in the Pacific.

Resource List:

• Documentaries.

◦ Kapaemahu (Kanaka Maoli).

◦ Leities in Waiting (Tongan).

◦ Kumu Hina (Kanaka Maoli).

◦ Fa’afafine (Sāmoan).

• Articles/Books.

◦ University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hamilton Library - Gender Identity & Sexual Identity in the Pacific and Hawaiʻi

◦ Samoan Queer Lives by Dan Taulapapa McMullin and Yuki Kihara (Sāmoan)

◦ The trans ‘queen mother’ reclaiming Fiji’s third gender-photo essay (Fiji)

◦ Meet the LGBTQI Pacific Islanders overcoming a ‘colonial mindset’ and ‘narrative of shame’ to embrace their true selves

• Organizations.

◦ Equality Guam

◦ Manalagi Project

◦ Utopia Washington