Of all the Hawai'i kids who bound gleefully into the water with paddles or fins or surfboards, few will get past the standard "because it's fun" answer when asked the deeper meaning behind their beloved sport. Introspection and analysis tend to come later, perhaps on a cold winter semester night in a faraway college dorm.

Ten-year-old Ruckus Lindsey of Waimanalo wrote this thoughtful passage as part of his entry for an essay contest:

"When I go down to paddling everybody comes from different cultures. They are paddling cause they want to learn the sport. And they also want to learn about the Hawaiian culture.

" ... I have two families. One at home and one at the beach. Both of my families paddle. One family practices how to be Hawaiian and the other family practices how to be better Hawaiians."

Ruckus' composition was in the top 10 in the Kialoa Paddle Scholarship award competition. Kialoa is an Oregon-based company (owned by Hawai'i ex-pats) that makes top-of-the-line modern canoe paddles and supports the sport of paddling by sponsoring races and encouraging students.

The first-place winner of the Kialoa contest is Ruckus' sister, Rowdy, 9, who penned an essay describing how paddling teaches Hawaiian values:

"Lokahi: we need to paddle the same and paddle together because paddling together makes the canoe move faster and makes the crew pay attention to each other. If everyone does their own thing the canoe has a hard time moving because we aren't working together.

"Kokua: help take care of our canoes and encourage everyone especially the new kids because they might feel scared in the beginning like I was.

"Kuleana: we respect our canoes and paddles. We don't use our paddles as shovels or leave them on the ground where someone can step on it and break it. We try to treat the club paddles like they belong to us. We put the canoe in the water carefully. Coach Larry says to treat the canoe like your Tutu — you wouldn't drag your Tutu across the rocks and drop her in the water so don't do that to the canoe."

Rowdy knows a lot about treating her tutu with respect and aloha. The Lindsey children are very close to their great-grandmother B.J. Feldman, the celebrated beauty who wore the Miss Hawai'i 1949 crown.

Ruckus and Rowdy are homeschooled by parents Brandi and Randall Lindsey. They also attend the Myron B. Thompson Academy and have paddled for Waimanalo Canoe Club and Maunalua Canoe Club. As Kialoa winners, they will each receive a paddle and have their names announced in Pacific Paddler Magazine.

But even more than that, they were able to articulate what every paddling parent hopes their child gets from their sport.

Wrote Rowdy: "By being a paddler or a steersperson, you learn more things than just how to paddle. It makes your body stronger and helps keep you active and it gives you a bigger 'ohana to belong to."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.