Kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko.

Even small clubs can take big strokes in the sport of canoe paddling.

The girls 13-younger and boys 13-younger crews for the Waikiki Surf Club are proof.

Despite limited numbers and a change of practice sites this season, the "13s" for the Waikiki Surf Club have been lucky and good.

"Even though they're young, some of them have been paddling together for three years," said Richline Fong, director of the Waikiki Surf Club's youth program. "They have a nucleus, and that helps because we don't have the numbers some of the big clubs have."

The boys 13 and girls 13 crews for Waikiki Surf Club are both considered strong contenders in their respective races at Saturday's Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship Regatta.

More than 3,000 paddlers representing more than 60 clubs are expected to participate in the regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon.

The Waikiki Surf Club boys 13 and girls 13 crews both completed the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association.

Kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko.

The girls 13 crew has had only six paddlers available the whole season. It takes six paddlers to fill the seats of the canoe, so there was no margin for error.

"It's about trying to find a blend and work together as a team," crew coach Moea DeFries said. "Each person knows they have a responsibility."

The girls have bonded through familiarity with each other and the Hawaiian language.

"There's only six of us, so we're all comfortable with each other," says crew member Kehau Keli'i. "We know what each of us can do."

Besides Keli'i, other crew members are Ka'iliponi McGee, Kahoku Keola, Leikula Gottlieb, Keawaiki Perry and Kalei Kina.

Four of them attend 'Anuenue, — the Hawaiian language immersion school in Palolo Valley — and are fluent in Hawaiian. Three of the boys 13 paddlers also attend 'Anuenue.

"If we don't want the other teams to know what we're doing, we'll say it in Hawaiian," Keli'i said.

It helps that their coach, DeFries, is also fluent in Hawaiian. She emphasizes paddling techniques like kaupe (reach) and ko (pull back).

"For the most part, we speak English," DeFries said. "But we feel its important to perpetuate the Hawaiian language as well as the sport, so there are words and phrases that we use."

In any language, the ultimate goal is for the girls to make the canoe holomua, or go forward.

Kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko.

The boys 13 crew has seven paddlers from four different schools. They have bonded through a play-to-win and win-to-play outlook.

"These boys work hard every day at practice," crew coach Dennis Na'auao Jr. said. "But every time they win a race, I tell them they get a day off and we all go to the beach."

Members of the crew are Colin Fearn, Kovan Fujimoto, Ka'imi Johnson, James Jones-Kamaunu, Raven Pokini, Nikolaus Pittman, Kalani Pua'oi and Pele Soma.

Soma said: "We're all good friends. I think that's why we get first (place) a lot."

Six of them were on the Waikiki Surf Club boys 12 crew that placed second in the state last year.

"We just keep trying to get better and better," Johnson said. "But we really want to take states this year."

Kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko.

Waikiki Surf Club was one of several clubs that had to relocate because of the infamous sewage spill in March.

The club moved its practice site to Ke'ehi Lagoon, the site of Saturday's state regatta.

"It definitely helps that we've been practicing here all year," DeFries said. "We're kind of getting used to how the currents run, and paddling against the wind."

Unlike some of the other Ala Wai-based clubs, Waikiki Surf Club did not suffer a significant drop in enrollment.

"We wanted to stay with this club, so it doesn't matter to us where the practice is," said boys 13 paddler Pokini.

Youth director Fong said: "A lot of other clubs lost kids because they had to move (from the Ala Wai). We're really proud of how loyal our kids are because they came out here (to Ke'ehi Lagoon)."

Kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko ... kaupe, ko.

Waikiki Surf Club is one of 43 teams in the A Division for so-called small clubs in Saturday's regatta.

The club will enter only eight crews in the 37-race regatta, and six of those will be youth crews.

"The kids are the strength of our club," Waikiki Surf Club president Luana Froiseth said. "Our motto here is that it's about quality, not quantity. We always tell our kids that the big clubs are not working any harder than you. They just have more numbers, that's all."

A first-place team trophy is awarded for the A Division, and if Waikiki Surf Club is to challenge for it, much will depend on its youth.

"We tell the kids how important they are to the club," Fong said. "And they have friends at other clubs, so they're always looking and comparing the results."

In any case, there are some advantages to being a small club. As boys 13 steersman Soma put it: "We're like one 'ohana paddling together. We feel like we're all connected in this club."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.