About Us

Who are we?

Mokihana Aquatics is a non-profit organization dedicated to the goal of our parent organization, USA Swimming, which is " to inspire and enable our members to achieve excellence in the sport of swimming and in life." This goal is being accomplished through several of Mokihana Aquatics' programs.

What do we offer?

Learn-to-Swim Classes

At the request of several parents, Mokihana Aquatics began offering Learn-to-Swim classes as a way of giving back to the community. It is our belief that every person who lives on Kauai should be able to swim. Mokihana Aquatics has provided these much-needed classes. The large number of students that have gone through our program is evidence of our success.

Five levels of swimming are taught:

• Beginners
• Advanced Beginners
• Intermediate
• Swimmer
• Advanced Swimmer

In order to pass Advanced Beginners, a child must learn the four basic strokes and successfully complete a 5-minute float. To pass the Intermediate class, a child must master all four basic strokes and successfully complete a 30-minute float.

Along with teaching children to swim, an integral component of the classes is ocean awareness and water safety skills. The reason for this is because, as children advance in their swimming skills and get more comfortable in the water, they take more risks, increasing their potential for getting into trouble.

Junior Leader Development

Although Mokihana Aquatics' Learn-to-Swim Class enrollment runs large (30+ to a class), it is able to provide a 6:1 or less learner to insructor ratio because we utilize "Junior Leaders". Junior Leaders range in age from 12 to 16 years old. Not only do the students benefit from this ratio, the Junior Leaders are learning leadership and teaching skills. Because many of them are too young to seek summer employment, this provides the perfect opportunity for them to be doing something constructive with their summer hours. The self-confidence level of these Junior Leaders is greatly enhanced because of the responsibility given to them through this teaching experience.

Competitive Swim Team

The competitive swim team was formed in Fall 1999 when 10 swimmers were invited to be a part of the core leadership team. (Mokihana Aquatics' swim team is Kauai's only age-group swim team sanctioned by USA Swimming.) Nine swimmers attended their first meet in March 2000, the 13th Annual Sparky Kawamoto Meet in Hilo. The following year, the team had expanded to 66 with a total of 33 swimmers attending in March 2001.

Eighteen of our swimmers qualified during 2002 to swim at invitational meets that were held on Oahu and Maui. Eight made state qualifiying times and attended the 2002 long course state chmpionship meet in June. One swimmer made it to the final heat in five individual events!

The beauty of this sport is that while our children are becoming healthy and physically fit, they are challenging their own limits and are engaging in competition that is both fierce and friendly. They are learning that hard work pays off, how to be gracious winners as well as how to handle defeat - skills that will help them throughout their lives.

By participating in the swim team program, our swimmers are developing skills in time management, self-discipline, and sportsmanship, as well as forming solid friendships. Mokihana Aquatics' swim team truly represents the island of Kauai as our swimmers attend more than 10 different public and private schools - from Kekaha to Kilauea, from kindergarten to high school. Instead of school rivalries, our swimmers are building friendships that encourage an inclusive mindset toward others all across Kauai.

Masters Swim Program

The Masters Swim Program is open to adults age 18 and older. Many adults continue to swim thoughout their lives, as swimming provides one of the most beneficial forms of cardiovascular exercise (with no traumatic impact) and overall fitness. Mokihana Aquatics is proud to offer the adults of Kauai this avenue for enriching their quality of life.

Masters are eligible to compete, and one of ours did - placing in the top eight at a national Masters swim meet.

The Masters swimmers are also given the opportunity to receive training to become swim meet officials. Several of our Masters are in the process of being certified as officials. This is a very important aspect of the overall swim program, as currently, officials need to be flown in to hold USA Swimming sanctioned swim meets on Kauai.

Mokihana Aquatics provided officials, as well as volunteer timers, during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 KIF swim seasons. This enhanced the overall efficiency and quality of the high school swim meets.

The Masters swimmers, who practice at the same time as the age-group swim team, are role models for the younger swimmers. The hope is that when these age-group swimmers reach adulthood, they will still be swimming and may also consider being trained as officials.

Sports Tourism and Economic Development

Mokihana Aquatics sponsors an annual swim meet the first weekend in August called the "Fun Meet." In 2001, four teams participated in our first Fun Meet: Maui Gold Swim Team, Barbers Point Swim Club, Aloha Aquatics, and Punahou Aquatics.

Each team flew its swimmers and supporter to Kauai for that weekend. They stayed in our hotels, rented our cars, ate at our restaurants, and shopped in our stores.

The highlight of that meet was the participation of four athletes en route to the Olympic trials. We were very fortunate to be able to host swimmers of their caliber on Kauai.