The jump events involve "running the boards" (briefing the competitors, calling out the names, calling the fouls, measuring and recording the jumps), marking the jumps and raking to smooth out the pit.
Pictured below is Paul Nuha (Iolani Class '56) who volunteered from week to week to mark the jumps. Also in the picture is his granddaughter, Kelly, one of the qualifying jumpers, from the Iolani Class of '16.
Being an Iolani alumnus, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo shoot with some of the Iolani coaches and qualifying jumpers. Pictured below are Rachel Dunn ('16), Chrislyn DeMattos ('15) and Kelly Watanabe ('16). The long and triple jump coaches are Grant Muroda (Iolani '81) and Maureen Dunn-Anzai who in 1988 was the Hawaii state champion and record holder in the triple jump when she was a student at Our Redeemer Lutheran.
It has been a wonderful experience working with the army of volunteers such as the coaches, the people who set up and take down the tents, computers and finish line cameras, the officials, the people who organize the competitors before they go onto the track, the volunteers who assist at the finish line, volunteers who set up and take down the hurdles, and the volunteers who work the field events (horizontal jumps, high jump, pole vault, discuss and shot put).
Watching the running events has certainly brought back old memories when I was a miler in the late '50 struggling to keep from being the first runner lapped or struggling to keep from finishing last.
I can certainly identify with those runners bringing up the rear in their events.
I take pride in being the 2d fastest marathoner out of Iolani with a time of 2:47:01 in the Honolulu Marathon in 1979. The only problem was that I was 20 years too late. Well, what are you going to do?
My goal now is to try to shuffle 2 miles in 40 minutes, five days a week . The knees are rusty and the hips are stiff. After a 90 minute movie, I'm often the last one to leave the theatre....I wait until ever one has left so that no one will see me hobbling out of the theatre.
Our classmates who are fit, flexible and agile are not the guys who ran high milage or participated in old man (over 35) soccer. Now, our fit and flexible classmates are the guys who participate in ball room dancing....Mike Uechi, Mike Chun and Elliott Chun readily come to mind. And of course there's Francis Wong, our super senior tennis player who has made it to a national senior quarter finals as noted in an earlier post. You have to be fit and agile to do what he does.
