FSU Abroad/ Panama
While on this assignment I was reminded that the essence of any collegiate sports story, whether Cayuco or Seminole football, is about more than gym shorts and jock straps. Collegiate athletics at its core is about what binds a campus, the events that draw us together, challenge and inspire us, and morph brick and mortar and flesh and bone into a living, breathing experience where relationships are formed and memories are made. Whether on the FSU Tallahassee campus, FSU Panama campus or the FSU Panama City, Fla., campus, all FSU students consider themselves Seminoles. And this assignment revealed an alternative way for students to experience being a Seminole internationally without giving up the nurturing qualities of the FSU campus in Tallahassee. Our readers also may be surprised to know: » S tudents who meet the minimum requirements for admission to Florida State but aren’t accepted under the enrollment cap can attend classes on one of FSU’s four international campuses and one year later gain automatic admission to the Tallahassee campus; » Non-Florida residents admitted FSU, who are U.S. citizens, who spend 12 months on an FSU International campus will qualify for Florida in-state rates when they transfer to the Tallahassee campus, which can save nearly $15,000 per year in tuition costs! » Some of the students who come to Panama with intentions of transferring to the Tallahassee campus have remained, thanks in part to Cayuco or one of the other athletic, recreational or internship opportunities available. » The FSU Panama campus is located in the City of Knowledge, an attractive and well-laid out complex that was once Fort Clayton, the former headquarters for the U.S. Southern Command and where 65,000 U.S. servicemen protected the Canal and the Southern Hemisphere during World War II. The City of Knowledge is home to the hub of operations for the United Nations in that region of the world and provides many opportunities for FSU’s students. The very athletic symbols — Unconquered and Cayuco — are rooted in the indigenous people of their countries whose traditions they honor. The cayuco was used for transportation by Panamanian who trace their lineage to the Incans and Mayans and are strikingly similar to those of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Of course, technology has changed the hull. The originals, first raced by the Boy Scouts of America Explorer Scouts in 1954, have been replaced by high-tech materials to make them lighter and faster. But the respect for the tradition of the cayuco and its people has not been left in the wake.
More than 250 athletes, divided into 60-plus teams, competed in the race. And as they unloaded the boats, I noticed there were no offensive linemen on the teams. Each and every one looked like a Florida State wide receiver or cornerback — all shoulders, backs and abdomens. Powered by the synchronized paddling of four-member teams, some male, some female, some co-ed, it was all elbows and gritted teeth as the paddles dug at the water for the sprinter’s start. As I watched my first Cayuco race, I thought it looked more like a Hawaiian “outrigger” race than the traditional college crew: four paddlers face forward, digging 4-foot paddles into the water like a canoer. Each member of the team plays a difference role. The stroker sits in the front and sets the pace under varying conditions. The second seat is for the power stroke — the strongest member of the crew. The third position alternates paddling and bailing water. The captain sits at the rear, steering and calling the stroking pace and when to change sides. An hour into the race, paddles were still digging as if the starter’s pistol had just sounded. And that’s when I realized why every one of them looked like Batman in a spandex suit. This was no paddle up the Lazy River; this was a 51-mile sprint. On the most grueling day of the three-day marathon, Unconquered covered 21 miles in just over 3 hours. Like an FSU swimmer or football player, the sport requires twoand three-a-day practices, with mornings spent paddling and afternoons running and lifting. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” said FSU Panama Athletic Director Steve Carlock. “These kids are at the prime of their physical fitness. This is the best physical shape they will ever be in.” It was exhausting to watch, even from the vantage point of the 21foot center console captained by Canal Zone native Barclay Hayes, who won this race in the mid-1970s, or as he says, “50 pounds ago.” Hayes was one of several volunteer boats dispatched to escort the
The 51-mile race began by loading the cayuco boats into the Panama Canal Zone in the shadows of large freight vessels and cruise ships.
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UNCO NQUERED MAGAZ I NE
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