Trini athlete continues to shine at ocean sports: Shivani Goberdhan makes waves in Hawaii

Features

Narissa Fraser

4 Hrs Ago

Ocean sport athlete Shivani Goberdhan in Hawaii. – Photo courtesy Goberdhan

SIX years after making history as the first TT national to set a freediving record, Shivani Goberdhan continues to hoist the national flag high in Hawaii.

The 36-year-old has since plunged headfirst into several other water sports, and recently placed second in the women’s category at the famed Molokai Challenge – a race across the open ocean in a surfski, which resembles a long kayak. She hopes not only to inspire other young people from TT, but to contribute to the advancement of water sports in her home country.

The Phillipine, San Fernando native migrated to Canada with her family aged six, subsequently moving to the US. Goberdhan now lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she’s in her element. Professionally, she’s a water safety coach and speech-language pathologist.

Newsday featured Goberdhan in 2019 after she set four national freediving records – the country’s firsts: constant weight (35 metres), one minute, 20 seconds, and constant weight with fins (38 metres), one minute, 25 seconds. Additionally, constant weight with fins, one minute, 38 seconds and free immersion (35 metres), one minute, 36 seconds. Freediving involves diving underwater and holding one’s breath until they return to the surface.

Ocean sport athlete Shivani Goberdhan in Hawaii. – Photo courtesy Goberdhan

Back then, she also did scuba diving and was a beginner in paddling sports.

But as the years went by, she expanded to surfski, SUPsquatch, canoe sailing and canoe surfing.

A surfski is similar to a kayak, but longer, narrower and more lightweight. It is steered using pedals controlled by foot and is designed for speed in open waters. A SUPsquatch is a large inflatable paddleboard.

“It was this ocean playground I discovered,” she told Newsday excitedly in a phone interview on July 22.

“I also learnt that when you become skilled in multiple (water) sports, you get to read the ocean from all of these different angles, and it all just kind of bleeds together. It helps you to become better and better at everything.”

She gave examples: understanding how the coral reefs look below and understanding how the wind will affect the swells of the ocean.

Last year, the Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association held six races and she participated in four.

“The association was established to perpetuate Hawaiian culture. Their culture is founded on sailing canoes, because that’s how they arrived to these islands. And now there’s just been this cultural revolution where they are using it as a symbol and also to exhibit elite athletic skill in the open ocean.”

Shivani Goberdhan and members of her team. – Nikita Miroshnikov

The sailing canoe race, she explained, “goes from the big island of Oahu, which is the westernmost island, all the way to Kauai. So it’s all the way from one end to the other end of the island chain, and you’re crossing between these channels. It’s very rough and it takes a lot of skill to get out there.”

She said two canoes broke and “swamped” among the participants last year, and the same thing also happened to some this year. Her team, Auwahi Wind, placed fifth out of eight in one race, in seven hours and 59 minutes.

“This is open ocean. It’s seafaring skills…And it was incredible. It’s just like you see in (the Disney movie) Moana.

“Ultimately, everybody else is just paddling and using their observation, teamwork, communication, to make sure that we’re not flipping and to go as fast as possible.”

She also competed in the Braddah Mel’s Waterman Surfing Championships, an international surfing competition, and placed first in the SUPSquatch challenge and third in the canoe surf with the team Uncle’s Favorites.

In May this year she took on the intense Molokai Challenge, considered the equivalent of a world championship for surfskis. It is a 32-mile race from the island of Molokai to Oahu.

“And you have to demonstrate the ability to have that endurance before you’re even allowed to qualify for the race. So you’re vetted beforehand because it is so dangerous.”

She trained hard for six months leading up to the event, and completed the race in six hours, placing second among all female competitors.

“It’s constantly changing (conditions), so you really have to be 100 per cent focused the whole time.

“I had a friend on the (escort) boat.
He was supposed to be playing soca music for me the whole time to pump me up – and I had to stop the music. I couldn’t even listen to it, because I had to be that focused. If you’re not, you flip – and I flipped a few times.”

Shivani Goberdhan and her team in the open waters in Hawaii. – Andy Cronin

Describing the voyage, she said: “So you think you’re going from point A to point B. When you start on the beach in Molokai, you’re able to faintly see Oahu, your destination, and you’re looking at the bumps and the ridges and the peaks and the valleys…and you’re trying to map out your path – but then the wind blows you in a certain direction or the swell is in another direction…I had to take all that into account.”

Asked if she would do it again, she recalled saying she wouldn’t because of how tough it was.

“And then the night that I came home, I just replayed the entire day and was like, ‘Okay, so next time I’m going to do this, and this is how I will train,’” she said, laughing at herself.

She did not stop there. She also competed in Ho’oma’a Wa’a Invitational Canoe Surfing Competition on July 20, when her team placed fifth out of 17 competitors.

“We also competed back in December in another canoe surf competition. That one is a competition for multiple surfing sports, and we were in the canoe surfing division. We got third place in that one.”

She still can’t quite pick a favourite of all the sports, she admitted.

“I think the best answer to that is the beauty of knowing all of these sports is being able to look at the ocean and conditions.”

She coaches people with disabilities and provides water-safety services for surf competitions for disabled people.

“So in my eyes, literally everyone can get involved.”

Shivani Goberdhan proudly holds her plaque for placing second among all female participants in the Molokai Challenge in Hawaii. – Nikita Miroshnikov

Goberdhan also hopes to bring her expertise back to her home country soon, especially focusing on getting more young people involved in them. She has visited TT several times since migrating.

“I would like to expose and raise awareness and interest in the concept of being able to enjoy and play in the ocean at any level…Whether it’s encouraging people to learn to swim and become more safety-oriented to prevent drowning, or to empower folks to explore the idea that there are so many different water sports out there, no matter your ability or needs.”

She said she will continue to represent TT in everything she does.

If you’re interested in keeping up with Goberdhan’s adventures, you can follow her on Instagram under the handle shiver.metimbers.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}