ECORA was founded in 1997 with eight member clubs to formally establish Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing on the east coast of mainland U.S. and Canada. This triggered a chain reaction that ignited the founding of nearly thirty outrigger canoe clubs by 2002. Today ECORA thrives in nearly every coastal state from Ontario to Florida, and welcomes interested paddlers to join an existing club or form a new one.

Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing builds on the culture and tradition that spans centuries prior to the recorded history of Hawaiʻi. The indigenous sport survived the oppression of being outlawed by foreign settlers. King David Kalakaua, a Hawaiian monarch, is credited as the catalyst of Hawaiian cultural resurgence during the late 19th century. He restored outrigger canoe racing as a legal sport for the Hawaiian people. Since then, outrigger canoe racing found its way around the world.

Membership in ECORA provides: the infrastructure to enable a point-series based schedule of races on the US East Coast that awards trophies for the top finishers in the OC-6, OC-2, and OC-1 race categories; maintenance of a website that promotes outrigger paddling on the East Coast by linking clubs, race schedules, and paddling resources; the tools (financial and otherwise) to mentor/grow new or struggling outrigger clubs; and finally, the annual Class C voting membership in the International Va’a Federation, which promotes outrigger canoe paddling around the world.