The weather at Banyans for the first Hawaii Surfing Association event of the 2019 season was picture perfect and the spectators took full advantage of a great beach day.
Unfortunately, the waves were small and the sets were few and far between, frustrating the surfers and bodyboarders who had showed up to compete. Undeterred, the aquatic athletes took to the water and tried to find a wave that they could score a few points on.
A little bit of luck and the willingness to take a chance on the inside break were the requirements to be successful in this contest. While some heats enjoyed decent wave action, other times the competitors were left sitting on their boards gazing out to sea for a bump on the horizon. The women’s open final was completed with the four competitors finding only three rideable waves. Sophie Carlucci was the surfer who found the right one and took first place in the division.
The tide was rising throughout the contest which opened up the inside break to those willing to risk running their boards and bodies over the lava rock, coral, and wana found in the shallows. Two athletes seemed to use this strategy to capture spots on top of the new HSA podium, which was donated to the association by the Butts surfing ohana. Kona Costa in the boys 11-and-under division, and Kaiden Lieto in the boys 16- to 17-year-old division, captured titles by tallying points on multiple inside waves while others waited for the outside break to come alive.
In order to qualify for the state surfing championships at the end of the season, athletes are required to surf in multiple events. Many of the athletes surf in two to four events and often well out of their age group. Kaiola Bray took full advantage of his opportunities on Saturday, finishing first in the boys 14-15 division, while also moving up to capture third place in the 16-17 division and second place in the men’s open division.
First place trophies were also awarded to Opal Dowdy in the girls 12-and-under division, Diesel Butts in the boys 12-13, Rumor Butts in the girls 13-17 division, Kane Turalde in the men’s open division, Chrisitan Enns in the masters division, Joey Dowdy in the longboard division and Matt Solomon in bodyboarding.
The Big Island chapter of the Hawaii Surfing Association has a full slate of events planned for 2019. The next event is scheduled for Sept. 28 at Pine Trees, and interested participants are encouraged to register early at www.hsabi.surfsignup.com.
Event information, updates, results and more are available on the HSA Big Island Instagram account, @hsabigisland.