Surf’s Up!

Surfing has always been a sport of kings.

Now it’s an official state-championship sport of high school student-athletes, too. Board of Education member Keith Amemiya, the former executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, announced the news yesterday at a press conference under the banyan tree at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki.

Hawaii became the first state in the nation to make surfing an official high school championship sport.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie gave his blessing, noting that Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz and his family are devoted surfers.

"This is a real pleasure for me and Brian Schatz. We’re in total support," the governor said. "Surfing is an official sport of Hawaii, but we’ve been unable to put together the necessary protocol to get it under way in the schools until now. One of the advantages of the new school board and the new sense of cooperation among the administration and the Board of Education, the superintendent of education and the entire DOE, is we’re able to work together to accomplish what we’re doing today.

"This is a really big wave, a commitment to surfing in Hawaii, to continue that message throughout the world.

Surfing has also become a sport of queens, so to speak. Carissa Moore, a Punahou graduate and women’s world champion, is a big supporter of the change. Making the sport official at the high school level — it’s been an in-school club competition for decades — will help on athletic and academic fronts.

"It can keep kids excited about staying in school. It’s really positive," she said. "I wasn’t pro until my junior year in high school, so I think I would’ve still have been able to compete and it would’ve been really nice to have more support from my teachers."

Moore’s sister, Cayla, is a freshman at Kamehameha.

"She’s excited about the opportunity to represent her school and Hawaii," Moore said. "At Punahou, we have about 20 people in our surfing club."

Issues of years past, primarily insurance for surfers, are not as prominent now. Administrators had been wary about accidents or even shark attacks in the water, but the priority now is to get the sport organized and official at the HHSAA level.

The task of turning the sport into an official, state-tournament event will require planning and money. Amemiya estimated that the HHSAA will need roughly $150,000 to run the tournament by the spring of 2013. The former HHSAA chief led the charge two years ago to raise funds for depleted athletic departments, collecting $1.6 million from businesses and the general public.

This time, the HHSAA will need both funds and manpower, similar to the development of canoe paddling as a high school championship sport. Organizers from many local canoe clubs helped to establish the sport for high-schoolers, and Amemiya hopes for the same from the surfing community.

"We could never have started canoe paddling without the help of the canoe clubs," Amemiya said. "We’re already getting help. Bernie (Baker) just came here to offer his help."

Baker, a longtime surfer, contest judge and photographer, has watched the sport evolve here since the early 1970s. The contest director of the Triple Crown of Surfing, Baker suggested that the HHSAA surfing championships should be held at Queen’s when the south swell kicks in during late spring: April and May.

There’s also a question about whether pros who are still in high school would be allowed to compete for an HHSAA championship. At the Hawaii Surfing Association, pros can compete at the junior level, Baker said.

He added that surfing as a high school sport will draw seasoned and novice participants. Moore recommends newbies to take baby steps first.

"It’s best to start out at a place like Waikiki Beach, a mellow place without too much consequence. But I surf at Kewalos a lot now. It’s good training," Moore said.

Hawaii News Now Video: Surfing to become Hawaii high school sport