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Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell late Tuesday doubled down on his “no” to the World Surfing League, issuing a final decision rejecting the organization’s request to change its desired dates for two of its events on the 2018-2019 North Shore surfing calendar.
In a two-page letter, Caldwell reiterated his position that he does not have the authority to grant variances in a competitive process. Many other organizations apply to use the four North Shore beaches eligible for surf meets during the winter, and “it is unfair to hand-select WSL as the permit awardee prematurely, with no consideration to the other applicants, and to allow WSL to change the contents of the application, while the process is ongoing.”
WSL wants to hold the Billabong Pipeline Masters event on the dates in January that it originally had requested for the Volcom Pipe Pro event. Historically, the Volcom event is held in January and the Billabong event in December. This year’s Volcom was completed last week, and WSL said its December 2018 Billabong event will go on regardless of the city’s decision on its 2019 request.
Caldwell also noted that WSL failed to submit changes to its August application by Nov. 9, as is allowed by the Department of Parks and Recreation’s rules.
“We encourage you to consider implementing the changes for the next application period in late summer 2018, for the 2019/2020 winter surf season,” Caldwell concluded.
League officials were not ready to respond to Caldwell’s final decision Tuesday night. Earlier Tuesday, WSL Hawaii/Tahiti Nui Media and Communication Manager Lauren Rolland said the league had not yet heard back from Caldwell.
On Saturday, WSL Chief Executive Officer Sophie Goldschmidt described the requested shift as “an administrative technicality.” She warned that WSL’s full slate of 2019 Hawaii events could be canceled if the issue could not be resolved within the next few days.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation has a 24-page pamphlet of rules for “shore water events,” a major portion of which is devoted to North Shore surf competitions. The rules say an independent panel resolves conflicts of desired dates and that a North Shore surf events calendar is created at the end of the previous year before actual permits can be issued.
Most Honolulu City Council members who spoke with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday said that while they’re unhappy with the possibility of losing WSL events, they recognize the need to adhere to the rules and did not ask Caldwell to change his position.
Councilman Ernie Martin, who represents the North Shore, said he met with two top Caldwell lieutenants Monday and came away understanding why the mayor is refusing the league’s request to intervene with an established process.
“I understand that the mayor is constrained and not able to make an exception,” Martin said. Council staff attorneys concurred, he said. He noted that the administration also refused to change the rules to accommodate the family of the late Eddie Aikau after it parted ways with sponsor Quiksilver for “The Eddie” big-wave event last year. While the Aikaus eventually got a permit, they did not have time and resources to organize the event.
Martin implored Caldwell to work personally with WSL on allowing their switch in later years.
Councilwoman Ann Koba- yashi said U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard asked her to set up a meeting between WSL and city officials but was told by Caldwell staff that they were working to resolve the issue. “I guess (Caldwell) tried to work it out, and I wish the outcome could have been different,” she said. “But I guess they didn’t want to loosen up their rules because then they would have to do that for other groups.”
Response to Sophie Goldscmidt by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
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