This is the second installment of “Surf’s Up!” Again, this feature will highlight surfers from around the island, from the amateur to pro ranks, every Wednesday. Another sport I’ll be incorporating into “Surf’s Up!” will be bodyboarding. Like surfing, Kaua‘i
This is the second installment of “Surf’s Up!” Again, this feature will highlight surfers from around the island, from the amateur to pro ranks, every Wednesday. Another sport I’ll be incorporating into “Surf’s Up!” will be bodyboarding.
Like surfing, Kaua‘i has some of the best spongers in the world. From the Hubbard brothers, to Kelly Hunt, to Kyle Maligro, and the Mira’s; we definitely can’t neglect these individuals and other bodyboarders around Kaua‘i.
This past weekend, the NSSA-Hawai‘i conducted its final regular season contest at Pine Trees and Kaua‘i was well represented.
Zach Arreola, Koa Smith, Kaikea Elias, and Kaimana Jaquias showed Kaua‘i’s flavor with great rides, despite the small surf.
The Garden Isle girls dominated in the explorer division, as Malia Manuel continued her assault on the rest of the state with the win. Alanna Blanchard, Erika Steiner, and Leila Hurst also placed in the event.
The Kaua‘i domination was felt the most in the open women’s contest, as five of the six top finishers hailed from the most beautiful island in the world.
Manuel nailed down the win, followed by Andrianna “Da Princess” Mendivil. Nage “Da Tiger” Melamed was the pleasant surprise of the competition. She proved that she belongs with the older girls, with a third-place showing, amongst the best in the state.
Good friends, Bethany Hamilton and Alana Blanchard took fifth and sixth, respectively.
Sebastian Zietz and Alex Smith rose to the top once again.
The two are rising stars and should be dominate in the upcoming regional contest.
You can find full results of the competition in the scoreboard on page B2.
Families of the surfers lined the beach on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Goodales’, the Hamilton’s, the Mendivil’s, the Melamed’s, the Smith’s, just to name a few, pitched up tents and made the event, an all day family get together.
A big mahalo to Jamba Juice for sponsoring the event and supplying the crowd with refreshing smoothies.
Just in case you missed this past week-end’s awesome action, you’ll get another chance later this month at Pine Trees as the Hurley International NSSA Regionals come to Kaua‘i (It’s about time) for the first-time ever.
