LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s Kalani and Ala Vierra were crowned champions of the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Festival on Waikiki on Aug. 26. The accomplishment was not out of the ordinary for the father-daughter duo, as they have become adept at taking
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s Kalani and Ala Vierra were crowned champions of the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Festival on Waikiki on Aug. 26. The accomplishment was not out of the ordinary for the father-daughter duo, as they have become adept at taking home tandem titles over the past few years.
The Duke Kahanamoku festival comes with a good amount of prestige and honor for the winners, as it was Kahanmoku who started tandem surfing at Waikiki.
Kalani has risen to the top of his sport after only beginning tandem surfing in 2007, then with partner Blanche Yoshida. It was shortly after that Ala tried her hand at the tandem world with her father. The Vierras have now been competing together in the highest level competitions for two years.
Their success was virtually immediate, as they were able to win the International Tandem Surfing Association’s tour championship in 2008. They also sit atop the standings for the ISA 2009 season.
The win at Waikiki is not new for Kalani, who won the same event in 2007, his first year surfing tandem, with then-partner Yoshida. They also finished first in the ISA chart standings that season.
In an e-mail, Kalani said that the Duke Festival is probably the biggest tandem contest of the year. A total of 16 teams from Hawai‘i, France, California and Australia were all competing at this year’s event.
It was also considered an ISA World Title, so he felt that coming away with the win “was a great accomplishment.”
Kalani, who has been honored numerous times on Kaua‘i for credits including the Kaua‘i Fire Department’s outstanding employee of the year in 2000 and the Eddie Aikau Waterman of the Year in 2004, is well-known on the island for his commitment to ocean safety.
He has become a skilled waterman and competes in other divisions such as stand-up surfing, long board, short board, tow-in, six-man outrigger and one-man outrigger paddling.
Ala keeps most of her competing in the tandem surfing field, though she does surf solo for fun. She also competes in keiki rodeo.
