Hawaii has taken a big step for secondary schools to the state scale to surf a reality with the signing by Governor Josh Green of a funding invoice for sport on Friday.
Surfing has existed as a sport punished on a single island, MAUI, for the last decade, but House Bill 133 provides more than a million dollars for surfing on public school leagues over the next two years, helping to clean a major obstacle.
Three high school leagues must vote to adopt surfing at the League level to become a Hawaii High School Athletic Association event, which means at least two among the Oahu Interscholastic Association, Kauai Interscholastic Federation, Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Interscholastic League of Honolulu should intensify.
HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun told Spectrum News that leagues should adopt sports in the same season and respect the same rules. The Maui Interscholastic League has sponorored surfing since 2014 and has its league championship in spring; it’s just organized her boys and girls competitions in the port of LahainaMarking an emotional return after the forest fires in August 2023 destroyed a large part of the historic city.
There is the optimism that could happen at the level of the state by the 2025-26 athletic calendar year, which would make the second new Hawaii sport adopted in two years. Football for female flag was introduced in 2024-25.
“The ILH plans to have surfing as an official sport this next school year,” said Keith Amemiya, head of the Green sports group, in Spectrum News, “and MIL has already had it for 10 years, so now the accent will be put on the test of obtaining the OIA, the Bif and the KIF to add it as an official sport starting at this next school year.”
Amemiya has credited the representative of the Sean Quinlan State, which represents the northern bank of Oahu, for having introduced HB133 and seeing it until the passage. He appropriated $ 685,870 for the 2026 financial year and exercise 2027 to support the creation of interscholastic surf programs.
“Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing, and this is something that we should be very proud,” Quinlan said in a press release. “By recognizing surfing as an interschastic sport, we are expanding access to Hawaii schools – allowing students to develop oceanic safety skills, connect with our cultural heritage and participate in a sport that has produced champions from our own coasts.”
Surfing existed as a club activity in the other state secondary leagues, but The costs were prohibitivewho had contributed to a situation of chicken and egg for the support of the state.
The appropriate amount for surfing is comparable to the financing of the State for Football Drapeau, said Amemiya.
There would be qualified aquatic security officials during surfing competitions. Like the sport of the Pagaie high school, events would be supervised by people familiar with the race competitions at the club level.
“It was a long trip, and I hope that we can finally see surfing as a sport in high school materialize,” said Amemiya.
Brian Mcinnis Covers the state sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. It can be reached at Brian.mcinnis@charter.com.