KAILUA-KONA — The Keiki Surf for the Earth competition has always been more than just a surfing contest.
The event — which celebrated its 23rd anniversary Saturday at the Bay at Kohanaiki — is about being apart of something bigger, focused on environmental protection, ohana, community, and yes, a little bit of surfing.
“Keiki get to participate in an experience that is bigger than them. It is an amazing and humbling experience,” said Rebecca Villegas, who is the president of Kohanaiki Ohana, the group that organizes Surf for the Earth each year. “This year we had 145 keiki, ages 14-and-under, participating in beach cleanup, as well as events like the limbo, tug-of-war and sign painting.”
Led by Gary Eoff, sign painting has been apart of Surf for the Earth for over a decade. While hosting the event, Villegas has seen many spectacular and poignant messages made during these painting sessions, messages that include simple ideas and tasks such as taking care of the beach. These messages are then placed along the shoreline to inspire beach visitors to take action.
“We all come into this world knowing what feels good and we know when we are doing something right,” Villegas said. “That is what we want the kids to experience down here today.”
For Mya Pinkert, who competed in the ages 9-11 girls short board competition, cleaning up the beach was the most important lesson learned on the day.
“It was nice to help clean up this beach so we can have many beautiful days here,” she said. “It is really fun to surf with all my friends and hang out and we want to keep surfing in this beautiful world.”
Ohana keeps bringing Brady Thoman back. Thoman has competed in Surf for the Earth for five years.
“This is a cool event and I like how everyone comes, hangs out and camps for the weekend,” he said. “Everything for the event is the same every year except for the shirts. The shirts always change.”
However, you cannot have a Surf for the Earth without actually surfing and the competition was fierce but friendly. Most keiki were there to cheer each other on. Even those who did not advance out of their heat, like Thoman, could not keep from smiling.
“I was in a stacked heat. Sadly, I did not move on but it was really fun,” he said. “The competition was really good and it was low tide all day. The waves were pretty good in the morning.”
Watching siblings connect and support each each other on the beach after the various heats was the best part of the surfing competition for Villegas.
The most memorable moment for her was watching Jackson Dorian embrace his younger sister, Charlie, after she finished her heat. Charlie and Jackson Dorian are the daughter and son of Big Island pro surfer Shane Dorian. And while Jackson already has quite a career at a young age, this was Charlie’s first time competing.
“When Charlie came out of her heat, Jackson ran down the beach and gave her a huge hug,” Villegas said. “To see that kind of totally authentic and deep connection, that pride and support within a family — that was special.”
Nearly 50 volunteers helped to put on this year’s Surf for the Earth. The day wasn’t without its bumps, but the crew worked hard to find answers to anything that popped up.
“We had a poor dad who thought he had signed up but he had signed up for a HASA contest. He was bummed, his son was bummed, and we were full at his age group and were trying to figure out what to do,” Villegas said. “But the heat was not going to be for a while so we told them to wait, and sure enough another boy could not make it and he was in.”
Having problem solvers on the team is the key for Villegas, people who can turn negatives into positives.
“Every year there is always something that happens, but when you have a group of people that work together and are flexible and solution minded, it takes the stress away,” Villegas said. “It helps keep people coming back year after year.”
