The Hawaii Surfing Association’s Big Island Chapter held the fifth surfing contest of the season this past Saturday at Banyans. The conditions on shore at one of Kona’s favorite surf breaks were perfect for the crowd of supporters gathered to cheer on the athletes. However, on the water, there were smaller-than-expected waves and inconsistent sets that had many surfers frustrated.
The HSA surfers compete against each other in age groups. The number of competitors determines how the age groups are set up and how many preliminary heats are required to end up with four competitors in a final heat.
There are more boy surfers, so they compete across five age groups, with the girls competing in two age groups. There are a few open and masters categories, which allow adults to compete, but most of the competitors are under the age of 18.
When Lisa Dorian and the HSA crew put together a contest schedule, it is an exercise in managing the logistics based on the number of competitors and which age groups have the most surfers in them. Details like weather, wave heights and tides are important, but are difficult to predict in advance. This is why the youngest competitors were out during the largest and most consistent waves of the day, while the older and more competitive surfers were often seen sitting on their boards for long stretches at a time waiting for that one perfect wave.
With conditions as inconsistent as they were, the luck of the draw played an important part in determining success. Surfers that had wave priority when the better sets rolled through scored higher than their counterparts — who were forced to take inferior waves just to get a score on the board during the timed heats.
With just five surfers in the boys 11-and-under division, there was no need to hold preliminary heats, so all of the boys paddled out into some of the biggest sets of the day for the final. On a day when busting through the white water to make it out to the line-up was a challenge, these surfers put on a good show with Pohaku Lambeth taking first, followed by Guide Udell, Makua Lambeth and Rowan Forbes.
The HSA allows surfers to compete in multiple divisions to gain more experience as long as they are moving up and competing against older surfers, which is why some familiar names show up in the finals of different divisions. This started with the boys 12-13 division, where Keali’i Lambeth won followed by brother Pohaku, Malakai McCall and Kannon Miranda.
The surfers in the boys 14-15 division, which features some of the top young surfers in the state, were left frustrated by a lack of rideable waves during their final heat. In fact, Keali’i Lambeth, surfing up a division, only caught two waves during the final, but they were the perfect pair as he upset the older boys to take the top spot. Kona Costa, Zal Costa and Kalei Rivas placed after Lambeth.
Without any younger surfers moving up, the boys 16-17 division only had four competitors who all struggled to find the right wave for big scores. Zal Costa had the high score in the finals, followed by his brother Kona, Micah Gardner and Triton Smith.
The shortboard open men’s division saw the most entries with 16 competitors taking part, including some familiar names from years past.
However, when the spray cleared, the youngsters were leading the way.
Kona Costa stood on top of the podium followed by Rivas, Keali’i Lambeth, and Pohaku Lambeth.
There were six girls competing in the 16-and-under division. Much like the younger boys, the young girls saw some of the biggest waves of the day which made paddling out more difficult with each wave and score more important. Ho’onani Lambeth took the win with Sayler Udell, Maren Davis and Peata Lee-Hubin rounding out the top four.
There were only five surfers in the shortboard open women’s division, so the only heat was the final.
Ho’onani Lambeth grabbed another first-place finish, giving her some family bragging rights, while Lee-Hubin, Davis and Maile Rodgers shared the podium with her.
When asked why his keiki are such good surfers at a young age, surf dad and longboard competitor Jesse Lambeth credited the work they do freediving the area and studying the reef when it’s calm, along with lots of practice for the family’s success.
Rounding out the day of competition were the bodyboard open men and women along with the longboard open men and women divisions. In bodyboarding, Antoine Fichefeux took first place with Heaven Alapai and Miles Sundseth rounding out the top three. The longboard finals saw Alex Ranne pick up the win followed by James Aukai, Lambeth and Nami Rogers.
While the inconsistent waves were frustrating to some, the overall camaraderie and cooperation shown by the competitors and their families is the reason why our young surfing athletes continue to perform well when traveling to O‘ahu or elsewhere on the continent for contests.
The next HSA contest will be held March 29 at Honoli’i. For more information on HSA Big Island, follow @hsabigisland on Instagram or contact hsabigisland@gmail.com.
