March is National Women’s History Month, so Hawaii State Representatives Lauren Matsumoto and Sean Quinlan took the opportunity to honor women who’ve made history in surfing, Hawaii’s native-born sport, at the Capitol today.

After all, 2020 is a watershed year for surfing, which will for the first time be included as an Olympic sport, set to debut at the Tokyo Summer Games in July and August, and for Hawaii, with Oahu natives and world championship title winners Carissa Moore and John John Florence representing the U.S. on a four-member team including Californian Kolohe Andino and Floridian Carolyn Marks.

Moore, the reigning women’s world champion who has won the title four times, was one of the trailblazing Hawaii surfers whom Matsumoto and Quinlan invited to be recognized with certificates of achievement on the state House of Representatives chamber floor.

Moore, who is travelling, couldn’t attend the event but was represented by her mother, Carol Moore. Also present today were women’s surf pioneers Carol Philips, a national bodyboarding champion, and “Banzai” Betty Depolito, contest director for the Red Bull Queen of Waimea Bay; Californian Sabrina Brennan, co-founder of the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing, who helped get women included in the Mavericks big-wave surf competition and receive parity with men in prize money; Keala Kennelly, winner of the Big Wave World Championship in 2018; and Honolua Blomfield, 2x World Longboard Champion. (Honoree Paige Alms, another Hawaii big-wave champion, was unable to attend).

“We are blessed to have shortboard, longboard, and big wave champions, all from Hawaii,” at the event, Matsumoto said.

She and Quinlan added the women were also being celebrated for the inspiration and opportunities they are providing for girls today and generations to come, and for their exemplary sportswomanship with one another.

“These women aren’t just out on the waves for accolades and personal gain,” Matsumoto said. “They are out there for each other, cheering one another on, (and) for every girl that has dreams to do something bigger than herself.”

The groundswell for gender equity in surfing continues to build: In January, Philips, Depolito, Kennelly and Brennan submitted testimony to the Honolulu City Council supporting Resolution 20-12, introduced by Councilmember Heidi Tsuneyoshi, which urges the City Department of Parks and Recreation and the State Department of Land and Natural Resources to adopt new permit rules for North Shore surf contest promoters requiring women’s divisions; the resolution was passed by the Council and is now being shaped into a bill.

Similar in spirit but broader in scope, Bill 10 – 2020, promoting gender equity in all sports activities requiring a park use permit, was introduced by Councilmember Kymberly Pine and is currently being amended.

Meanwhile, to promote surfing’s Hawaiian roots, SB 3164, a bill to establish a state surfing commission, introduced by Sen. Glenn Wakai, continues to make its way through the Legislature.