Surfing contests on Oahu’s South Shore, where Olympian Duke Kahanamoku and his fellow Waikiki beachboys put the sport on the map, dropped off heavily in the earlier part of the pandemic. But a return to normal is giving rise to more events and reinvigorating discussions about whether the city should set limits.
Nathan Serota, spokesman for the city Department of Parks and Recreation, said in an email that in fiscal year 2019, the city gave out seven surfing contest permits in Waikiki. That number dwindled to just two in 2020, but rose to 13 in 2021 and 21 this year.
Serota said there aren’t rules limiting surf contests in Waikiki.
“However, DPR does its best to not permit surf activities on consecutive weekends,” he said. “This is a guideline and is not a codified rule. We are evaluating placing limitations into new Shore Water Rules that would ensure a balance that protects recreational surfers’ access to breaks.”
The city process is similar to the one used in the late 1990s to set limits on North Shore contests. Those rule changes, which Serota believes have been in place since 2015, limited North Shore contests to 16 per each of the four sites.
The idea was to keep local surfers from missing out on all the good waves at their favorite breaks. During surf contests, only the contestants are allowed to surf the break where the contest is being held.
Retired businessman Tim Garry, who started leading the charge for South Shore contest limits in 2017 after getting kicked out of the ocean during setup for a past Duke’s OceanFest, said he’s grown frustrated with the delay and the subsequent rise in events as Hawaii has come out of pandemic restrictions.
“From June 1 to Sept. 18, tournaments, which are often multidays, have closed Queens 28 days,” Garry said.
The Queen’s Surf break, which on the bigger south swells gets some of Oahu’s most “rippable” waves, is the most sought-after spot for South Shore surfing contests, said Garry, who has lived on Oahu since the 1970s, and has surfed Waikiki nearly every day for the past two decades.
Garry doesn’t blame South Shore surfing contest organizers for choosing Queen’s, which he said is sacred to the local surfers who live to frequent the waters. Legendary Hawaii surfers like Duke Kahanamoku, Rabbit Kekai, Cippy Caboto and others once frolicked in the waves.
But he said if limits were implemented, some contests could go to other popular South Shore breaks, including Ala Moana Bowls, Kaisers, Threes, Canoes and Publics. Garry said spreading contest locations throughout the South Shore would ease some of the strain on Queen’s.
He says the North Shore limits have brought balance to the region and thinks that the South Shore would benefit from similar consideration. He said about 140 other surfers agreed with him enough to sign a petition urging the city to set limits, a process that started during Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration.
“We are into the next administration. I’d like Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi to put a moratorium on surf permits for 2023 until they figure this out,” Garry said.
Originally the city said a public hearing to consider South Shore surf limits was expected to be held in the summer of 2020; however the pandemic delayed the city’s initial timeline. Since then, Serota said the new administration has created the Shore Water Advisory Group (SWAG) to facilitate revisions and public participation in the Shore Water Event rule revisions.
SWAG held its first meeting in July 2021 and its most recent meeting in May, he said.
According to SWAG’s website, the group “intends to focus on the remaining shores of Oahu (outside of the North Shore) and further coordinate efforts on the North Shore to ensure these events and public usage effectively coexist and remain sustainable.”
Serota said some 280 responses were recorded when the city conducted a survey from December to February, seeking public feedback on proposed amendments to shore water rules to potentially limit South Shore surf events.
“The survey was used by the Shore Water Advisory Group during their public meetings, and is helping to guide the revisions to the Shore Water Event Rules being considered,” he said.
A draft of the revised rules for Shore Water Events compiled using feedback from the Shore Water Event Public Survey is expected to be available for public review a month before a public hearing is scheduled.
“We anticipate finalizing the rule revision process before applications open for the next North Shore triennial period in spring 2023,” Serota said.
According to the results of the survey, which is posted on the SWAG website, bit.ly/3Rd6R6M, the majority of those surveyed, or some 67%, said they enjoyed watching competitive water sport events. A majority of respondents, some 47%, said the amount of shore water events in their community was the right amount, although nearly 29% said there were too many, and another 24% said they thought that there were not enough events in their community.
Still, a majority of respondents, or just over 47%, also said that all shores of Oahu should have similar limitations to the North Shore’s in-depth regulations in regards to contest days and cooldown periods. More than 27% of respondents did not want North Shore- style regulations across Oahu, and nearly 26% were impartial.
SWAG member Keone Downing says Hawaii’s limited surf sites should be managed so that recreational and commercial surfing exist in harmony. He’d also like to ensure that commercial enterprises are paying enough to use public spaces.
“Our surfing sites have kept growing with new and existing surfers for decades enjoying the surf with each other,” said Downing, who is also a member of Save Our Surf, board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and a former board member of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
“Surfing is about stoke, lifestyle, and health. It is to be shared with one another,” he said. “Surfing is the silent teacher, teaching you about math, science, geography, physics, and psychology — in terms you can understand and at the speed for you to comprehend. Surfing builds self esteem, empowers you to believe in yourself, that decisions you make have direct consequences. These values should be shared with all.”
While competitive surfing plays a part for some surfers, Downing said it’s not the only reason to surf.
“How do we balance competitive surfing with recreational surfing in our limited surf sites?” he asked. “Why should commercial enterprises get to use our surf sites for free, keeping the public out? How many competitions should be at any certain surf site in a year? Our surfing communities need to have a weigh-in by the public that uses those surf sites regularly. Harmony needs to be reached for all of us. Save Our Surf, Surf with Aloha, Hawaii’s Surf Sites are our ocean parks to be enjoyed and shared by all.”
Serota said the current deposit is $500 for an amateur surfing event and $2,500 for a professional event.
Correction: The city’s current deposit is $500 for an amateur surfing event and $2,500 for a professional event. An earlier version of this story indicated that these were fees, not deposits.
