The County of Maui’s Hoʻokipa Beach Park lived up to its billing as a world-class surfing venue with solid waves both days, being labeled by several spectators and officials as the perfect “surf stadium” for the historic Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association’s (HHSAA) inaugural state surfing championships on May 1 and 2, 2026. HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun said the event will return to Hoʻokipa in 2031 as part of a five-year rotation.

With the support of several County departments, including Parks and Recreation, Maui Police and Public Works, the north shore event drew 174 high school surfers (87 boys and 87 girls), along with more than 1,000 spectators, to the first state high school championship ever for the sport.

“Mahalo to the HHSAA for holding the first state high school surfing championships on Maui,” Mayor Richard Bissen said at the event. “Big, big thanks goes to Kim Ball, who was the force and the energy behind asking for this tournament, the governor for supporting it, and approving it, and to all the supporters.”

‘Iolani School surfing head coach Chris Butler praised the venue and Maui’s leadership in high school surfing.

“I love Ho’okipa,” Butler said. “This is a world-class venue. For high school surfing competitions, it’s just amazing. I can’t say enough about not only this event, but the MIL (Maui Interscholastic League) events are just world-class for high school surfing. . . . I’ve been to a lot of surfing competitions, professional, (World Surf League), high school -- this is tops. Maui killed it.”

Boys shortboard champion Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, a Seabury Hall sophomore, said Hoʻokipa was the natural place for the first state championship.

“There were waves across the entire competition, and it was the perfect way for Maui to host,” he said. “It’s crazy how it is set up and everything is so dialed in: the judges, the staff. I just want to thank all the judges and all the staff for showing up and all the teams for coming here and representing their teams and their islands. It’s really special.”  

MIL is the pioneer for surfing in the 50th state, starting it as an official-sanctioned high school sport in 2014, after Lahaina resident Kim Ball helped high school surfing launch as an MIL club sport in 1995. Other Hawaiʻi counties eventually followed.

The state selecting Hoʻokipa as the site for the first state surfing tournament is a nod to MIL and to Ball, who has been working for decades to make the official sport of Hawaiʻi also an official statewide high school sport.

“Unbelievable; it’s beyond my wildest expectations and dreams,” said Ball, who owns Hi-Tech Surf Sports and serves on Mayor Bissen’s Lahaina Advisory Team. “We knew it was a big thing to organize, but we’ve had support of the County and all the administrators and parents and coaches. And the only thing we couldn’t control was the surf -- and we got amazing surf.”

HHSAA surfing state coordinator Davin Kazama thanked the County for support with the venue and the multiday event.

“Maui County was so gracious to even give us a practice day on Thursday . . . they closed down the beach park for us,” Kazama said. “I absolutely love Ho’okipa Beach Park. We are on kind of a raised area here and the beach is down below, so I feel like we’re in an arena watching surfing. Fantastic sightlines, two levels of viewers, so it’s like a stadium. Love it.”