Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 2, 1 February 2015 — RIGHT TO SURE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RIGHT TO SURE

Mope than a century ago, women surfers wepe fpowned upon. But today, 4 Hawaiian wāhine have made it to the summit of intepnational competition

By ūaniel Ikaika lto n the late 1890s, after the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, Princess Victoria Ka'iulani would help preserve the cultural practice of he'enalu (wave sliding). Knowingly or unknowingly, she greatly helped preserve the "Sport of Kings" during those tumultuous times for future generations by disregarding societal norms and Western iniiuenee. Ka'iulani would surf the waves of 0'ahu's south shore with her male cousins, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole and Prince David Kawānanakoa, when they were on summer break from boarding school. Perhaps she never intended for her wave sliding to be a way to preserve this Hawaiian cultural practice, but nonetheless her passion for surfing was instrumental in ushering the sport into the 20th century. Associate professor of history at Brigham

Young University-Hawai'i and Kamehameha surf team eoaeh Isaiah Helekunihi Walker, 41, writes in depth about the princess' pursuit of stoke in his book Waves ofResistance. According to Waiker, when Ka'iulani lived in 'Āinahau and frequented the Waiklkl lineups, it was a time when he'enalu and Hawaiians were on a heavy decline. "When she was a teenager she lived in 'Āinahau, the gardens in Waikīkī," explains Professor Walker about Ka'iulani and her home break. "Her family owned a lot of property in Waikīkī, but at that time there were fewer people surfing. I think a lot of it had to do with the disease that eventually took her life as well . . . she was traveling a lot and going to school overseas and other things, but she made a point that every time she eame home she would grab her board and surf." According to Walker, Ka'iulani disregarded the wishes of her haole father, Archibald Scott Cleghorn, and other Western influences, to

surf. During that time, physical activities such as he'enalu were viewed as not being ladylike especially for elite women. "She stood her ground even though there was a lot of forces that discouraged her from surfing, she nonetheless disregarded those and went surfing anyway," says Walker. "She definitely was apart of perpetuating surfing for Hawaiians, but in particular women, and I think that took a lot of courage because a 100 years before then surfing was very prominent amongst women." Regarding the topic of surfing, the mo'olelo (stories of old Hawai'i) tell extensively of the wāhine being the most-famous wave sliders of i ka wā kahiko, the ancient times. Ka'ililauokekoa. Kelea. Lā'ieikawai. These names and many more of skilled women surfers fill the chants and stories from our ancestors. It's a point of pride that we quite often forget, but it's something that helped surfing survive and thrive to be one of the most practiced parts of Hawaiian culture around the world. Wāhine on the World Tour "Surfing for Hawaiians, generally Hawaiian men, diminished, but for women - and that's what makes the current situation of the Hawaiian women on the World Tour so mueh

more special - their journey was mueh more arduous than men," Waiker states proudly. "In many ways ( Hawaiian women) had race to deal with and gender also, whieh they were both discriminated against, so the fight back was a long journey, but having a strong presenee of Hawaiian women on tour I think it's special because it brings it back full circle where it belongs with Hawaiian women." Currently there are four kanaka maoli women on the World Surf League Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT) that are proudly representing Ka'iulani and their kūpuna for the past six years. In addition to the wāhine on the CT, Kelia Moniz, 21, has also made Hawaiians proud by winning two world longboard championships in 20 12 and 2013. Moniz's childhood friend, Carissa Moore, 22, is also a two-time World Champion, winning titles in 2011 and 2013 on the CT, riding a shortboard. For the last half of the decade, competing alongside Moore on the most prestigious platform of competitive surfing is fellow Native Hawaiians Coco Ho, 23, Alessa Quizon, 21, and Malia Manuel, 21. In contrast, for the past five years there has not been a Native Hawaiian on the men's CT until this year when Keanu Asing joins the elite ranks in March. (See sidebar.) While

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Kaua'i native Malia Manuel burst onto the pro suifing scene by winning the U.S. Open at 1 4, distinguishing her as the youngest surfer to win the prestigious event. - Courtesy: © WSL/Masurel

Coco Ho. - Courtesy: © WSL/Masure!

the kāne are under-represented, the four, 20-something-year-old wāhine are leading the charge performance-wise on tour. In November 2014, the Target Maui Pro marked the return of the Samsung Galaxy Women's World Tour to the birthplace of surfing. It was the first female championship tour event held in Hawaiian waters since 2009. So the Target Maui Pro was a homecoming for competitive women's surfing to Hawai'i and also Carissa Moore. She won the CT event at Honolua Bay in front of her 'ohana, friends and throngs of fans. It was a very special experience forMoore, who has won 13 world tour events in her six-year career, around the world, but it was even more special to elaim victory in Hawai'i nei. "It feels amazing, the whole event was so special. Not just because it was sponsored by one of the (companies) in my family of sponsors, Target, but it was in Hawai'i and that was super speeial. To help out and bring an event back for all of us (women) here is super special," says Moore about the Target Maui Pro. "In the hnal I was like, T'mfromHawai'i and the waves are going to eome to me - I know they're going to eome to me,' and it all kind of lined up. To have it all happen

there and have my whole family there it was real eool." Moore was in rhythm with the oeean from her first heat of the Target Maui Pro, using her patented brand of Hawaiian power

surfing to lay down big turns and pull into barrels. She convincingly defeated Australia's Tyler Wright in the hnal with a two-wave total of 18.23 out of a possible 20 points compared to Wright's 14.03. Moore was able to raise the Hawaiian flag over her head in Hawai'i, something that she is always very proud to do. "I feel so proud to represent Hawai'i and to spread the aloha," says Moore. "When I won my first two world titles to wave the

Hawaiian flag over my head that is one of the coolest moments I will always remember. Just coming from here there is so mueh support. When I eome to the heaeh I have another family

here and I feel everyone here is a huge family. I feel like when we travel all the girls from Hawai'i represent the people here." It's a golden era for Moore and the other three Native Hawaiian women on the world tour. Not only are all four wāhine in their early 20s and gorgeous, but they're pushing the level of performance in women's surfing with style and power. All of them are eapahle of pulling aerial maneuvers at will, but their ability to put

their boards on rail is a trademark of Hawaiian surfing. "When I think of Hawaiian surfing I think of powerful surfing like big carves. I think of Sunny Garcia and Paneho Sullivan," explains Moore. "It's evident in Malia's surfing - she's graceful, but she has a lot of power and I think her carves are some of the best." Malia Manuel is from Kaua'i and burst onto the pro surfing scene by winning the U.S. Open when she was 14, becoming the youngest surfer to ever win the prestigious event. She's been on the CT for three years and finds that life on tour is half-job and half-play at times. "The tour is a mix of work and vacation, like any career you have ups and downs, disappointments and victories," says Manuel. "The tour has been a tremendous learning experience that only comes through traveling and experiencing the world. I enjoy the journey the tour takes me on and there are endless things to leam and experience." For everything Manuel and the wāhine on the CT experience, there are thousands of others around the globe experiencing the aloha spirit these ladies exude. In a society where professional athletes are not always the best role models, the four Hawaiian women surfers on tour are humhle heroes worthy of praise and adoration. Their surfing is a point of pride for all of Hawai'i, but the class and humility with whieh they all carry themselves is regal like Ka'iulani. Manuel encourages other young female surfers to stay focused and remember why they love surfing if they want to make it a career. "My way of perpetuating the aloha spirit is by sharing how mueh kaunu, or passion, I have for surfing. I try to always emphasize how mueh I love the sport and how mueh representing the islands means to me," says Manuel. "My advice would be to stay humhle, stay classy, work hard and always remember why you are there in the first plaee and hopefully that's because you have a deep passion for (he'enalu)." ■

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