#Davin Kazama

State championship to return to Hoʻokipa in 2031; inaugural location called world-class ‘surf stadium’

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 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.

Surf was up at Hoʻokipa Beach for Hawaiʻi’s first state high school surfing championship

With Mauiʻi’s Kim Ball leading a long effort to make surfing an official statewide high school sport — it was fitting that a sophomore from Maui won the first state high school surfing title in Hawaiʻi history.