LIHU‘E — The five Kaua‘i members of the Verizon Wireless Hawai‘i junior surf squad returned to the island amid gray skies over the Lihu‘e Airport, but seemed happy to be home after grabbing the silver medal at the Quiksilver ISA
LIHU‘E — The five Kaua‘i members of the Verizon Wireless Hawai‘i junior surf squad returned to the island amid gray skies over the Lihu‘e Airport, but seemed happy to be home after grabbing the silver medal at the Quiksilver ISA Junior World Surfing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
Leila Hurst, Kaimana Jaquias, Malia Manuel, Nage Melamed and Koa Smith were part of the 12-member Team Hawai‘i — also labeled the Ambassadors of Aloha — that showed off its young talent, bested only by the loaded Australian team in the final standings.
The team style event is a change of pace for the competitive surfers who normally are just fending for themselves, rather than worrying about accumulating points as a unit.
“It’s way more pressure,” said Hurst, regarding the team format versus individual. “But it’s cool because you have a lot of support.”
The camaraderie seemed to be a big component of what the team took away from the event.
“I loved it,” said Smith, who took the bronze medal in the Boys Under 16 division. “Going down to the beach with everyone is really helpful with the support.”
The team was staying in three separate houses near the beach, but would congregate with one another once the heats commenced each morning.
Smith came away with a week that he hadn’t previously experienced in his young career.
“This was the biggest contest I’ve ever done and placing third was the biggest thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
Jaquias, who has one of the more recognizable names among the Hawai‘i surf community and beyond, said the experience as a whole was a great one.
“Other than getting second,” he said with a smile, “it was super fun. We really lucked out with the waves.”
He said they were told that once the event got underway, it was some of the best surf Piha Beach had seen in quite some time.
Jaquias mentioned that usually in individual events when friends are competing with each other, there is still a part of them that doesn’t necessarily want to see others’ best work.
“In this event, not only do you want your friends to look better, but it then makes the state look better,” he said.
Manuel came up just one heat shy of the Girls Under 18 final, making her way to the final qualifying round without a defeat, but was ultimately topped in the last repercharge heat by teammate Alessa Quizon and Team USA’s Lakey Peterson.
The international atmosphere provides an opportunity for all involved to meet other young surfers from all over the world. This year’s event had 21 nations compete, which was actually fewer than last year’s event in Ecuador, but still gives plenty of chances to interact with different athletes from around the globe.
“You make new friends every time from different countries,” Melamed said. “But it’s fun to get back home.”
Hawai‘i’s youth was both a positive and negative, since a number of the team’s participants in the Under 18 division would have actually been able to still compete in the younger bracket. That inexperience now will likely give way to a talented and polished group in the near future.
