Hawaii Set to Host First State Surfing Championship in 2026

Hawaii Governor Josh Green was joined by Carissa Moore Monday to announce the 2026 Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) surfing competition. The contest will be held at Hookipa Beach on Maui’s north shore on May 1 and May 2 and will cap off the first school year in which surfing is an official team sport at the prep level in the Aloha State.

HHSAA announced that surfing would be added to its spring 2026 schedule back in July after Gov. Green signed a bill providing $685,000 in funding for the state’s interscholastic leagues. Prior to that, athletes like Carissa Moore were left with traveling to compete as individuals representing their schools in NSSA events.

“It would’ve been cool to have a few more of my peers alongside me competing and doing it together, and representing something bigger than ourselves,” Moore told the media on Monday. She joked about the complications it created as a student, making up missed P.E. credits with laps around the track at Punahou School.  “Surfing is a very individual sport, and I think this team aspect is so important and something that I missed out on as a young person.”

The May 2026 event will include competition categories for both boys and girls in three different disciplines: shortboard, longboard, and bodyboard.

“The Maui high schools have competed for 19 years as an unofficial club sport and then from 10 years ago, we’ve been competing as an official MIL sport,” said Maui Interscholastic League surfing co-coordinator Kim Ball. “So you can imagine the enthusiasm and excitement after 29 years that we’re finally going to have a state championship. The county of Maui and our MIL surf crew will do all we can to make it a memorable event.”

The news is being celebrated around Hawaii for the sport’s importance within the state’s culture and history. Beyond that, however, it makes Hawaii the first state in the U.S. to recognize surfing as a state champion team event.