CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kolea Fukumitsu competed in the junior men's division of the Local Motion/Ezekiel Surf Into Summer contest yesterday. It is the biggest amateur event in the state.
Surfers welcome
in summerTomorrow's pros show off at the
prestigious Surf Into Summer
event at Ala Moana Bowls
For Hawaii's amateur surfers, summer officially begins with the Local Motion/Ezekiel Surf Into Summer event each Memorial Day weekend.
Considered the largest and among the most esteemed of amateur meets in the state, surfers at the 18th Surf Into Summer yesterday challenged waves with 2- to 6-foot faces at the left-breaking Ala Moana Bowls. It was the final day of a three-day event that saw about 300 participants from across the state competing in 10 divisions.
"I grew up surfing amateur events, then pro events," Ezekiel president Vince De La Pena said. "I think (Surf Into Summer) is a great vehicle to establish yourself. ... And, ultimately, it's at this level that the whole industry works; if there wasn't amateur surfing, there wouldn't be professional surfing."
Among yesterday's winners, Kolea Fukumitsu, of Hakipuu, Windward Oahu, picked up his first Surf Into Summer win in the Junior Men's (ages 15-17) Shortboard division. The division is considered among the most prestigious and hotly contested in the event, and is viewed as a springboard to a professional career.
Fukumitsu, 17 and a student at Myron B. Thompson Academy, used powerful forehanded surfing to carve across four total waves in his six-person, 15-minute final heat. His best two waves scored 6.5 and 7.1 points, giving him a winning total of 13.6 (out of 20 maximum) and 2.5 more than second-place Casey Brown (11.1). Luke Walsh (6.5) finished third.
"I did (Surf Into Summer) a couple of years and got second (place) and third," Fukumitsu said. "(This win is) good because it's my last year (as an amateur).
"Bowls is super good," he said of the surf spot. "It has a good inside double-up (section), and when you hit it you can put all the power you want into it."
In other elite-division competition, Honolulu's Billy Choi picked up his third consecutive Men's (18-24) Shortboard win, while Hanalei, Kauai's Bethany Hamilton, only 13, won the Open Women's Shortboard.
Choi, 20, considers Bowls his home break, and he demonstrated his familiarity with the spot by picking off the cleaner waves during his heat and letting loose with risky but high-scoring layback snaps. His two-wave total (16.2) approached doubling the totals of second-place Ira Masaki (9.4) and third-place C.J. Kanuha (9).
"I've been surfing here all my surfing life," Choi said. "A couple of those set waves I got, I sneaked over to the right spot while everyone else was trying to fight for (line-up) position.
"I figured: Go big or go home," he added. "This is probably one of the most prestigious amateur events of the year. People from all over the state -- even some from the Mainland -- come to compete. ... It's exciting, like a reunion."
Hamilton only caught two waves in her final -- but that was all she needed. Each scored 5.8, and they gave her a comfortable 11.6-9.2 victory over runner-up Kelli Frye. Cristal Mortensen (8.5) took third.
"I'm a goofy-foot (right foot forward, facing wave)," explained Hamilton, when asked about keys to her victory. "And I love Ala Moana, so I surf here when I come (to Oahu)."
The state's next big amateur event is the Hawaii Amateur Surfing Association Championships on June 5-8, also at Bowls. Then, at the end of next month, the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships -- perhaps the most well-respected amateur event in the U.S. -- will be held at San Clemente, Calif. Fukumitsu and Hamilton will represent Hawaii at the NSSA.
All Surf Into Summer finalists took home a bag full of prizes and a trophy. Other division winners yesterday included: Ezekiel Lau (Menehune Shortboard, ages 10-12); Alex King (Boys' Shortboard, 13-14); Hop Tong Smith (Masters' Shortboard, 25-34); Kal Faurot (Senior Men's Shortboard, 35-over); Micah Oh (Open Bodyboard); Jordan Hart (Open Men's Longboard); and Joy Magelssen (Open Women's Longboard).
