As Seabury Hall’s spring sport season comes to an end, so does one of our school’s newest extracurriculars: surf. The surf team has been a recurring sport for Seabury Hall for the past few seasons. It is a CoEd sport, where surfers compete at competitions around the island, such as Kahului Harbor, Ho’okipa, Hana and DT Flemmings.
Maui is the only island in Hawai’i to offer surfing as a team sport for schools. Kim Ball, owner of the infamous surf and skate shop “HI-Tech”, fought for surfing to be considered as a sport for over 10 years. Through multiple meetings with the DOE and school officials, surfing was officially recognized as a sport and incorporated into the curriculum at Maui schools. For surfing, there are now 15 MIL teams, which is more than any other sport.
“The big win was to make surfing a real sport, all of the other islands are having trouble making that a reality,” said Mr. Noah Saltman, surf team coach.
Mr. Saltman shared that alongside the team, there is also a surf club available for students called “Surf Rider Club.” Seabury senior Max Moquin has been running the club for the past two years. He will be graduating this May, so junior Sachi will be taking over.
The coach’s responsibility does not only fall on directing the athletes and teaching them skills, but also ensuring their safety. At the time of practices and meets with the team, lifeguards are typically not on duty. This means that coaches must be ready to assist and help the athletes if they need it in the water. Coaches go through water safety training and become certified in all things water safety.
“I actually did have to rescue someone this season,” said Mr. Saltman. “Some of the kids that come out don’t have that much experience in the water so we have to be ready for whatever happens.”
As the season closes out and school and sports teams come to an end, athletes and coaches reflect on their successes, failures and everything in between. As more “non-traditional” sports such as surfing get approved as MIL sports in schools, we can expect to see sports such as beach volleyball and others get approved in the coming time.
For now, the Maui Interscholastic League surfing finale was on Saturday at Koki Beach, where junior Blake Gebb was the Spartans top finisher with a score of 5.72 in the semifinals.
The previous four contests determined the MIL team champions, while the final meet determined the individual surfing crowns. Each school could enter up to four boys and four girls in the individual competition. Lou Bouvet, of Haleakala Waldorf, and Zolten Poulsen, of Maui Prep, claimed the girls and boys titles.
“This season was great,” Mr. Saltman. “We were 6th overall with the points between girls and boys.”
MIL Finale Surf Results
BOYS RESULTS
SEMIFINALS No. 1
1. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 13.97
2. Otis Buckingham, King Kekaulike 12.17
3. Jacob Pu, Hana 8.83
4. Miki Przeciechowski, Kihei Charter 7.94
5. Avery Baybayan, Lahainaluna 7.67
SEMIFINALS No. 2
1. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian 10.66
2. Teiva Keomaniboth, King Kekaulike 10.13
3. Chase Burnes, King Kekaulike 9.50
4. Noah Hass, Kihei Charter 8.17
5. Blake Gebb, Seabury Hall 5.72
FINALS
1. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 13.67
2. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian 9.73
3. Otis Buckingham, King Kekaulike 9.13
4. Teiva Keomaniboth, King Kekaulike 6.70
5. Chase Burnes, King Kekaulike 6.40
GIRLS RESULTS
SEMIFINALS No. 1
1. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike 10.16
2. Thaynne Colpas, Maui Christian 9.66
3. Imani Caserta, Maui Prep 8.17
4. Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep 6.44
5. Phoenix Farrell, Haleakala Waldorf 4.33
SEMIFINALS No. 2
1. Lou Bouvet, Halekala Waldorf 11.16
2. Scout Smith, Maui Prep 8.26
3. Sophia Bunch, Maui Christian 7.60
4. Bella Kuailani, King Kekaulike 5.93
5. Mahea Sanita, Hana 4.07
FINALS
1. Lou Bouvet, Haleakala Waldorf 9.63
2. Thayanne Colpas, Maui Christian 9.34
3. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike 8.90
4. Imani Caserta, Maui Prep 5.93
5. Scout Smith, Maui Prep 1.00
