Surf history in Hawaiʻi is about to get an official line in the record books. On May 1–2, Hoʻokipa Beach Park on Maui will host the state’s first high school surfing state championships, a two day showdown that caps an inaugural statewide season. Teams from 55 high schools across the state’s five athletic leagues have been in the water all year, and 174 student athletes have surfed their way into the big event, qualifying for boys and girls titles in shortboard, longboard and bodyboard divisions.
State meet lineup and qualifiers
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association lists the 2026 Surfing State Championships for May 1–2 at Hoʻokipa and breaks down how the 174 qualifying spots are earned. The field splits evenly into 87 boys and 87 girls across the three disciplines, with slots going to top finishers from each league’s qualifying meets. When it is all over, the event will crown individual state champions in each division for the first time.
League run ups set the field
April is essentially the playoffs before the playoffs. League finals will decide who actually paddles out at Hoʻokipa: the Maui Interscholastic League championship is set for April 11 at Hoʻokipa, the Oʻahu Interscholastic Association wraps up on April 20 at Kewalo Basin, and both the Big Island and Kauaʻi federations will hold their finals on April 25 at island breaks, as reported by Maui Now. According to Maui Now, those league contests cap an inaugural statewide season that brought in 55 high schools across the five leagues, a major step up from the island specific formats that were still the norm a decade ago.
Funding and the law that made it possible
The statewide push did not happen by accident. Act 141 (HB133), a 2025 law, appropriated state funds to build out interscholastic surfing programs and help pay for a state championship, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. In a Sept. 22 news release, Gov. Josh Green credited the law with making the first official state meet possible and appeared alongside Rep. Sean Quinlan and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore, who praised the effort for expanding access to the sport for Hawaiʻi students. The governor’s office published that release on its website.
What to watch at Hoʻokipa
Once the horn sounds at Hoʻokipa, expect tight heats and plenty of strategy. Under the state format, each team can send out three shortboarders, two longboarders and one bodyboarder, so every roster spot matters. Coaches have also been busy on land as the sport goes statewide, leaning on preseason safety clinics to get ready for notoriously changeable north shore conditions.
As reported by Maui Now, those clinics featured ocean rescue swims and junior lifeguard style training that organizers described as essential as competition expanded beyond individual islands. For Maui and the rest of the state, the new tournament is both a competitive milestone and a formal nod to surfing’s place in Hawaiʻi schools, a chance to spotlight local talent and open more doors for students who have long trained outside the traditional high school sports system.
