Stewart will try to win own contest

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The good news for bodyboarders is that Mike Stewart has agreed to sponsor the world's most prestigious bodyboarding contest for the third consecutive year.

The bad news is that he's really motivated to win it himself.

More than 140 of the world's top bodyboarders will compete in the Mike Stewart International Pipeline Pro at the famous Banzai Pipeline. The holding period for the event starts tomorrow and runs through Jan. 16.

Stewart, 38, is a nine-time former world champion and 11-time former Pipeline Pro champ. He would like nothing better than to add another one this year.

"I still feel like I can surf pretty well," said Stewart, who was raised in Kailua, Kona, but now resides at Sunset Beach. "I have so many things going on in my life right now, but (bodyboarding) is still my job and I still feel like I can do it."

But like another 38-year-old "Mike" in the NBA, Stewart has heard the whispers about his age and witnessed the fast-rise of younger competition.

Stewart last won at Pipeline in 1998 when he was 34. Since then, the contest has been won by competitors not even old enough to sip celebratory champagne. South African Andre Both won it in 1999 and 2000, when he was 17 and 18; Australian Andrew Lester won it last year when he was 20.

Both are entered again this year, and most of the top Hawai'i contingent are also in their 20s, including Jerrett Lau, Spencer Skipper, Jeff Hubbard and Oishi Grady.

But as Stewart said: "Those guys inspire me to keep going."

Even more inspiration came five months ago, when Stewart's wife, Lisa, gave birth to their first child, a son they named Kaimana.

What's more, Stewart has never won the contest since becoming the title sponsor. He did not enter his first year as the sponsor, then placed seventh last year.

"It's more like an opportunity for me to give back to the sport," he said. "But it would be nice to give some back to myself, too."