19 qualify for elite junior surfing meet
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Casey Brown represented the Big Island at a surfing contest at Kewalo Basin yesterday.
Bernie Baker • Special to The Advertiser
Because he did so well, he'll get to represent the entire state in October.
Among the surfers who qualified to represent Hawai'i at the World Junior Championships are, front, from left, Monyca Byrne-Wickey, Lani Hunter, Ashley Hunter, Malia Manuel, Carissa Moore and Coco Ho. Back, from left, Tonino Benson, Torrey Meister, Hizson Lin-Kee, Travis Sasaki, Clay Marzo and Granger Larsen.
Brown was one of 19 youth surfers selected to represent Hawai'i at the International Surfing Association World Junior Championships, Oct. 8 to 16 at Huntington Beach, Calif.
"I love Hawai'i and I want to represent it the best I can," said Brown, 17 and a junior at Thompson. "What I like about this one is that it's not a self-contest. You're there as a team. It's almost like a basketball game where you have to do your part, but you also depend on your teammates."
More than 60 surfers from around the state tried out for the team.
"We like to think that our kids can compete with any other kids from around the world," Hawai'i head coach Rainos Hayes said. "And we have high hopes for this year because we feel like we put together a strong team."
Because of its status in surfing history, Hawai'i is allowed to field its own team at the World Junior Championships. All the other teams will be national teams, including a Team USA.
"Teams like Australia and Brazil get to select from their entire country so that's a big advantage," Hayes said. "But these kids are proud to be Hawaiian and represent Hawai'i."
The World Junior Championships features three divisions: juniors (ages 17 and 18), boys (16 and younger) and girls (18 and younger). Surfers compete as individuals like in any other contest, but they accumulate points for their team along the way.
Carissa Moore, who was selected to represent Hawai'i in the girls division, said: "It's an honor to represent Hawai'i. When you go there, you feel like a family and you get to cheer for everybody else on the team."
Moore also was on last year's Hawai'i team that placed fourth. Australia won, followed by the United States, and then Brazil. Last year's event was held in small waves off Tahiti.
This year's event also could be staged in small waves at Huntington Beach, which is why the Hawai'i coaches wanted to hold the finals of the trials yesterday in poor conditions at Kewalo Basin.
Waves were only in the 1- to 2-foot range, and gusty winds were blowing throughout the day.
"It's a double-edged sword," Hayes said. "One is that this is realistically what we could see in Huntington. But the other side is that we may lose some good surfers here because they don't like to surf in poor conditions."
One powerful surfer who made the cut in the boys division was Hizson Lin-Kee of Wai'anae.
"I wanted to go home because the waves were so small," said Lin-Kee, 14. "But my dad made me stay and it just took me a while to get the right attitude to surf waves like this."
The Hawai'i coaches will continue to monitor the progress of the surfers over the summer.
Although 19 were selected to the team yesterday, only 12 will actually get to compete at Huntington Beach.
"We're going to have training sessions, and there are a lot of other contests coming up that we'll be looking at," Hayes said.
As Lin-Kee put it: "Guarantee, the waves going be small in California, so I just have to practice surfing in small waves and be ready for it."
Surfers selected to represent Hawai'i:
Juniors — Casey Brown (Big Island), Ke'ale Chung (Kaua'i), Torrey Meister (O'ahu), Dusty Payne (Maui), Kyle Ramey (Kaua'i), Travis Sasaki (Big Island).
Boys — Tonino Benson (Big Island), Chas Chidester (O'ahu), John John Florence (O'ahu), Mason Ho (O'ahu), Granger Larsen (Maui), Hizson Lin-Kee (O'ahu), Clay Marzo (Maui).
Girls — Monyca Byrne-Wickey (Maui), Ashley Hunter (O'ahu), Lani Hunter (O'ahu), Coco Ho (O'ahu), Malia Manuel (Kaua'i), Carissa Moore (O'ahu).
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
