Hawai'i bodyboarding legend Jack "da Rippa" Lindholm is back online.

Lindholm, who invented the "drop knee" style of riding and was the first bodyboarder to conquer the Banzai Pipeline, relaunched his company Web site, www.jackdarippa.com, in November.

Visitors to the site can order custom-made bodyboards and accessories, T-shirts and stickers, and see Lindholm ride an assortment of waves in a photo gallery.

Lindholm, 47, has nearly 40 years of bodyboarding experience on the leading edge of the sport. To optimize the performance of the "Jack stance," Lindholm introduced nose rocker to bodyboard shapes and developed the "da Rippa GRippa" system. This innovation enables drop-knee riders to perform aerial maneuvers with the board semi-attached to their swim fins.

"The GRippa sticks, but gives," said Lindholm, who lives on Maui. "It's like a cross between strap-surfing and wax.

"The boards I'm riding now are the best I've ever ridden," he said. "It's the board."

JABOUR AND HORIGUCHI WIN HIO MVP AWARDS

Kiron Jabour of O'ahu's North Shore and Shinpei Horiguchi from Japan were named the Vertra Most Valuable Players at the 38th annual Hale'iwa International Open last week.

The four-day contest was completed last Saturday at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach. It is one of the longest-running amateur surfing contests in the world, and prides itself as "the only big-wave amateur surf contest in the nation."

Jabour, 16, won the junior men's division, and then defeated several older competitors to win the men's divisions.

Horiguchi placed third in the Japan men's division, but scored the only perfect 10 in the four days of competition.

The contest is primarily for amateur surfers, but the Japan men's division featured professionals. The event was created in 1970 as a goodwill contest between surfers from Hawai'i and Japan.

Another standout from the contest was Keanu Asing, who won the boys division for the second consecutive year.

Also, Bobby Wiggins won the In4mation Rookie award.

The division winners: Keanu Asing (boys), Jabour (junior men shortboard and men), Christian Budroe (masters), David Hussadel (seniors), Lani Hunter (women), Naohisa Ogawa (Japan men), Nelson Ahina (men longboard), Leonard Foster (masters longboard), Gino Bell (seniors longboard), Jock Sutherland (grandmasters longboard) and Kaili Rodman (women longboard).

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.