Sloane Jucker of Maui Prep air drops off the whitewater while taking the girls No. 1 division. Photo courtesy Dayanidhi

Though it is wildly popular and has great cultural importance in Hawaii, surfing has not been a championship sport at the high school level.

That’s about to change. On Friday, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association announced surfing will officially become an interscholastic state championship sport beginning with the spring 2026 season.

“Surfing is deeply rooted in our culture and way of life, and we extend our sincere gratitude to our legendary surfers who have paved the way for this sport in Hawaii and around the world,” said association Executive Director Chris Chun. “We are thrilled to offer this incredible opportunity to high school students statewide, allowing them to compete for a state title in a sport they are passionate about.”

The first state championship tournament will feature boys and girls shortboard championships, and will be hosted on Maui, as The Maui Interscholastic League has been a pioneer in sanctioning interscholastic surfing for more than a decade now.

Kim Ball, the owner of Hi-Tech Surf Sports and co-coordinator of Maui Interscholastic League surfing since its inception, said surfing has been an interscholastic sport since 2014, just not on the rest of the islands.

“MIL surfing is all about giving our surfing students the same opportunities as students who participate in any of the other 20-plus state sports,” he said.

Still, he’s excited to see the growth and what it could mean for local athletes.

“I’m super stoked, but until two other leagues totally commit, I’m holding my breath,” he said. “We need three of the five high school leagues to adopt surfing as an interscholastic sport.”

Ball said that in order to have a state tournament, three leagues have to adopt a sport. The five leagues include the MIL, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, the Oahu Interscholastic League (public schools), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (private schools) and the Kauai Interscholastic Federation.

Ball said he thought Oahu and Big Island would come onboard this year.

In terms of local impact, Ball said the HHSAA’s decision to including surfing as a sanctioned sport could give Maui’s high school surfers the opportunity to qualify for a state championship just like all the other interscholastic sports.

“Our Maui students have already been competing for their schools in surfing, but now our top teams and individuals will be able to compete on a statewide level,” he said.

The establishment of the new championship was supported by the recent enactment of Hawaii House Bill 133, which appropriated funding to the Hawaii Department of Education for the development of surfing as an interscholastic sport.

Chun said surfing will become the 21st sport offered by the association, which is the fourth most for any state in the U.S.

Last school year, the association added girls flag football to its roster of championship sports. With the addition of surfing, the athletic association will now crown 52 team state champions and 112 individual champions annually.