Pipeline and Sunset surf champs: O'ahu, Hawaii
Tough, strong, and courageous is an affirmation we use in our house (with mixed success) - a living embodiment of these words are the women competing in the World Surf League.
In a sport that appears to be decades behind in equality, the excellence, dedication, toughness, courage, passion, competitiveness, resilience, grit, and humility on display was boundless.
On arriving in Hawaii as our last experience before relocating to Iowa, USA, Whitney noticed there was a surf event starting in a few days. Given the fun Scarlett had learning surfing in Costa Rica and Tahiti at the beginning of our trip and Nora’s increasing interest we thought we would see if we could go to the event. And, not that we needed more incentive, Bethany Hamilton was a wildcard in the event. Scarlett has read everything about Bethany’s journey as an elite athlete and the challenges she has overcome.
Over the next three weeks we enjoyed 5+ great days sharing the beach (literally) with the world’s best surfers at Pipeline and Sunset – two of the most famed waves in the world.
Role models are so important and it is amazing the impact they can have – positive and negative! We found a positive experience that was beyond anything I could have imagined for Scarlett and Nora.
I feel immense gratitude to the competitors and their teams for the experience we had. Names that a few weeks ago I may have recognized on a newsreel, are now etched in our mind as gracious athletes and champions to our daughters; and we wish them every success in pursuit of their surfing dreams.
Surf events are unusual to say the least in that they have a “window” of dates when they will run but from there each day’s proceedings are decided at set times on that day. In Hawaii the time was typically 7:50am. We have a limited parent and child bandwidth for traffic, waiting etc. so we would leave the house at 6:15am, arrive at Pipeline or Sunset around 7:30am and find a shady spot on the beach and hope that in the next 20 minutes we would hear the magic words “We’re On!” over the public address system; which meant that the first heat of the day was literally starting a few mins after 8am.
As we sat on the beach - no tickets (free) - we soon realized that we were hanging around the world’s best surfers. The athletes would seemingly escape the official athlete hospitality area and find a quiet spot on the beach and prepare for their heat. The announcer would call out for them to check-in for their heat, pick up their guernsey, and then they returned to their spot on the beach to prepare and then paddle out for their World Surf League heat. It was surreal.
We sat there on the first morning and Carissa Moore, a 5-times world champion, was sitting with her coach strategizing for the heat, warming up, and visualizing high performance. Then, as her heat approached she stood up, grabbed her surfboard, and headed out to face the massive - and I mean truly terrifying - Pipeline waves and her competitor.
Over the next few weeks we saw this over and over again, seeing how many of the 18 women surfers prepare to perform in the toughest conditions at the highest level.
At Pipeline we bought a top in the smallest size they had which was still massive for Scarlett and Nora. We bought the one for the USA women - Carissa Moore - and the (only) one available for the AUS women - Stephanie Gilmore.
From there, armed with a couple of permanent markers, we thought getting a couple of autographs would be fun. Well it added a whole new dimension to Scarlett and Nora’s experience and understanding. We talked through why we would not to ask or approach an athlete preparing for their heat, instead we watched them go through their routine. Then we watched them compete (in between playing on the beach, sandcastle making, etc.) and we saw the raw emotions of winning, losing, and tension before, during and after heats.
The awareness, caliber, intensity, warmth, and humility of these surfing champions was an incredible combination. Sally Fitzgibbons spent time talking with Nora and Scarlett and wrote a personal message to each of them on their tops. The affirmations continue to be shared by Scarlett and Nora for days since and what they may mean #IMPACT
Tyler Wright, 2 times world champion, was a superstar example to watch too. She is an incredible competitor to watch prepare, compete and reflect on her heat. She too was generous with her interaction with our family and a great role model of courage, excellence, intensity, and love of her sport.
We spent our last day of watching sitting just a few meters from Isabella Nichols on Sunset beach. It was another amazing experience to see a champion prepare, recover from a tough heat loss, to then bounce back to win through her elimination heat, but to then come up short in the round of 16. Her example and interaction with Scarlett and Nora was awesome.
Other incredible interactions and moments happened with Stephanie Gilmore, Carissa Moore, Moana Jones Wong, Lakey Peterson, Luana Silva, and Bronte Macaulay.
What an experience.
