The Tropical Energy Ocean Games is a modern day celebration of the Makahiki, embracing the activities that spawn from the natural wonders of Hawaii and in particular, the Ocean. Surfing and Kanu contests have been going on for decades, as have windsurfing and now more recently Kitesurfing events, but never before has any single event embraced the complete world of ocean riding sports so wholeheartedly as the Tropical Energy Ocean Games, from traditional right through to modern.

In ancient times, no matter what the dispute, tribes in Hawaii would put aside their differences during the Makahiki to celebrate a common bond that linked them all…the essence of being Hawaiian and all that this entails. In modern times, the Tropical Energy Ocean Games brings together the different sectors of Ocean Sports that don’t regularly mix, to celebrate their common bond, a bond that is so inherent to life in Hawaii…Ocean living, the art of riding waves and the essence of a true waterman….

The Waterman Concept for the Games…

There are great surfers and there are great windsurfers, but the number of truly great watermen is far fewer than you might think. The term ‘Waterman’ has become considerably overused and its true meaning has been overshadowed by excellence in one or other specific sport. Respected Hawaiian Waterman Mel Pu’u described to me once what he considered to be the definition of a ‘Waterman’, and it is, as he put it, ‘living the Ocean’. It is not about dedicating yourself to one specific sport and waiting for the perfect conditions in order to excel, it is about following the Ocean’s rhythm, no matter what that might be, and marching to that beat. In short, it consists of being a capable athlete that is comfortable no matter what situation he / she is put into and can adapt him/herself to it appropriately, something that is second nature to a true waterman.

The goal with the Games has been to bring together the best of the best from across the world of Ocean Sports to not only compete in their respective sports, but also battle it out across all the sports for a chance to win the ‘Ultimate Waterman Award’. In a sense it could be seen as the Ocean’s answer to the Olympic Games where each sport is contested individually, but there is also a Pentathlon format for those competing across multiple sports. The ‘Ultimate Waterman Award’ presented by Jeep (a 4x4 Wrangler Unlimited), is awarded to the athlete scoring highest in 3 out of the 5 sports : shortboard surfing ; longboard surfing ; stand up paddle surfing ; windsurfing ; kitesurfing – the winner being the most complete ocean sports’ athlete.

Additional Elements… In addition to the individual disciplines, there are also 2 team sports included in the Games : Kanu Surfing and Tandem Surfing. The Tandem Surfing event also serves as the first stop on the ITSA World Championship Tandem Surfing Tour, meaning that World Titles are at stake.

Beyond the sporting elements, the focus of the Games is still on creating a Festival atmosphere, an event that not only provides top flight competition in this ultimate natural arena, but that also involves the community as a whole and is more fitting to the spirit of the Makahiki. With this in mind, the Games hosts live music daily and a unique art exhibition featuring work from celebrated local artists.

The stage having been set, the Tropical Energy Ocean Games was realized for the first time this February 15th, towards the close of the Makahiki season. Following the success of both the Quiksilver Makahiki event in Oahu in January and the Buffalo Big Board Classic earlier in the month, all eyes were on the North Shore of Maui, as the invited athletes assembled at Ho’okipa Beach Park, the venue for the inaugural Tropical Energy Ocean Games.

Let the Games Begin…

8 riders were chosen from each sport, making for a total of 40 athletes. These athletes were chosen for their strengths in their respective sports, but also for the ability to excel across other ocean sports in order to ensure that it would be a legitimate and exciting battle to win the Ultimate Waterman Award.

There are certain names that immediately come to mind when you think of well-rounded ocean sports athletes…Dave Kalama, Bonga Perkins, Brian Keaulana, Archie Kalepa, Robby Naish, Rush Randle and Pete Cabrinha to mention just a few. All these incredible athletes were a part of the inaugural Ocean Games (with the exception of Brian Keaulana, who had to pull out last minute due to family commitments) and the battle was on to see who would be crowned Jeep’s ‘Ultimate Waterman’
Day 1 :

Shortboard Surf With a new NW swell hitting on cue for the first day of the Ocean Games, the athletes gathered at the Tropical Energy event HQ to get briefed on their adventure for the next five days. Each morning, they would need to turn up prepared for anything, with the conditions determining the course of action for each day.

The new swell provided some sizable surf, but also a strong rip running right the way through the point, making the riding extremely challenging for the assembled athletes. With both the left at Lanes and the right at the point of Ho’okipa to choose from, goofy and regular footers were satisfied and the performance level was exceptional. Standouts and amongst those advancing through to the next round were local hot shot Nalu Wallace, Kiva Rivers and Micah Nickens, not to mention an impressive display by World Champion Longboarder Bonga Perkins. Also advancing through were the likes of well-rounded athletes Robby Naish and Dave Kalama, keeping them firmly in contention for the Ultimate Waterman Award.

Size doesn’t matter ?! Another athlete worthy of a serious mention is 14 year old Kai Lenny : this kid is truly in a league of his own for his age and size – aside from the fact that he was the only under 18 year old participant in the Pro division of the Ocean Games, he was also, with Robby Naish, the only one to commit to every sport in the Games. His unique approach and undeniable abilities across all the sports make him one of Hawaii’s most promising young waterman, walking in the footsteps of the likes of Kalama, Laird and Robby Naish. Kai makes it through to the semis of the shortboard in what could be described as quadruple overhead for him and in the face of some serious competition.

As the wind whipped up and conditions became even more trying, it was decided to postpone the Final of the shortboard division until the following day, allowing us to press on with the first heats of the kitesurfing division.

Kitesurfing Waveriding with a kite has evolved so much over the past few years that it has become a completely legitimate force in Ocean Sports. What we were able to witness here at the Ocean Games reinforced this notion entirely and opened people’s minds to the potential that this new sport has to offer. Amongst the standouts in the opening heat were Reo Stevens, Jesse Richman and familiar name from both Windsurfing (previous wave world champion) and surfing (winner of the Billabong XXL big wave awards) and now one of the leading figures in the kitesurfing industry, Pete Cabrinha. Unfortunately, the wind started to back off, forcing us to call it a wrap for the day in the hope that the morning would provide us with what we needed to complete both shortboard and kite divisions.

Day 2…

More Surf… Another early start allowed us to get straight on with the shortboard surfing division, with the swell having stayed overnight and some fun, but still challenging waves out front. In a fiercely fought Final consisting of Nalu Wallace, Ahanu Tsandru, Bonga Perkins, Kiva Rivers and Micah Nickens, it was the wave selection and barrel riding skills of longboarder Kiva Rivers that won through over the more radical lip driven assault of Nalu Wallace, followed closely by Ahanu Tsandru. This was an incredible achievement by Kiva, especially given that his strongest playing card (longboarding) was still to come and it not only put him in a great position for the overall award, but was also a true testament of his well-rounded abilities.

More Kitesurf… With one result in the bag, it was now the kiters turn to step up the plate to take on the challenging conditions at Ho’okipa Beach Park. Windsurfing and kitesurfing legend Robby Naish was immediately turning heads and showing that he is definitely a force to be reckoned with in this kind of contest….having got through to the semis in the shortboard and having his strongest cards still to play, he was definitely going to be one to watch out for. Other standouts included Niccolo Porcella who demonstrated some phenomenal surf like turns in the tough conditions and Maui local Dylan Grafmyre.

In a stacked final consisting of Robby Naish, Pete Cabrinha, Dylan Grafmyre, Niccolo Porcella, Reo Stevens and Jesse Richman, it was experience and wave knowledge that won the day, with legend Robby Naish taking the win followed closely by Pete Cabrinha and Dylan Grafmyre. It is not often that kitesurfers get to have Ho’okipa to themselves, especially with a solid swell running and steady trades, making it more often than not the domain of the windsurfers. It was great to see how the sport has evolved and to have a demonstration of some of the most critical riding here at the Tropical Energy Ocean Games.

So at the end of day 2, it was Robby Naish who was clearly at the head of the leaderboard, followed closely by Pete Cabrinha. But with 3 sports still to be contested, it was far from over….remember, it is the best accumulative scores from 3 out of the 5 sports that wins Jeep’s Ultimate Waterman award.

Day 3…

Longboard Maui is famous for its tradewinds and it was certainly not letting us down here at the Games, despite our efforts to start early and capitalize on the ‘morning glass’. It was more like morning wind as we arrived bright and early on day 3, but the decision was made to go straight on with the longboard division and make the most of the available swell.

The longboard fleet was stacked, with the likes of Bonga Perkins, Kai Sallas, Dave Kalama, Kiva Rivers and other Maui boy, Patt Fukuda. There were also the now familiar faces of Robby Naish and Kai Lenny, both desperate to assert themselves in the overall standings. Robby once again made it through to the semis, but failed o go any further, whilst as expected, Bonga Perkins, Dave Kalama and Kiva Rivers made it right through to the Final, as did waterman Buzzy Kerbox, Patt Fukuda and Sean Ordonez (with his strength in windsurfing and stand up paddle, Sean was definitely beginning to assert his presence in the overall standings).

The Final was an incredible display of high performance longboarding in the difficult, windy conditions. Bonga pulled some turns that defy description and showed why he is one of the most highly regarded longboarders in the world and the rightful winner of this division. Kiva showed style and consistency placing him in second place, closely followed by Patt Fukuda in third and Dave Kalama in 4th. These results made for interesting reading for the Overall, with Kiva looking in a great position with a first and a second place, Bonga with a first and a fifth and Robby with a first and two sevenths…with two more sports to be contested, it was still anyone’s game…

Windsurfing The strong tradewinds that had proved so challenging for the longboarders were just what we needed to get the windsurfing division underway, as some of the sport’s greatest legends made their way out to do battle. Chosen for their well-rounded skills, it was no surprise to see the likes of Mark Angulo, Dave Kalama, Rush Randle and Robby Naish in the line-up, not to mention Sean Ordonez, Kai Lenny and Keith Teboul. After the fiercely contested preliminary rounds, the final consisted of the greats from the past 2 decades of professional windsurfing : Keith Teboul, Robby Naish, Mark Angulo, Dave Kalama, Antoine Albeau and Sean Ordonez.

In an incredible final held in great conditions, it was Keith Teboul who was to steal the show, with some phenomenal riding and some of the smoothest and most surf like linking turns and aerials in the business. In a close second was Sean Ordonez, pulling him right up into contention for the waterman award, with his fifth place in longboarding and now this. In third place it was Robby Naish, showing the world that he still has it in him and can dominate in any conditions, any sport. This was also another great result for Robby in his quest to win the overall. In fourth place was Dave Kalama, posting a solid result in his quest for the overall, now holding 2 fourths going into the final division of the games, stand up paddle surfing.

So at the end of Day 3, the race for the overall result was on….the strongest contenders were clear : Kiva Rivers (1,2), Bonga Perkins (1,5), Robby Naish (1,3,7,7) and Sean Ordonez (2,5). There was still an outside threat from Dave Kalama, although with 2 fourth places, it was looking very unlikely, especially in view of the top four’s unbelievable consistency.

Music and Art This third day also marked the first day of the land based elements of the Ocean Games : the live music and art exhibition. Top Maui bands such as the Dub Rockers, the Derelicts, Anuhea, Funky Munky and Micah Wolf rocked the beach park on the specially constructed stage up at the Lookout. This has certainly set a precedent for the future of the Ocean Games and the concept of combining music with sports is something that will be refined, but has already shown to work and work well.

In addition to the music, we were also lucky enough to have a unique ocean side art exhibition displaying some of maui’s finest artists, including Gianna Mitchell and Heather Brown. Exciting plans for 2008 are already in the pipeline for building out this area of the Games, to further enhance the overall experience at the Games and the enjoyment for everyone, athletes, residents and visitors.

Day 4…the day of reckoning

First light saw Kiva Rivers out practising his stand up paddle skills before the eagerly awaited final discipline of the Ultimate Waterman award….knowing the calibre of the stand up fleet, with the likes of Archie Kalepa, Leleo Kinimaka and Bonga Perkins, the pressure was on for Kiva despite the fact that he was lying in a great position going into this final division. Kiva, Bonga, Robby and Sean would all have to make it to the Final to have any chance of winning the Waterman award….

In the incredibly challenging conditions for stand up (howling winds), riders tackled everything that came through with gritted determination and incredible skill. Advancing through to the Final was Bonga Perkins, showing us that his talent base is not restricted to longboarding and the addition of the paddle did not inhibit him whatsoever. With Bonga were stand up specialist Leleo Kinmaka, Ekolu Kalama, Kiva Rivers, Sean Ordonez and young Kai Lenny. This meant that it was now between Kiva and Bonga for the overall with an outside chance from Sean Ordonez, who would need low final placements from the other two and a win to secure his name on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

In a nail biting final, it was clear that Bonga had put on an unrivalled performance, but it was all hinging on Kiva’s placement to determine the final result. Everyone would have to wait for the evening Luau to find out. Certainly Leleo, Ekolu and Kai’s performances were an unsettling thought for Kiva as he spent the rest of his day waiting and wondering…

The Next Generation With the Pro division out of the way, we went straight into Keiki (youth) surf and windsurf contests. The standard of the young waveriders of Maui was nothing short of phenomenal and both sports were filled with impressive talent. As expected, young Kai Lenny competed across both of the sports, as did Kalani Hunt and other young budding Watermen. In the end it was to be Buzzy Stattner who came out on top in the surf, closely followed by Taylor Daley and Will Hunt, whilst in the Windsurfing, it was Kai Lenny who took the honours, closely followed by Baker Grant and Skylar Haywood.

Kama’aina Open With the incredible wind that was now on tap for us here at the Tropical Energy Ocean Games, we were able to go ahead and run an open men’s division for windsurfing. The standard was high and the range of ages involved, equally impressive. In the end it was young budding Champion and son of windsurfing legend Fred Haywood, Skylar, who came out on top and took the honours. Skylar was closely followed by Jeff Sutherland in second and Neil Van Wessen in third. A special mention should also be made for young Kalani Hunt, who was excelling in both youth and open fleets…he is definitely a talent to watch out for in the future.

The Luau Maui looked down on us to bless this special occasion as the winds subsided and the skies cleared to give us the most beautiful Maui Sunset, and the perfect setting for an evening to remember. Not only was everyone assembled to find out who had won Jeep’s Ultimate Waterman award, but also to celebrate this special event in a unique and entirely appropriate way. The Hula Halau from Hana led by Kumu Kamalu made their way down to Ho’okipa to celebrate with us and provide us with an authentic display of traditional Hawaiian Hula and Chant. Kumu blessed the event and talked of the significance of the Makahiki and what it represents.

Content with Kahlua pork and ahi poke in our bellies, the eagerly awaited awards ceremony for Pros, Open and Kids division of the Tropical Energy Ocean Games got underway. Each discipline was presented with its respective medals (Gold, Silver and Bronze), until the final discipline was announced, the one that would decide the winner of the Ultimate Waterman award : Stand up Paddle. It seemed fitting that this should be the deciding discipline for the award, with the sport’s origins so firmly entrenched in Hawaiian and surfing history. In third place was leading stand-up expert, Leleo Kinimaka ; In second was Maui boy Kiva Rivers and unanimously winning the Stand up division beyond a shadow of a doubt was Bonga Perkins. Despite Bonga’s impressive win, it was to be Kiva’s night…he had done it….Kiva had succeeded in overcoming incredible opposition across all the sports to be crowned Jeep’s Ultimate Waterman.

The crowd went wild…the fact that a Maui boy had ended up winning the inaugural Tropical Energy Ocean Games in the company of amongst the most respected waterman in the world was not only a testament to Kiva’s incredible and well rounded talent, but also of Maui’s proven track record of nurturing complete waterman with impressive skills across the board. The challenging conditions that hit Maui’s shores day in day out create the perfect training ground for watermen, forcing those willing to face the challenge to adapt and master riding in the widest possible variety of conditions. Congratulations to Kiva Rivers who is now sporting a brand new Jeep 4x4 Wrangler Unlimited for his efforts !

Tandem The fifth and final day of the Tropical Energy Ocean Games dawned bright and windy with small surf. Tough conditions for the Tandem and Surf Canoe fleets, the final two disciplines waiting for their moment at the Games. As the first official stop on the ITSA Tandem World Tour, the World’s top Tandem couples had made the journey to Ho’okipa Beach Park to do battle out at the Point.

Despite the challenging conditions for tandem, the level of riding astounded us : the lifts that were being performed in the gusty winds and the critical nature of the riding itself were a real inspiration and not something that we see that often on the North Shore of Maui. Standouts were definitely local waterman Archie Kalepa and partner Jamie Funokoshi, renowned couple Bobby and Tiare Friedman and a newly formed couple Kalani Vierra and Blanche Yoshida. The latter couple was particularly impressive as we discovered that Blanche had last competed in tandem in 1968, winning the Royal Hawaiian Tandem Championships. Nearly 40 years later, she has re-found her passion for the sport and met a perfect partner in Kalani. Together they were pulling off some of the most spectacular rides.

In the end, despite Bobby and Tiare’s impressive manoeuvres and smooth linking rides, it was to be Kalani and Blanche’s day, as they came out on top, winning the inaugural Tandem division of the Tropical Energy Ocean Games and the first stop on the ITSA tandem World Tour. In second was Bobby and Tiare and third, Archie and Jamie.

No Kanu Despite our wishes to run the canoe surfing, the conditions were deemed unsuitable for anything to take place, so we reluctantly had to pass on running the discipline for this year. It is however certainly a fundamental part of the Games and will be a bigger and better part for 2007.

Epilogue The Tropical Energy Ocean Games matched ability with application, as athletes faced 5 days of gruelling competition in some of the most challenging conditions across the all of the sports. It celebrated our communal passion and created the setting and arena for the ultimate ocean sports showdown for years to come. Furthermore, it instated an annual celebration of the unique lifestyle that we are lucky enough to lead in Hawaii and the importance of recognizing, respecting and honouring Hawaiian culture and tradition.

Aloha and enjoy the ride….

Tristan Boxford