College Surfing Comes to Hawai‘i as HPU Adds New Program

HONOLULU — The competitive surfing pathway in Hawai‘i is extending to the college level.

Hawai‘i Pacific University announced this week that it will add a surf team beginning in spring 2027, giving local student-athletes an opportunity to continue competing in Hawai‘i after high school.

The addition comes as organized scholastic surfing continues to gain momentum across the state. The 2026 season marked the debut of officially sanctioned high school surfing in Hawai‘i, culminating with the inaugural HHSAA Surfing State Championships in May.

HPU’s new program will provide another destination for athletes emerging from that growing high school scene.

Inaugural OIA Team Champions, Kahuku (Boys) & Waialua (Girls) | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

Building a Local Pathway

For years, Hawai‘i has produced some of the world’s top surfing talent, but organized competition within the state’s traditional school sports structure has only recently begun to catch up.

That changed significantly in 2026.

The OIA held its inaugural surfing season this spring, joining the state’s other leagues in competition leading into the first HHSAA state championships. Boys and girls competed across shortboard, longboard and bodyboarding divisions.

The Honua Finals have also helped showcase the potential of interscholastic surfing, bringing together high school surfers from Hawai‘i and beyond for competition at Ala Moana Bowls every summer since 2024.

The addition of a college program at HPU represents a new piece of that developing local pathway.

Sharks Set for Spring 2027

According to HPU, the Sharks will have eight competition spots — four men’s shortboard, two women’s shortboard, one men’s longboard and one women’s longboard — with shortboard surfers also eligible to compete in longboard.

The program will operate with oversight from HPU Athletics, with practices expected to take place at surf breaks around O‘ahu, primarily along the south shore.

HPU also intends to compete locally before sending its team to the 2027 National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships at Salt Creek in Dana Point, California.

A head coach has yet to be announced.

2025 Honua Finals Girls Club Champions Kamehameha Schools-Kapālama | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

Local Roots Behind the Program

The effort to establish the HPU team also connects back to the growth of high school surfing in Hawai‘i.

Longtime surf advocate Davin Kazama, who serves as the state high school surfing coordinator, and his daughter Sunny Kazama assisted HPU in developing the program.

Sunny currently attends the University of San Diego and competed at the 2026 NSSA Championships. She and her sister Maia are also co-founders of CUE Collaborative, the organization behind the Honua Finals.

HPU Executive Director of Athletics Debbie Snell said the university hopes the program gives local surfers another option when deciding where to continue their education and competitive careers.

The Sharks plan to begin recruiting locally, including outreach to O‘ahu high schools and opportunities for prospective surfers to visit campus.

With high school surfing now officially established and a Hawai‘i-based college program set to follow, the competitive structure surrounding one of the islands’ most deeply rooted sports continues to take shape.