Surfing

A Hawaiʻi judge has halted plans for an artificial wave pool until developers can revise an environmental assessment to address concerns including impacts on water supply and anticipated growth of the area.

Concerns over the construction of a three-story judging tower at a famous Tahiti surf break for the 2024 Paris Olympics sent a team of scientists from Hawaiʻi to Teahupoʻo. Construction has begun, but the timeline for completion remains uncertain. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi explains what the controversy has meant to the surfing and science communities.

Robert “Bully” Kotter and his wife, Ashley, are Maui residents who lost their home in the Lahaina wildfire, just days after they closed on it. The Conversation spoke with the Kotters ahead of an upcoming free screening of “Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool.”

Powerful surf is rolling onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaiʻi as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushes toward shorelines. In Hawaiʻi, the National Weather Service forecast surf rising to 30 to 40 feet along north-facing shores and 18 to 22 feet along west-facing shores of five islands.

Surfing's world governing body says it opposes the construction of a controversial new judges' tower for the 2024 Olympics event in Tahiti. Local residents and environmentalists fear it could permanently damage the coral reef. HPR’s Derrick Malama has more in the Pacific News Minute.

Ruben Aira Jr., a long time artist in the field of carving, said the artworks aim to capture Hawai‘i’s vibrant environment with pieces of broken surfboards sculpted into the shape of seaflowers.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discusses updates to the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project and why public input is needed; ʻukulele master Jake Shimabukuro shares why music can be healing and a song off his new album; and the first bodyboarding world champion reflects on winning 40 years ago

Kauaʻi’s Tanner McDaniel was recently named the 2023 World Bodyboarding Champion. He's the fourth bodyboarder from Hawaiʻi to claim the crown, a list that includes the very first world champion in 1982 — Daniel Kaimi. The Conversation caught up with Kaimi on Monday.

A new documentary short film, "Uncle Bully's Surf Skool," focuses on Lahaina surf instructor Robert "Bully" Kotter and his impact on local children. When the Aug. 8 wildfires devastated his town, his business and his home, the film crew picked up their cameras again. In a rare move, the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival allowed the filmmakers to resubmit the film. The Conversation's Russell Subiono has more.

A look at the past, present and future of the state Exceptional Tree Program that was established nearly 50 years ago; Lahaina surf instructor Robert “Bully” Kotter's surfing camps and their impact on homeless children in the area are the focus of the “Uncle Bully's Surf Skool” documentary