Iconic Ala Moana Bowls returned to the World Surf League (WSL) Hawaii schedule with the Local Motion Surf Into Summer kickoff. Waves in the 3-to-4-foot range offered the perfect stage for local professionals to battle it out for valuable ratings points. A QS 1,000 rated event, 112 of Hawaii's best turned out in force today.
Haleiwa's Eala Stewart posted the highest single-wave score of the day in the Round of 96 -- a near-perfect 9.50 -- to narrowly edge ahead of Kekoa Bacalso. Both advanced from the four-man heat.
Eala Stewart earned a near-perfect 9.50 on Day 1 of the Local Motion Surf Into Summer. - WSL / KeokiSaguibo
Waves were a little inconsistent but offered high scoring potential on the better rides of the day. A light onshore breeze made conditions trickier, causing the wave sections to reel off faster over the shallow reef.
One of the standouts on Day 1 was 16-year-old Cody Young of Makawao, Maui. This is only the second professional event of Young's career, making every wave a key learning and competitive experience.
"You have less pressure when you're younger going into the events so you can kind of let loose," said Young. "That's always a little bit of an advantage. But then everybody's really good and everybody knows how to surf under pressure, so it's like you just kind of go for it."
The amateur divisions of the Local Motion Surf Into Summer are next to compete, with the pros returning to battle for the event title Sunday.
Top Names Advance at Local Motion Surf Into Summer
WSL
Iconic Ala Moana Bowls returned to the World Surf League (WSL) Hawaii schedule with the Local Motion Surf Into Summer kickoff. Waves in the 3-to-4-foot range offered the perfect stage for local professionals to battle it out for valuable ratings points. A QS 1,000 rated event, 112 of Hawaii's best turned out in force today.
Haleiwa's Eala Stewart posted the highest single-wave score of the day in the Round of 96 -- a near-perfect 9.50 -- to narrowly edge ahead of Kekoa Bacalso. Both advanced from the four-man heat.
Waves were a little inconsistent but offered high scoring potential on the better rides of the day. A light onshore breeze made conditions trickier, causing the wave sections to reel off faster over the shallow reef.
One of the standouts on Day 1 was 16-year-old Cody Young of Makawao, Maui. This is only the second professional event of Young's career, making every wave a key learning and competitive experience.
"You have less pressure when you're younger going into the events so you can kind of let loose," said Young. "That's always a little bit of an advantage. But then everybody's really good and everybody knows how to surf under pressure, so it's like you just kind of go for it."
The amateur divisions of the Local Motion Surf Into Summer are next to compete, with the pros returning to battle for the event title Sunday.
Cody Young
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Local Motion Surf into Summer Pro
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