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Committee advances bill to expand interscholastic surfing after debate over costs and logistics
Summary
Lawmakers voted to advance HB133 HD1 to continue discussion with amendments after extensive testimony from surf clubs, community groups and DOE program staff about costs, safety rules and league thresholds.
The House Committee on Education moved House Bill 133, HD1 forward Feb. 13 after a lengthy hearing that focused on whether public schools can cost-effectively run interscholastic surfing programs and meet safety and league thresholds.
Supporters said the bill would provide seed funding to help public schools create surf clubs and pay for required safety training so leagues can reach participation thresholds that trigger statewide championships. "The DOE superintendent technically established surfing as an interscholastic sport back in 02/2014," said Sarah Fairchild, executive director of the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, adding that league bylaws and costs have limited statewide spread.
Beth Matsuda, who coordinates Oahu high school surf clubs, said she expects 43 teams next year and described safety practices and training: "We practice all our safety conflict. We follow the DOE, what was approved strictly," she said. Testimony from the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association stressed the public-safety benefits of surf programs because participants often receive lifeguard and life-saving training.
DOE staff and the department's OIA executive director discussed differing cost estimates for events. The department provided a per-event breakdown that included judges, beach marshals and lifeguards, which DOE staff listed as about $4,350 per contest; a surf-club coach estimated total seasonal costs run to about $40,000–$45,000 for a four-month season (which, when divided by weekly events, averages roughly $600 per event). DOE's extracurriculars administrator explained the discrepancy as a difference between per-event and whole-season accounting and said the department would "look at your numbers again and get back to us." Committee members pressed both sides to reconcile the figures and to work with local subject-matter experts.
After discussion, committee members voted to pass HB133 HD1 with recommended amendments and to continue work on language (chair moved to pass HD2 with amendments). The chair recorded the recommendation as adopted and noted the committee intended further amendments before finalizing the committee report.
