Surf Girls Hawai'i (2023): Season 1, Episode 1 - Welcome to the North Shore - full transcript
(waves crashing)
(women vocalizing)
(intense music)
(crowd cheering)
[Moana] Being on the championship
tour has been a dream of mine
since I was probably eight years old.
(bright music)
[Pua] The championship
tour is where you win world titles.
(cheering)
That's why I wanna make it there.
(intense techno music)
[Maluhia] There are only a
handful of native Hawaiians
that are on the world tour.
Having native Hawaiian
representation in surfing matters
because it's our cultural heritage.
[Ēwe] You're representing
your people, your lāhui.
It'd mean a great deal to me and
my family if I made it on tour.
[Ha'a]
This next generation of girls, I think,
are just starting to get
the light shown upon them.
They were always here and now
the world is recognizing them.
In Hawaii, we're surfing the
biggest waves in the world.
It's about knowing what grit
is, knowing what grinding is.
Moana Wong is one of, if not the best,
women's barrel rider of all time.
(techno music continues)
I'm looking at the women that are
coming up from Hawaii nowadays
and I'm just blown away.
These beautiful, talented,
strong, intelligent women,
that are showcasing their culture
and celebrating where they come from.
(waves crashing)
(upbeat rock music)
My name is Moanalani. I'm 23 years old
and I'm from the north shore of O'ahu.
I consider myself one of the
best female surfers in the world.
[Crowd]
Moana! Moana!
- [Announcer 1] Here we go.
- Thank you guys.
[Announcer 2] The final is underway here
at the Billabong Pro Pipeline.
The lineup of five-time world champ
and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore
up against the wild card,
Moana Jones Wong.
At Pipe Pro in 2022,
I was given a wild card.
A wild card is a surfer that
is not on the world tour
but someone that surfs out
at that break regularly
and is considered the best.
[Announcer 1] Here we go.
(crowd cheers)
(intense music)
[Announcer 2] She's so fun to watch.
She does such a good
job at drawing her line.
Another shot fired by the
North Shore's Moana Jones Wong.
- Moana!
- [Announcer 1] Nice.
[Announcer 2]
The young phenomena from the North Shore
continues her assault
at the Banzai Pipeline.
This is the first
contest I did in six years.
I had to go up against
multiple world champions.
I had to go up against like, Olympians.
[Announcer 2]
Pulling behind the curtain
- and that's what we're looking for.
- [Announcer 1] Nice. Wow.
[Announcer 2] Is it too soon to
call her "the Queen of Pipeline"?
[Announcer 1]
No, it's done.
Moana Jones Wong has just won
the Billabong Pro Pipeline!
[Moana] I won the first-ever major
women's contest at Pipeline.
[crowd cheering]
[Maluhia] Moana is the gnarliest
hundred-pound human I know.
[Pua] When I think of Moana,
I honestly think "badass".
I dunno if I could say that.
[Ēwe]
She's fearless and she's very skillful.
Moana Jones is the Queen of Pipe.
[Moana] I was given this title,
"The Queen of Pipeline".
Just don't feel comfortable calling
myself, like, "The Queen of Pipeline".
I definitely wanna prove that
I'm not just a pipe specialist.
I am one of the best overall
woman surfers in the world.
♪ I love you so, eyes
Open up your eyes ♪
[Maluhia] The north shore of
O'ahu is the mecca of surfing.
[Both]
Oh my god!
[Maluhia]
It's really a place where surfers come
to try to make a name for themselves.
(upbeat music)
The best surfers have
won contests at Pipe,
Hale'Iwa, and Sunset.
So if you can succeed at those
three waves on the North Shore,
you're definitely one of the best surfers.
My toughest competition is gonna be
the girls that I grew up surfing against.
- I actually really love Sunset.
- Yeah.
That's a really special
break that has a lot of power.
Whether you're surfing the point break,
or whether you're surfing,
like, the water bowl,
when it's bigger, it's a cool wave.
Sunset was not one of those waves
we always went to, like, my whole life,
but I've tried to put my time in a
little bit here and there last winter
and definitely going there every day,
like the last two, three weeks.
Like, it's a different experience.
[Ēwe] Yeah, I'm kind of scared
of Sunset. The waves are big.
I always kind of skip it.
A little nervous for the Sunset contest.
I've been practicing and stuff,
but I get scared a lot out there.
(soft bright music)
I am the underdog, so people don't always
like expect me to like win or do well,
and I'm about to graduate high school
which requires a lot of time.
If I didn't go to school,
I could be surfing a lot more, training.
(in Hawaiian) I'm Ēwelei'ula Wong. I'm
from Wahiawa, O'ahu, and I'm 17 years old.
Surfing is like my therapy.
That's where I express myself.
It's also, like, where I feel
the most confident in myself
and the best version of myself.
Like if I were to walk
past a group of teenagers,
I'd walk super funky.
But if I were to paddle
past a group of teenagers,
I'd feel very confident. (laughs)
To be a competitive surfer.
Training is really important.
[Moana]
Those little ones are way too light.
[Pua]
I think that one is the one.
- [Maluhia] Yeah.
- [Moana] Yeah.
(laughter)
(grunts)
[Maluhia]
Yours is heavier than my side.
[Pua] It's okay.
(all laugh)
[Ēwe] Pretty much everywhere
on the north shore is very powerful.
(waves crashing)
(upbeat music)
It can get very dangerous.
[Pua] You're gonna get slammed on
the reef, you're gonna almost drown.
You have to mentally and
physically prepare yourself.
[Ha'a]
Rock running is really good training.
- Yeah.
- Who's done this before?
- I've done this a little bit. Yeah.
- Okay. Only Ēwe hasn't. It's okay.
When you're rock running
and exerting energy,
you are helping yourself
build lung capacity.
I mean I've had so
many hold downs at pipe.
I feel like I'm gonna drown.
I'm like gonna black out.
When you're getting held under a wave,
that's where you start to
like mentally freak out.
But you can control the scenario.
Try your best to relax 'cause
you're still exerting a lot of energy.
- I'm excited.
- Let's do it.
I'm ready.
[Ha'a] These girls are some
pretty amazing, strong women.
♪ I am the fire, I am the air
I am the roots, I am everywhere ♪
[Ha'a] They are the next generation
of native Hawaiian surfing
and they're making me very proud
and everyone that came
before me really, really proud.
♪ Come, come, 'cause you want me
('Cause you want me) ♪
♪ Come, come, 'cause you need me
('Cause you need me) ♪
♪ When you're gone I will be afraid
Come, come to me ♪
♪ Come, come, 'cause you want me
Come, come 'cause you need me... ♪
[Pua] Rock running, it's a different
challenge, you know, sometimes,
and especially mentally,
it can be a challenge,
like, you're working with Mother Nature,
you can't tell Mother Nature what to do.
♪ Take it slow ♪
♪ Let it go, ah ♪
[Ēwe] Rock running is hard. (laughs)
I know they, like, got a rock,
and then had to swim back
in to get another one for me
'cause I literally tried to hold
it up and I flipped over.
So, yeah, the rock I think
weighed more than I did.
♪ We're born and we live free
Come, come to me ♪
♪ Ah-ya ah-ya
Ah-ya ah-ya ♪
♪ Come, come to me ♪
(bright music)
[Rocky] Here we go. Quarter Final is on,
Rocky Cannon bringing in the action.
This is the World Surf League.
Hawaii/Tahiti Nui region. Sunset Pro.
[Joe] Well, condition's
not where we expect Rocky,
when we come to a competition
here at Sunset Beach.
[Rocky] Smaller surf requiring
a lot from our surfers.
In five, four, three, two,
(speaks Hawaiian).
(horns blaring)
Here we go. Heat number one is on.
[Maluhia] Within the WSL,
there are three tiers of qualification.
The first tier is the qualifying series.
Each event on the QS is worth
a different number of points.
[Rocky] Quite a stacked heat
for this quarter final witness division,
we're gonna see these
heats be very competitive.
[Maluhia] Sunset is integral
to qualify for the next level,
which is the challenger series.
That's where you're in striking range
to make the world tour.
[Pua] The world tour. That's
like the goal, the dream.
[Ēwe] The Australia, South Africa,
Portugal, Brazil, and yeah, all over.
[Moana]
I'm ranked number one right now in Hawaii.
It's gonna get very heated, very fast.
[Pua] On the rankings qualifying for the
challengers, I'm in third right now.
[Ēwe] I'm ranked seventh,
so I probably won't qualify this year,
because all the girls are the epitome
of like strong north shore surfers.
(tense music)
[Maluhia] For the region of Hawaii,
I'm ranked ninth overall,
the top five make the challenger series.
[Rocky] And yet to see from our
Hawaiian surfer Maluhia Kinimaka,
part of that very legendary
Kinimaka surfing clan.
[Moana]
Maluhia is very graceful surfer.
She's kind of like me. We both kind
of fell away from the surfing world.
We went to college, we did our own thing,
and we got a second chance and we're back.
[Maluhia] (in Hawaiian) I'm
Maluhiahali'iōkaua'iepilialoha Kinimaka,
I was born and raised in Anahola, Kaua'i.
My dad always would say
your kuleana in life,
or your responsibility,
that you inherit from your family,
it's being like a water person,
instead of just, oh, I'm just a
shortboard surfer, I'm just a long border.
It's your responsibility to have a general
knowledge of all things water skills.
[Titus] Water people,
they cannot stay away from the water.
Especially the Hawaiians
that's, you know, her roots.
[Maluhia] We used to have
take your parents to school day
and people's parents
would come and be like,
"Oh I work in like insurance"
or "I'm an engineer,"
and then my dad would come and say,
"Oh, I'm a big wave surfer,"
and I just remember all the kids around
me being like, "What? That's amazing!"
That's when I realized.
I was like, "Okay, I think there's
something special about my dad here."
(laughs)
My dad is Titus Kinimaka. He was coming up
during like the seventies and eighties
and kind of establishing some of the
tow surfing practices that we see today.
He is kind of a legend (laughs),
and everything that I know about
the ocean is directly learned from him.
(upbeat surfer music)
[Titus] When Maluhia was born, she was
in the water the very next day, I think,
on the board and she's still
on her board. (chuckles)
[Maluhia]
I noticed when I was like 11 or 12,
that was the first time I got invited to
train with the junior Olympic surf team.
I was like, "Okay, perhaps I
am doing well here for myself." (laughs)
[Rocky] This is for a trip
to the semi-finals, Joe.
So this is very competitive.
It's four person heats and the top two
make it out to the next round.
♪ Can you take the pressure
if I put you on the spot ♪
♪ Rise to the occasion,
only get one shot ♪
♪ Level up, level up ♪
♪ If this is what you want
Better level up ♪
[Joe]
All let's watch Maluhia.
[Rocky]
Gain some speed down the line here.
[Joe]
Now drives off the bottom,
connects with the back wash,
but unable to hang on for that.
Of course our top seat, Gabriella Bryan.
[Rocky]
Here she is, up and running in red.
First is Red, an 8.5.
Red, you're in first with an 8.5,
Maluhia Kinimaka in
fourth, needing a 6.35.
(tense percussion music)
[Maluhia]
When you're riding a wave
you go from pretty much stationary
to like, up to 25 miles an hour,
so you are a vessel
for channeling energy.
[Joe]
Maluhia, her second scoring ride,
looking for a 6.35 to
put her in the top two.
[Rocky] Last of blue, a 6.5.
Blue, you go to second.
(upbeat music)
[Joe] Well, this will be Maluhia's
best result on the regional tour,
making it into the semi-finals if she
can hang on here in the final 20 seconds.
[Rocky] Five, four, three,
two, and (speaks Hawaiian)
(horn blaring)
(Joe laughs)
[Rocky] Alright, that is the end of
quarter final number one.
[Joe] Well, it will be Gabriella
Bryan and Maluhia Kinimaka,
advancing on into the semi-finals.
[Maluhia]
I don't think that was my best, for sure.
I'm glad I made it through,
but I think every surfer's like,
they see more of like, oh,
what I can improve on on the next one.
Definitely trickier than it looked
to find the really good ones,
but still really fun. Semis, stoked.
(waves crashing)
[Moana] I feel like I know what
I'm supposed to do for my heat.
My goal is to just keep
improving at each competition,
not let it get to my head and just become
a smarter surfer and smarter athlete.
It's that feeling of just being vulnerable
but also so powerful at the same time.
(bright ukulele music)
(singing in Hawaiian language)
[Dussy]
Moana, she's always been a real standout.
When she was a little kid,
my husband got them two little
boards from a surf shop downtown,
and soon as Moana stood up we already
knew that she was special. Very talented.
[Dawson] At the age nine, you could tell
that she had a higher level of awareness
of her body and the ocean.
It's exciting watching your
daughter push the limits of surfing
to its highest level.
(singing in Hawaiian)
Finished.
(all laughing)
[Family Member] That's a crazy one.
(all laughing)
I'm very close with my family.
They love surfing so when I compete
they're just, like, on my back.
Whenever I drop in on a wave
they kind of just start yelling,
even if it's not a good wave.
(all laughing)
I'm the big mouth of the family.
Go Moana, go! That's what it's all about.
And if they don't have that,
they can't do anything.
(all laughing)
(horns blaring)
[Rocky]
Quarter final number two is on.
Moana Jones Wong in red.
Ēwelei'ula Wong in blue.
- [Joe] Battle of the Wongs.
- [Maluhia] Ēwe, she's really sweet,
but then you get her in the
water and she's a firecracker.
She's really, really smooth
but also, like, powerful.
[Lu'ukia] I'm a nervous wreck
and my vibes impact her vibes
now that she's getting older,
she's learning how to handle the pressure,
so I like to take a step back.
She didn't know I was coming,
I just told her I was dropping her off.
[Joe] Current regional rankings leader
Moana Jones Wong in the red jersey.
(tense music)
[Moana] Surfing at home
is probably the best thing ever.
- Oh here she goes.
- Go, go, go, go.
(tense music continues)
[Moana]
It's just important for me
to have my family at my
competitions with me.
- Good one. Good one.
- Oh, that was awesome.
[Joe] The top two surfers
will advance into the next round.
[Rocky] Ēwelei'ula Wong,
in that second place spot right now.
(tense music continues)
- Ēwelei'ula Wong, gets a score of 5.0.
- [Joe] That's right, yeah.
[Rocky]
New situation, blue you're in first.
Good job, babe.
(tense music continues)
[Rocky]
Here we go. Moana is first to strike.
- Go, go, go, Moana, come on, go, go!
- Go!
(family cheering and groaning)
[Rocky] Through the lip,
but off the board. Incomplete.
[Ēwe] I just like the feeling that I get
when I'm on the wave and I'm going fast,
and I really feel the most
powerful when I'm on the wave.
[Joe] Able to capitalize on that.
Finish off on her feet.
[Rocky]
Blue you're in first,
white you're in second, red
in third. Red needs a 5.66.
Oh no, Moana came in third. Uh-oh.
(chill music)
(seagulls cawing)
[Rocky] 20 seconds,
red first priority, counting down.
(tense music)
(indistinct) Counting down, five, four,
three, two... (indistinct)
(horn blaring)
Moana Jones Wong, at a 3.85,
knocking you out.
So it will be Ēwelei'ula Wong and Lucy
Gerard advancing to the semi-finals.
(sighs) You guys ready to go?
- Yeah. Ready to go.
- Yes. Let's go.
[Moana] I wish I could have done better.
It takes everything in me to hold it
together when I have a loss.
I wanna break my board in half.
Losing a contest when you're
like totally feeling 100%,
it really feels very discouraging.
(upbeat music)
[Ēwe] I don't think I've ever
beat Moana in a contest before.
So did it felt good to surf against her
and then, yeah, win the heat.
I snuck in. My little hiding corner.
[Ēwe]
Oh, how long have you been here for?
I came halfway through
the heat before yours.
- Oh so you've been here the whole time.
- Yeah. (laughs)
You looked really good. Did really well.
Smart surfing, smart heat management.
- Sense of urgency.
- Thank you.
[Lu'ukia] She got first with the second
highest score of the day for the women's,
so that was really cool.
I'm glad I got to see that.
(music fading out)
(upbeat guitar music)
[Ēwe] My whole life has pretty
much revolved around surfing.
[Dussy] Come in, gotta
be in surfer stance, though.
[Ēwe] I started surfing a lot more
when I was like six years old.
[Family member] Alright, Ēwe!"
[Ēwe] I started going to
Hawaiian immersion school
when I was two years old I think.
Revitalizing the language and carrying
that throughout all aspects of my life,
including surfing, especially because
my ancestors were the creators of surfing.
(guitar music continues)
Earlier this year I won the junior
world championship in El Salvador
but since then I haven't been
doing great in competitions.
Hello, this is Ēwe. We are in the car,
me and my mom. Don't do that?
(Ēwe laughs)
Surfing is very expensive, and without
like the support of a big sponsor,
my parents are the ones
who are pretty much funding my
entire surfing career at the moment.
I have two other siblings so,
there's definitely been a lot
of financial sacrifices made.
I got sponsored when I was 11 years old.
Your main sponsor will go on the nose
of your board so it's the most obvious,
and I was with them till this year.
We realized that I'm getting older,
and they didn't provide
the support that I needed,
so I'm no longer with them.
It was a really big change because
for six years, seven years of my life,
I did have that sponsor on my board
and then suddenly it was blank.
[Lu'ukia]
Ēwe's had some challenges, for sure,
a lot of other kids probably
would have a hard time
having gone from having a sticker
on your nose to not having one,
but certainly didn't stop her
from surfing and trying to surf with us.
[Ēwe]
I wanna be a pro surfer,
but I'm trying to figure
out if competing is for me.
I feel like a completely different
surfer when I'm competing,
I get very nervous and
anxious and I freeze up.
I feel like I do have that fierce
mentality when I'm free surfing.
Like I have to battle people for waves,
and usually they're like, larger men,
so I have to assert myself in some way
and I do have that in free surf,
just some reason not in
competition, and I don't know why.
Even though I have performance anxiety,
I wanna pick my surfing to the next
level and be the best of the best.
[Joe]
20 minutes, ten seconds remaining.
Just one wave for each surfer so far.
The wide ones you'll
see like a bump come up,
- From out here.
- Right here,
and then it swings kind of in.
This is the QS,
so it's an important event,
and I gotta win to
qualify for the challenge.
[Duane] That was a good wave.
She should've took it.
[Pua] My dad is a world
champion long boarder
so that's the legacy I
want to carry everywhere.
(gentle guitar music)
[Duane]
So if you do get that turn in,
you gotta drive back to the
whitewater and fades, huh?
- Something like this?
- Yeah.
I wanna win a world
title 'cause of my dad.
[Duane] Every wave you catch is a defense
against the other surfers, right?
[Pua]
There's pressure, a lot of pressure,
but I guess there's a saying
pressure makes diamonds, so,
I think that's what I'm going for.
Pressure makes diamonds. (laughs)
[Rocky] All right, the last seat Sunset
Pro is on. Featuring Pua DeSoto in red.
[Pua] My regional ranking is third.
First is Moana out of the region,
and so I need to be in top four to
qualify for the challenger series.
I'm about 200 points in
front of the fourth place so,
if I lose in the quarter,
they'll take my spot.
The waves look small right now
so it's a little nerve racking.
(waves crashing)
[Joe] All right, let's watch Pua,
on the backhand straight up into the lift.
Get started for Pua.
[Rocky] First score of red, a 3.5.
Red you're in third.
[Pua] As a native Hawaiian, surfing
is more than winning a world title.
Surfing is a cultural practice
and the importance behind that
is that we've had it forever.
We've been doing it from
the beginning of time.
[Rocky] Red was able to improve with a
6.75. So blue you now need a 5.66.
[Joe]
Very tight heat going down right now,
just about a point separating the whole
field right now from first to fourth.
[Rocky]
Three minutes, 40 seconds remaining.
Here goes blue. Blue, Nora Liotta, and
Nora, going off the top throwing spray.
Let's see what else this
wave has to offer. Looks like...
[Joe]
Nice.
[Rocky] She could possibly go to first,
no, just a 6.6, new situation.
Blue, you're in second.
Red, you need a 5.6.
[Joe]
Pua down to third with first priority.
[Rocky] Red holds back right there.
One minute 20 seconds remaining.
Ah.
(tense music)
[Rocky] Now with 25 seconds remaining.
Looks like the ocean's going placid.
A little surprised she did not
catch that previous wave.
(tense music continues)
(horn blaring)
[Joe] Pua, out.
[Rocky] Great effort but
we'll see you at the next event.
[Man] Sorry babe. Don't worry about it.
(applause)
That first one, I should have just went.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- I just gave her the set.
- [Pua] (indistinct)
- Yeah. I think she had priority.
You should have gone
on that one you let go.
- That last one.
- Waiting for like a good one.
[Pua] And like there's like a
minute and five seconds left.
Should have, at that point, take it.
- What do you wanna do now? Shave ice?
- I wanna travel back in time.
I've been eliminated which sucks,
and I needed like a five,
and a wave came through,
and it just was kind of small,
and I had a minute and 10 seconds left,
and I was like hey, that's enough time for
another wave, and the wave didn't come,
and I definitely expect
a lot more outta myself.
[Rocky]
Well that is the end of Sunset Pro.
Take all of your trash,
enjoy the rest of your day.
[Moana] Being a young professional surfer,
you have so much pressure on you:
your parents, sponsorships,
you have your coaches,
you have so many highs, so many lows,
and to manage that, and not get
emotionally drained, is really difficult.
When I was younger surfing in the amateur
contest I would win everything.
I won like four national titles,
I was really doing well.
But then when I was 16 I
tore my MCL in my knee,
and I couldn't surf for
maybe like six months,
and I lost my sponsorship.
(chill house music)
Everybody would come up
to me and just be like,
"Oh you're not sponsored anymore?
Oh wow. Like, that's crazy."
But I could tell what they were thinking,
you know, now all of a sudden
I'm not the surfer I used to be.
I was heartbroken.
I kind of got turned off on the whole
surfing industry and disappeared.
I didn't show up at contests
anymore, I deleted my Instagram.
People thought I quit surfing.
I was in college working three
different jobs trying to make rent,
getting financial assistance
from the government
because I didn't have enough money
for food. It was really, really hard.
I am a person that hit rock bottom
and had to crawl back (chuckles),
crawl all the way back up and I did.
It wasn't easy but it was 100% worth it.
(upbeat music)
One of my biggest achievements in surfing
was getting sponsored by
Volcom a few years ago.
- Hi Riddle. How are you?
- Hi.
Good.
I remember the first time I walked
through the Volcom house and I was like,
"I don't belong here."
[Kiana] You look at everybody that's
walking around,
right when it's the midst of winter, and
now it's you guys. This is like magic.
(laughs)
[Moana] Everybody from Volcom Hawaii
is like people that I grew up with.
It really feels like an ohana vibe
of just, like, we're family.
You'd be surprised all the stuff
that me and Makana have done.
- When you were kids?
- [Moana] Yeah.
[Makana] Moana's the biggest
thing in female surfing, I think, ever.
We surfed since we were probably
three years old together
and she's always been a standout,
always been pushing me.
[Moana] Makana, he was my best
friend growing up for sure.
I thought I was like a boy because
like that was my best friend
so I was like, I would wear boy clothes
surfing with him like every day.
I think some of the other boys were like,
"Okay, this is like a boy only area.
Makana, you can come,
Moana, you can't come."
And then Makana was like, "No,
she's not a girl, she's a boy." (laughs)
At pipeline, I'm usually only surfing with
boys, so they're all like my brothers.
I consider them like family.
[Kiana] All of you guys almost either did
break your neck or almost broke your neck?
[Moana]
I think if you're a surfer north shore,
it's gonna catch up with you
and your time is gonna come
and you're gonna have
to have a bad injury.
- We should have all been dead already.
- [Kiana] Nine lives.
(laughter)
[Moana]
Boys at pipe knew that I had it in me
to beat the best woman surfers out there.
They definitely saw what most
of the surfing world didn't see.
We're a real pipe surfers now because we
are allowed to come to the Volcom house.
(all laugh)
If you don't have a sponsor and you're
trying to be a professional surfer,
it's almost impossible.
(upbeat music)
I've been riding without a main sponsor,
main sticker on my board,
but we've been talking to Billabong
and they're going to sign me.
After today we'll be officially sponsored
by Billabong and I am very, very excited.
Rainos is the Billabong team manager
and he's gonna give me my
stickers for the nose of my board
and also gonna give my contract to sign.
- [Rainos] Hi.
- [Ēwe] Hi Rainos.
- [Rainos] How are you?
- Good.
[Rainos] Welcome to the team.
So awesome, so awesome.
- I'm very happy. (laughs)
- [Rainos] Everybody's excited for you.
- I have some stickers for you young lady.
- [Ēwe] Oh my goodness.
- [Rainos] Yeah. This is also...
- Secret item.
- [Rainos] An agreement for you to sign.
- Okay.
[Rainos] Everybody's really
excited to have you aboard so.
- All right. Congratulations.
- (laughs) Thank you, Rainos.
[Rainos]
The women's program at Billabong
has been looking for an athlete
like Ēwe for quite some time.
It's neat having a new athlete
that's hungry and determined and capable.
For me, I hope that culturally she's able
to keep that connection that she has here
and share that with the world.
- The skies the limit.
- (laughs) Yeah.
(uplifting music)
[Ēwe] Because it's so rare to
like see native Hawaiians,
especially when you speak Hawaiian,
in the water,
it does put an extra level of
pressure on me to represent well.
Signing with Billabong would definitely
gimme a lot more opportunities
that I never had before,
like to travel to different places
and I'm very thankful for
everyone who's got me here
and I do think that my hard work paid off,
and I also like their clothes. Of course.
(Lu'ukia laughs)
Sunset Pro semi-finals
will be the first time
I have a Billabong sicker on my board.
Very stoked.
(music fading out)
[Rocky] Aloha auinalā, good afternoon.
Our final day of the Sunset Pro.
What a heat, semi-finals,
top two go to the final
and we'll walk out of here today
with two Sunset Pro champions
getting a thousand points each
and $2,500 for a nice payday.
[Maluhia] For that semifinal, we lost
Moana and Pua. Ēwe is going, I'm stoked.
(waves crashing)
So this is the line up, yeah?
This is where everyone's sitting.
Anticipate the wind as
you're coming for the wave.
So it's almost better
to sit a little under.
- Okay.
- Because you can always go out to it.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Okay. Good luck.
- Okay. Thank you.
Yeah.
[Ēwe] There's so much adrenaline
going through me.
I'm feeling really, really nervous.
I really wanna make it to the finals.
(horn blaring)
(tense music)
[Rocky]
Heat number two is off.
(waves crashing)
- Come one Ēwe.
- Go, go, go.
(supporters groaning and laughing)
[Rocky]
Last score of white, not enough.
Blue, you're in the lead.
White, you're in third.
(tense music continues)
[Jason] Good technique
nice flow through that wave.
It's better than any wave
she's caught so far.
[Rocky] Wait for the scores to come in...
12 minutes, 15 seconds.
Ēwelei'ula Wong, a 6.6.
New situation, white moved to first.
- (sighs) Okay. Yeah.
- Ēwe got the best exchange out of that?
[Rocky]
Blue up and riding, Nora.
(waves crashing)
Nora keeps firing back.
Last score for blue, a 5.9.
Blue, you go to first.
White, down to second.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky] Yeah, dude!
(upbeat rock music)
Nora Liotta, you win the heat. Ēwelei'ula
Wong, in second advancing to the final.
Okay, I'm glad that
she made it to the final.
[Ēwe] I got second and made it through.
This is like my first contest at Sunset,
and my first final at Sunset,
so I'm very excited.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan, Maluhia Kinimaka,
Brianna Cope, and Aaron Brooks.
- Thank you guys.
- [Titus] Okay, good luck.
- See you in a little bit.
- [Titus] Yeah.
[Maluhia]
I'm excited for today's semi-final.
I think it's, like, I've
got some good competition
so I expect everybody to be
dropping pretty big scores
and everybody's really talented.
When I was 16 I got this
really bad knee injury
where my patella would just like randomly
dislocate and it was pretty weak.
And so deciding whether I
wanted to surf competitively
or whether I wanted to go to school,
which path do I feel like I want to go
with, knowing that I have this injury.
So I applied for
Stanford, Harvard, and MIT,
and then I came home one day from school
and my mom was like sobbing
tears at my kitchen table.
So I was like, "Mom like
what's wrong? Are you okay?"
And she was just like, "You got
into Stanford," like crying,
and I was like "What?"
and then I was crying as well.
School was a more logical smart decision,
and so I went to Stanford
for aerospace engineering.
(upbeat music)
Obviously I'm not a teenager anymore,
so for this to be my first year attempting
to get on the challenger, 26 is quite old.
But I think I needed to
have my little journey
in order to really know that
this is 110% what I want.
I would like to be the first elite
level competitive surfer,
who is also a native Hawaiian woman,
with a PhD. I would love to do that.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky]
Ten minutes remaining with this heat,
and right now it's Brianna Cope on top
of this sweet rip, a 6.5 and a 4.9,
Gabriela Bryan in red in
second with a 5.5 and a 4.1.
As we said, first or second,
both going to the final.
Here's blue with first priority,
Maluhia Kinimaka in third,
needing a 3.6 to get there.
(waves crashing)
Keeping that board moving.
(tense music)
- Three minutes, 40 seconds remaining.
- [Joe] Yeah.
[Rocky] Last up,
blue is a 4.1, going to second
but now Gabriela Bryan
trying to take the lead.
Red needs a 4.9 and gets a 5.0 goes back
to second. 50 seconds remaining.
[Joe]
The top two surfers will advance.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky] Well, it'll be
Brianna Cope and Gabriela Bryan,
with Maluhia and Erin in third and fourth
but that was such a close heat.
This sports sometimes comes down to
fractional points of scoring.
[Maluhia]
Some losses are harder than others.
I love heats that are
like super competitive, like close,
'cause it really
challenges like your focus
and like, how calm you can stand under
pressure. So that was super exciting.
[Joe] 2022 Sunset Pro
Women's Final coming up next
and we'll crown our champions of
this event right down on the beach.
Every wave you take is a winning wave.
Literally, if it's not a six or better,
- [Ēwe] Mhm.
- You might as well let it go.
That's the difference of
how you start the final.
- Okay.
- Yeah,
just be clear in your
decisions and own it.
[Rocky]
Upon the completion of this final
one of these women will be
your 2022 Sunset Pro Champion.
Winner taking home 2,500
bucks and a thousand points.
Prize money and points for second,
third, and fourth as well but-
[Lu'ukia]
You've been here the whole day?
[Rocky] All of these competitors are in it
to win it to be the last surfer standing.
Ēwelei'ula Wong is in the green,
Nora Liotta in white,
Gabriela Bryan in blue
and Brianna Cope in red.
So yeah, I'm pretty
excited for this final.
All four girls have the ability to win.
Technically the other three girls are
a little sharper, but it's the final.
So it's how you're
feeling like emotionally
or are you like really clear
in your decision making
and then just what the
ocean provides, you know?
(horn blaring)
[Joe]
The Women's final is on.
[Rocky] 30 minutes for these wahine to
show the judges what they've got.
Anything can happen because
everyone in this heat's good.
- [Ēwe's friend] Yeah.
- [Joe] Well, here we go.
Let's see who's gonna strike first.
This is blue, Gabriela Bryan.
Rookie of the year on
the championship tour.
- [Rocky] First for blue, a 6.0.
- [Jason] Ēwe is priority right here.
[Joe]
It's green, Ēwelei'ula.
[Irie]
Ēwe's ripping.
- Aw that was such a sick move.
- Yeah.
- [Rocky] Green your first score, a 7.25.
- Come on Ēwe, back out there.
(tense music)
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan with two
big power moves, earning a 7.25.
- Oh, Gabby got the same score. 7.25.
- [Jason] What did Gabby get?
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan,
now regaining that first place position.
[Irie]
Who's that? Who that? White? Nora?
- [Ēwe's friend] Uh...Yeah.
- [Rocky] Here's white, Nora Liotta,
in the spot, attacking right
off the bat on the outside.
(waves crashing)
New situation. White, you are
in second. Green, you're in third.
(suspenseful music)
Oh my God. It literally just went flat.
Look, it's literally flat.
(water rushing)
(Lu'ukia sighs)
[Rocky] Green, you're in third.
Green needs a 6.01.
- Oh my god. Three minutes. Come on.
- I think there's a set coming.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- Go!
[Rocky] One minute 45 seconds. Here's
green Ēwelei'ula Wong, looking for 6.01,
to be the Sunset Pro Champion.
And Ēwelei'ula finishing up there.
(supporters clapping)
Last of green, a 3.25. Not enough.
(horn blaring)
- Ēwe got third?
- Yeah.
- That's still really good, though.
- Yeah, that's good.
Third isn't bad.
[Ēwe] I was 0.5 away from being
in second place. 0.5 is not a lot.
That's like an extra little turn
or an extra little something.
I competed for the first time
with my Billabong sticker
and I'm just very excited and very happy.
(uplifting music)
[Rocky] In fourth place earning 600 points
and $900, give it up for Brianna Cope.
(crowd cheering)
In third place, earning
650 points and $1,100,
give it up for Ēwelei'ula Wong.
(crowd cheering)
[Ēwe]
I'm proud of myself
because I felt like today I
actually had a sense of urgency
and I feel like I got my competition
mojo back. It was very tough.
I'm competing against girls like Nora
Liotta, Gabriela Bryan, and Brianna Cope,
who are all very talented
surfers with a lot of experience.
And now we're going to Florida, there
will be more competition, more girls.
I'm very excited.
Do you know if we return our jersey's or...?
- [Rainos] No, keep that thing.
- Really?
Yeah. Don't return the jersey.
What are they gonna do with that?
I don't know... Just asking.
That's yours. That is yours. Take it home.
[Ēwe]
Okay.
(uplifting music)
[Maluhia]
The Supergirl Pro in Florida
is the last event for the
season on the Key West.
That contest will have more pressure
because it's the last chance you get
at qualification for the challenger,
it's the final cut.
[Pua] I have not won a QS yet my
whole life, so I need to really bring it.
I feel confident in my surfing and myself.
I just gotta take the
opportunity when it comes.
[Moana]
The pressure is definitely scary.
There's a lot of points
at stake in Florida,
so I am ready to show the
world what kind of surfer I am
and make everybody realize
I am a force to be reckoned with.
(music fading out)
[Newscaster] Hurricane Nicole is
approaching the east coast of Florida
bringing 75 mile per hour
winds and dangerous waves.
(intense percussion music)
(women vocalizing)
(intense music)
(crowd cheering)
[Moana] Being on the championship
tour has been a dream of mine
since I was probably eight years old.
(bright music)
[Pua] The championship
tour is where you win world titles.
(cheering)
That's why I wanna make it there.
(intense techno music)
[Maluhia] There are only a
handful of native Hawaiians
that are on the world tour.
Having native Hawaiian
representation in surfing matters
because it's our cultural heritage.
[Ēwe] You're representing
your people, your lāhui.
It'd mean a great deal to me and
my family if I made it on tour.
[Ha'a]
This next generation of girls, I think,
are just starting to get
the light shown upon them.
They were always here and now
the world is recognizing them.
In Hawaii, we're surfing the
biggest waves in the world.
It's about knowing what grit
is, knowing what grinding is.
Moana Wong is one of, if not the best,
women's barrel rider of all time.
(techno music continues)
I'm looking at the women that are
coming up from Hawaii nowadays
and I'm just blown away.
These beautiful, talented,
strong, intelligent women,
that are showcasing their culture
and celebrating where they come from.
(waves crashing)
(upbeat rock music)
My name is Moanalani. I'm 23 years old
and I'm from the north shore of O'ahu.
I consider myself one of the
best female surfers in the world.
[Crowd]
Moana! Moana!
- [Announcer 1] Here we go.
- Thank you guys.
[Announcer 2] The final is underway here
at the Billabong Pro Pipeline.
The lineup of five-time world champ
and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore
up against the wild card,
Moana Jones Wong.
At Pipe Pro in 2022,
I was given a wild card.
A wild card is a surfer that
is not on the world tour
but someone that surfs out
at that break regularly
and is considered the best.
[Announcer 1] Here we go.
(crowd cheers)
(intense music)
[Announcer 2] She's so fun to watch.
She does such a good
job at drawing her line.
Another shot fired by the
North Shore's Moana Jones Wong.
- Moana!
- [Announcer 1] Nice.
[Announcer 2]
The young phenomena from the North Shore
continues her assault
at the Banzai Pipeline.
This is the first
contest I did in six years.
I had to go up against
multiple world champions.
I had to go up against like, Olympians.
[Announcer 2]
Pulling behind the curtain
- and that's what we're looking for.
- [Announcer 1] Nice. Wow.
[Announcer 2] Is it too soon to
call her "the Queen of Pipeline"?
[Announcer 1]
No, it's done.
Moana Jones Wong has just won
the Billabong Pro Pipeline!
[Moana] I won the first-ever major
women's contest at Pipeline.
[crowd cheering]
[Maluhia] Moana is the gnarliest
hundred-pound human I know.
[Pua] When I think of Moana,
I honestly think "badass".
I dunno if I could say that.
[Ēwe]
She's fearless and she's very skillful.
Moana Jones is the Queen of Pipe.
[Moana] I was given this title,
"The Queen of Pipeline".
Just don't feel comfortable calling
myself, like, "The Queen of Pipeline".
I definitely wanna prove that
I'm not just a pipe specialist.
I am one of the best overall
woman surfers in the world.
♪ I love you so, eyes
Open up your eyes ♪
[Maluhia] The north shore of
O'ahu is the mecca of surfing.
[Both]
Oh my god!
[Maluhia]
It's really a place where surfers come
to try to make a name for themselves.
(upbeat music)
The best surfers have
won contests at Pipe,
Hale'Iwa, and Sunset.
So if you can succeed at those
three waves on the North Shore,
you're definitely one of the best surfers.
My toughest competition is gonna be
the girls that I grew up surfing against.
- I actually really love Sunset.
- Yeah.
That's a really special
break that has a lot of power.
Whether you're surfing the point break,
or whether you're surfing,
like, the water bowl,
when it's bigger, it's a cool wave.
Sunset was not one of those waves
we always went to, like, my whole life,
but I've tried to put my time in a
little bit here and there last winter
and definitely going there every day,
like the last two, three weeks.
Like, it's a different experience.
[Ēwe] Yeah, I'm kind of scared
of Sunset. The waves are big.
I always kind of skip it.
A little nervous for the Sunset contest.
I've been practicing and stuff,
but I get scared a lot out there.
(soft bright music)
I am the underdog, so people don't always
like expect me to like win or do well,
and I'm about to graduate high school
which requires a lot of time.
If I didn't go to school,
I could be surfing a lot more, training.
(in Hawaiian) I'm Ēwelei'ula Wong. I'm
from Wahiawa, O'ahu, and I'm 17 years old.
Surfing is like my therapy.
That's where I express myself.
It's also, like, where I feel
the most confident in myself
and the best version of myself.
Like if I were to walk
past a group of teenagers,
I'd walk super funky.
But if I were to paddle
past a group of teenagers,
I'd feel very confident. (laughs)
To be a competitive surfer.
Training is really important.
[Moana]
Those little ones are way too light.
[Pua]
I think that one is the one.
- [Maluhia] Yeah.
- [Moana] Yeah.
(laughter)
(grunts)
[Maluhia]
Yours is heavier than my side.
[Pua] It's okay.
(all laugh)
[Ēwe] Pretty much everywhere
on the north shore is very powerful.
(waves crashing)
(upbeat music)
It can get very dangerous.
[Pua] You're gonna get slammed on
the reef, you're gonna almost drown.
You have to mentally and
physically prepare yourself.
[Ha'a]
Rock running is really good training.
- Yeah.
- Who's done this before?
- I've done this a little bit. Yeah.
- Okay. Only Ēwe hasn't. It's okay.
When you're rock running
and exerting energy,
you are helping yourself
build lung capacity.
I mean I've had so
many hold downs at pipe.
I feel like I'm gonna drown.
I'm like gonna black out.
When you're getting held under a wave,
that's where you start to
like mentally freak out.
But you can control the scenario.
Try your best to relax 'cause
you're still exerting a lot of energy.
- I'm excited.
- Let's do it.
I'm ready.
[Ha'a] These girls are some
pretty amazing, strong women.
♪ I am the fire, I am the air
I am the roots, I am everywhere ♪
[Ha'a] They are the next generation
of native Hawaiian surfing
and they're making me very proud
and everyone that came
before me really, really proud.
♪ Come, come, 'cause you want me
('Cause you want me) ♪
♪ Come, come, 'cause you need me
('Cause you need me) ♪
♪ When you're gone I will be afraid
Come, come to me ♪
♪ Come, come, 'cause you want me
Come, come 'cause you need me... ♪
[Pua] Rock running, it's a different
challenge, you know, sometimes,
and especially mentally,
it can be a challenge,
like, you're working with Mother Nature,
you can't tell Mother Nature what to do.
♪ Take it slow ♪
♪ Let it go, ah ♪
[Ēwe] Rock running is hard. (laughs)
I know they, like, got a rock,
and then had to swim back
in to get another one for me
'cause I literally tried to hold
it up and I flipped over.
So, yeah, the rock I think
weighed more than I did.
♪ We're born and we live free
Come, come to me ♪
♪ Ah-ya ah-ya
Ah-ya ah-ya ♪
♪ Come, come to me ♪
(bright music)
[Rocky] Here we go. Quarter Final is on,
Rocky Cannon bringing in the action.
This is the World Surf League.
Hawaii/Tahiti Nui region. Sunset Pro.
[Joe] Well, condition's
not where we expect Rocky,
when we come to a competition
here at Sunset Beach.
[Rocky] Smaller surf requiring
a lot from our surfers.
In five, four, three, two,
(speaks Hawaiian).
(horns blaring)
Here we go. Heat number one is on.
[Maluhia] Within the WSL,
there are three tiers of qualification.
The first tier is the qualifying series.
Each event on the QS is worth
a different number of points.
[Rocky] Quite a stacked heat
for this quarter final witness division,
we're gonna see these
heats be very competitive.
[Maluhia] Sunset is integral
to qualify for the next level,
which is the challenger series.
That's where you're in striking range
to make the world tour.
[Pua] The world tour. That's
like the goal, the dream.
[Ēwe] The Australia, South Africa,
Portugal, Brazil, and yeah, all over.
[Moana]
I'm ranked number one right now in Hawaii.
It's gonna get very heated, very fast.
[Pua] On the rankings qualifying for the
challengers, I'm in third right now.
[Ēwe] I'm ranked seventh,
so I probably won't qualify this year,
because all the girls are the epitome
of like strong north shore surfers.
(tense music)
[Maluhia] For the region of Hawaii,
I'm ranked ninth overall,
the top five make the challenger series.
[Rocky] And yet to see from our
Hawaiian surfer Maluhia Kinimaka,
part of that very legendary
Kinimaka surfing clan.
[Moana]
Maluhia is very graceful surfer.
She's kind of like me. We both kind
of fell away from the surfing world.
We went to college, we did our own thing,
and we got a second chance and we're back.
[Maluhia] (in Hawaiian) I'm
Maluhiahali'iōkaua'iepilialoha Kinimaka,
I was born and raised in Anahola, Kaua'i.
My dad always would say
your kuleana in life,
or your responsibility,
that you inherit from your family,
it's being like a water person,
instead of just, oh, I'm just a
shortboard surfer, I'm just a long border.
It's your responsibility to have a general
knowledge of all things water skills.
[Titus] Water people,
they cannot stay away from the water.
Especially the Hawaiians
that's, you know, her roots.
[Maluhia] We used to have
take your parents to school day
and people's parents
would come and be like,
"Oh I work in like insurance"
or "I'm an engineer,"
and then my dad would come and say,
"Oh, I'm a big wave surfer,"
and I just remember all the kids around
me being like, "What? That's amazing!"
That's when I realized.
I was like, "Okay, I think there's
something special about my dad here."
(laughs)
My dad is Titus Kinimaka. He was coming up
during like the seventies and eighties
and kind of establishing some of the
tow surfing practices that we see today.
He is kind of a legend (laughs),
and everything that I know about
the ocean is directly learned from him.
(upbeat surfer music)
[Titus] When Maluhia was born, she was
in the water the very next day, I think,
on the board and she's still
on her board. (chuckles)
[Maluhia]
I noticed when I was like 11 or 12,
that was the first time I got invited to
train with the junior Olympic surf team.
I was like, "Okay, perhaps I
am doing well here for myself." (laughs)
[Rocky] This is for a trip
to the semi-finals, Joe.
So this is very competitive.
It's four person heats and the top two
make it out to the next round.
♪ Can you take the pressure
if I put you on the spot ♪
♪ Rise to the occasion,
only get one shot ♪
♪ Level up, level up ♪
♪ If this is what you want
Better level up ♪
[Joe]
All let's watch Maluhia.
[Rocky]
Gain some speed down the line here.
[Joe]
Now drives off the bottom,
connects with the back wash,
but unable to hang on for that.
Of course our top seat, Gabriella Bryan.
[Rocky]
Here she is, up and running in red.
First is Red, an 8.5.
Red, you're in first with an 8.5,
Maluhia Kinimaka in
fourth, needing a 6.35.
(tense percussion music)
[Maluhia]
When you're riding a wave
you go from pretty much stationary
to like, up to 25 miles an hour,
so you are a vessel
for channeling energy.
[Joe]
Maluhia, her second scoring ride,
looking for a 6.35 to
put her in the top two.
[Rocky] Last of blue, a 6.5.
Blue, you go to second.
(upbeat music)
[Joe] Well, this will be Maluhia's
best result on the regional tour,
making it into the semi-finals if she
can hang on here in the final 20 seconds.
[Rocky] Five, four, three,
two, and (speaks Hawaiian)
(horn blaring)
(Joe laughs)
[Rocky] Alright, that is the end of
quarter final number one.
[Joe] Well, it will be Gabriella
Bryan and Maluhia Kinimaka,
advancing on into the semi-finals.
[Maluhia]
I don't think that was my best, for sure.
I'm glad I made it through,
but I think every surfer's like,
they see more of like, oh,
what I can improve on on the next one.
Definitely trickier than it looked
to find the really good ones,
but still really fun. Semis, stoked.
(waves crashing)
[Moana] I feel like I know what
I'm supposed to do for my heat.
My goal is to just keep
improving at each competition,
not let it get to my head and just become
a smarter surfer and smarter athlete.
It's that feeling of just being vulnerable
but also so powerful at the same time.
(bright ukulele music)
(singing in Hawaiian language)
[Dussy]
Moana, she's always been a real standout.
When she was a little kid,
my husband got them two little
boards from a surf shop downtown,
and soon as Moana stood up we already
knew that she was special. Very talented.
[Dawson] At the age nine, you could tell
that she had a higher level of awareness
of her body and the ocean.
It's exciting watching your
daughter push the limits of surfing
to its highest level.
(singing in Hawaiian)
Finished.
(all laughing)
[Family Member] That's a crazy one.
(all laughing)
I'm very close with my family.
They love surfing so when I compete
they're just, like, on my back.
Whenever I drop in on a wave
they kind of just start yelling,
even if it's not a good wave.
(all laughing)
I'm the big mouth of the family.
Go Moana, go! That's what it's all about.
And if they don't have that,
they can't do anything.
(all laughing)
(horns blaring)
[Rocky]
Quarter final number two is on.
Moana Jones Wong in red.
Ēwelei'ula Wong in blue.
- [Joe] Battle of the Wongs.
- [Maluhia] Ēwe, she's really sweet,
but then you get her in the
water and she's a firecracker.
She's really, really smooth
but also, like, powerful.
[Lu'ukia] I'm a nervous wreck
and my vibes impact her vibes
now that she's getting older,
she's learning how to handle the pressure,
so I like to take a step back.
She didn't know I was coming,
I just told her I was dropping her off.
[Joe] Current regional rankings leader
Moana Jones Wong in the red jersey.
(tense music)
[Moana] Surfing at home
is probably the best thing ever.
- Oh here she goes.
- Go, go, go, go.
(tense music continues)
[Moana]
It's just important for me
to have my family at my
competitions with me.
- Good one. Good one.
- Oh, that was awesome.
[Joe] The top two surfers
will advance into the next round.
[Rocky] Ēwelei'ula Wong,
in that second place spot right now.
(tense music continues)
- Ēwelei'ula Wong, gets a score of 5.0.
- [Joe] That's right, yeah.
[Rocky]
New situation, blue you're in first.
Good job, babe.
(tense music continues)
[Rocky]
Here we go. Moana is first to strike.
- Go, go, go, Moana, come on, go, go!
- Go!
(family cheering and groaning)
[Rocky] Through the lip,
but off the board. Incomplete.
[Ēwe] I just like the feeling that I get
when I'm on the wave and I'm going fast,
and I really feel the most
powerful when I'm on the wave.
[Joe] Able to capitalize on that.
Finish off on her feet.
[Rocky]
Blue you're in first,
white you're in second, red
in third. Red needs a 5.66.
Oh no, Moana came in third. Uh-oh.
(chill music)
(seagulls cawing)
[Rocky] 20 seconds,
red first priority, counting down.
(tense music)
(indistinct) Counting down, five, four,
three, two... (indistinct)
(horn blaring)
Moana Jones Wong, at a 3.85,
knocking you out.
So it will be Ēwelei'ula Wong and Lucy
Gerard advancing to the semi-finals.
(sighs) You guys ready to go?
- Yeah. Ready to go.
- Yes. Let's go.
[Moana] I wish I could have done better.
It takes everything in me to hold it
together when I have a loss.
I wanna break my board in half.
Losing a contest when you're
like totally feeling 100%,
it really feels very discouraging.
(upbeat music)
[Ēwe] I don't think I've ever
beat Moana in a contest before.
So did it felt good to surf against her
and then, yeah, win the heat.
I snuck in. My little hiding corner.
[Ēwe]
Oh, how long have you been here for?
I came halfway through
the heat before yours.
- Oh so you've been here the whole time.
- Yeah. (laughs)
You looked really good. Did really well.
Smart surfing, smart heat management.
- Sense of urgency.
- Thank you.
[Lu'ukia] She got first with the second
highest score of the day for the women's,
so that was really cool.
I'm glad I got to see that.
(music fading out)
(upbeat guitar music)
[Ēwe] My whole life has pretty
much revolved around surfing.
[Dussy] Come in, gotta
be in surfer stance, though.
[Ēwe] I started surfing a lot more
when I was like six years old.
[Family member] Alright, Ēwe!"
[Ēwe] I started going to
Hawaiian immersion school
when I was two years old I think.
Revitalizing the language and carrying
that throughout all aspects of my life,
including surfing, especially because
my ancestors were the creators of surfing.
(guitar music continues)
Earlier this year I won the junior
world championship in El Salvador
but since then I haven't been
doing great in competitions.
Hello, this is Ēwe. We are in the car,
me and my mom. Don't do that?
(Ēwe laughs)
Surfing is very expensive, and without
like the support of a big sponsor,
my parents are the ones
who are pretty much funding my
entire surfing career at the moment.
I have two other siblings so,
there's definitely been a lot
of financial sacrifices made.
I got sponsored when I was 11 years old.
Your main sponsor will go on the nose
of your board so it's the most obvious,
and I was with them till this year.
We realized that I'm getting older,
and they didn't provide
the support that I needed,
so I'm no longer with them.
It was a really big change because
for six years, seven years of my life,
I did have that sponsor on my board
and then suddenly it was blank.
[Lu'ukia]
Ēwe's had some challenges, for sure,
a lot of other kids probably
would have a hard time
having gone from having a sticker
on your nose to not having one,
but certainly didn't stop her
from surfing and trying to surf with us.
[Ēwe]
I wanna be a pro surfer,
but I'm trying to figure
out if competing is for me.
I feel like a completely different
surfer when I'm competing,
I get very nervous and
anxious and I freeze up.
I feel like I do have that fierce
mentality when I'm free surfing.
Like I have to battle people for waves,
and usually they're like, larger men,
so I have to assert myself in some way
and I do have that in free surf,
just some reason not in
competition, and I don't know why.
Even though I have performance anxiety,
I wanna pick my surfing to the next
level and be the best of the best.
[Joe]
20 minutes, ten seconds remaining.
Just one wave for each surfer so far.
The wide ones you'll
see like a bump come up,
- From out here.
- Right here,
and then it swings kind of in.
This is the QS,
so it's an important event,
and I gotta win to
qualify for the challenge.
[Duane] That was a good wave.
She should've took it.
[Pua] My dad is a world
champion long boarder
so that's the legacy I
want to carry everywhere.
(gentle guitar music)
[Duane]
So if you do get that turn in,
you gotta drive back to the
whitewater and fades, huh?
- Something like this?
- Yeah.
I wanna win a world
title 'cause of my dad.
[Duane] Every wave you catch is a defense
against the other surfers, right?
[Pua]
There's pressure, a lot of pressure,
but I guess there's a saying
pressure makes diamonds, so,
I think that's what I'm going for.
Pressure makes diamonds. (laughs)
[Rocky] All right, the last seat Sunset
Pro is on. Featuring Pua DeSoto in red.
[Pua] My regional ranking is third.
First is Moana out of the region,
and so I need to be in top four to
qualify for the challenger series.
I'm about 200 points in
front of the fourth place so,
if I lose in the quarter,
they'll take my spot.
The waves look small right now
so it's a little nerve racking.
(waves crashing)
[Joe] All right, let's watch Pua,
on the backhand straight up into the lift.
Get started for Pua.
[Rocky] First score of red, a 3.5.
Red you're in third.
[Pua] As a native Hawaiian, surfing
is more than winning a world title.
Surfing is a cultural practice
and the importance behind that
is that we've had it forever.
We've been doing it from
the beginning of time.
[Rocky] Red was able to improve with a
6.75. So blue you now need a 5.66.
[Joe]
Very tight heat going down right now,
just about a point separating the whole
field right now from first to fourth.
[Rocky]
Three minutes, 40 seconds remaining.
Here goes blue. Blue, Nora Liotta, and
Nora, going off the top throwing spray.
Let's see what else this
wave has to offer. Looks like...
[Joe]
Nice.
[Rocky] She could possibly go to first,
no, just a 6.6, new situation.
Blue, you're in second.
Red, you need a 5.6.
[Joe]
Pua down to third with first priority.
[Rocky] Red holds back right there.
One minute 20 seconds remaining.
Ah.
(tense music)
[Rocky] Now with 25 seconds remaining.
Looks like the ocean's going placid.
A little surprised she did not
catch that previous wave.
(tense music continues)
(horn blaring)
[Joe] Pua, out.
[Rocky] Great effort but
we'll see you at the next event.
[Man] Sorry babe. Don't worry about it.
(applause)
That first one, I should have just went.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- I just gave her the set.
- [Pua] (indistinct)
- Yeah. I think she had priority.
You should have gone
on that one you let go.
- That last one.
- Waiting for like a good one.
[Pua] And like there's like a
minute and five seconds left.
Should have, at that point, take it.
- What do you wanna do now? Shave ice?
- I wanna travel back in time.
I've been eliminated which sucks,
and I needed like a five,
and a wave came through,
and it just was kind of small,
and I had a minute and 10 seconds left,
and I was like hey, that's enough time for
another wave, and the wave didn't come,
and I definitely expect
a lot more outta myself.
[Rocky]
Well that is the end of Sunset Pro.
Take all of your trash,
enjoy the rest of your day.
[Moana] Being a young professional surfer,
you have so much pressure on you:
your parents, sponsorships,
you have your coaches,
you have so many highs, so many lows,
and to manage that, and not get
emotionally drained, is really difficult.
When I was younger surfing in the amateur
contest I would win everything.
I won like four national titles,
I was really doing well.
But then when I was 16 I
tore my MCL in my knee,
and I couldn't surf for
maybe like six months,
and I lost my sponsorship.
(chill house music)
Everybody would come up
to me and just be like,
"Oh you're not sponsored anymore?
Oh wow. Like, that's crazy."
But I could tell what they were thinking,
you know, now all of a sudden
I'm not the surfer I used to be.
I was heartbroken.
I kind of got turned off on the whole
surfing industry and disappeared.
I didn't show up at contests
anymore, I deleted my Instagram.
People thought I quit surfing.
I was in college working three
different jobs trying to make rent,
getting financial assistance
from the government
because I didn't have enough money
for food. It was really, really hard.
I am a person that hit rock bottom
and had to crawl back (chuckles),
crawl all the way back up and I did.
It wasn't easy but it was 100% worth it.
(upbeat music)
One of my biggest achievements in surfing
was getting sponsored by
Volcom a few years ago.
- Hi Riddle. How are you?
- Hi.
Good.
I remember the first time I walked
through the Volcom house and I was like,
"I don't belong here."
[Kiana] You look at everybody that's
walking around,
right when it's the midst of winter, and
now it's you guys. This is like magic.
(laughs)
[Moana] Everybody from Volcom Hawaii
is like people that I grew up with.
It really feels like an ohana vibe
of just, like, we're family.
You'd be surprised all the stuff
that me and Makana have done.
- When you were kids?
- [Moana] Yeah.
[Makana] Moana's the biggest
thing in female surfing, I think, ever.
We surfed since we were probably
three years old together
and she's always been a standout,
always been pushing me.
[Moana] Makana, he was my best
friend growing up for sure.
I thought I was like a boy because
like that was my best friend
so I was like, I would wear boy clothes
surfing with him like every day.
I think some of the other boys were like,
"Okay, this is like a boy only area.
Makana, you can come,
Moana, you can't come."
And then Makana was like, "No,
she's not a girl, she's a boy." (laughs)
At pipeline, I'm usually only surfing with
boys, so they're all like my brothers.
I consider them like family.
[Kiana] All of you guys almost either did
break your neck or almost broke your neck?
[Moana]
I think if you're a surfer north shore,
it's gonna catch up with you
and your time is gonna come
and you're gonna have
to have a bad injury.
- We should have all been dead already.
- [Kiana] Nine lives.
(laughter)
[Moana]
Boys at pipe knew that I had it in me
to beat the best woman surfers out there.
They definitely saw what most
of the surfing world didn't see.
We're a real pipe surfers now because we
are allowed to come to the Volcom house.
(all laugh)
If you don't have a sponsor and you're
trying to be a professional surfer,
it's almost impossible.
(upbeat music)
I've been riding without a main sponsor,
main sticker on my board,
but we've been talking to Billabong
and they're going to sign me.
After today we'll be officially sponsored
by Billabong and I am very, very excited.
Rainos is the Billabong team manager
and he's gonna give me my
stickers for the nose of my board
and also gonna give my contract to sign.
- [Rainos] Hi.
- [Ēwe] Hi Rainos.
- [Rainos] How are you?
- Good.
[Rainos] Welcome to the team.
So awesome, so awesome.
- I'm very happy. (laughs)
- [Rainos] Everybody's excited for you.
- I have some stickers for you young lady.
- [Ēwe] Oh my goodness.
- [Rainos] Yeah. This is also...
- Secret item.
- [Rainos] An agreement for you to sign.
- Okay.
[Rainos] Everybody's really
excited to have you aboard so.
- All right. Congratulations.
- (laughs) Thank you, Rainos.
[Rainos]
The women's program at Billabong
has been looking for an athlete
like Ēwe for quite some time.
It's neat having a new athlete
that's hungry and determined and capable.
For me, I hope that culturally she's able
to keep that connection that she has here
and share that with the world.
- The skies the limit.
- (laughs) Yeah.
(uplifting music)
[Ēwe] Because it's so rare to
like see native Hawaiians,
especially when you speak Hawaiian,
in the water,
it does put an extra level of
pressure on me to represent well.
Signing with Billabong would definitely
gimme a lot more opportunities
that I never had before,
like to travel to different places
and I'm very thankful for
everyone who's got me here
and I do think that my hard work paid off,
and I also like their clothes. Of course.
(Lu'ukia laughs)
Sunset Pro semi-finals
will be the first time
I have a Billabong sicker on my board.
Very stoked.
(music fading out)
[Rocky] Aloha auinalā, good afternoon.
Our final day of the Sunset Pro.
What a heat, semi-finals,
top two go to the final
and we'll walk out of here today
with two Sunset Pro champions
getting a thousand points each
and $2,500 for a nice payday.
[Maluhia] For that semifinal, we lost
Moana and Pua. Ēwe is going, I'm stoked.
(waves crashing)
So this is the line up, yeah?
This is where everyone's sitting.
Anticipate the wind as
you're coming for the wave.
So it's almost better
to sit a little under.
- Okay.
- Because you can always go out to it.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Okay. Good luck.
- Okay. Thank you.
Yeah.
[Ēwe] There's so much adrenaline
going through me.
I'm feeling really, really nervous.
I really wanna make it to the finals.
(horn blaring)
(tense music)
[Rocky]
Heat number two is off.
(waves crashing)
- Come one Ēwe.
- Go, go, go.
(supporters groaning and laughing)
[Rocky]
Last score of white, not enough.
Blue, you're in the lead.
White, you're in third.
(tense music continues)
[Jason] Good technique
nice flow through that wave.
It's better than any wave
she's caught so far.
[Rocky] Wait for the scores to come in...
12 minutes, 15 seconds.
Ēwelei'ula Wong, a 6.6.
New situation, white moved to first.
- (sighs) Okay. Yeah.
- Ēwe got the best exchange out of that?
[Rocky]
Blue up and riding, Nora.
(waves crashing)
Nora keeps firing back.
Last score for blue, a 5.9.
Blue, you go to first.
White, down to second.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky] Yeah, dude!
(upbeat rock music)
Nora Liotta, you win the heat. Ēwelei'ula
Wong, in second advancing to the final.
Okay, I'm glad that
she made it to the final.
[Ēwe] I got second and made it through.
This is like my first contest at Sunset,
and my first final at Sunset,
so I'm very excited.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan, Maluhia Kinimaka,
Brianna Cope, and Aaron Brooks.
- Thank you guys.
- [Titus] Okay, good luck.
- See you in a little bit.
- [Titus] Yeah.
[Maluhia]
I'm excited for today's semi-final.
I think it's, like, I've
got some good competition
so I expect everybody to be
dropping pretty big scores
and everybody's really talented.
When I was 16 I got this
really bad knee injury
where my patella would just like randomly
dislocate and it was pretty weak.
And so deciding whether I
wanted to surf competitively
or whether I wanted to go to school,
which path do I feel like I want to go
with, knowing that I have this injury.
So I applied for
Stanford, Harvard, and MIT,
and then I came home one day from school
and my mom was like sobbing
tears at my kitchen table.
So I was like, "Mom like
what's wrong? Are you okay?"
And she was just like, "You got
into Stanford," like crying,
and I was like "What?"
and then I was crying as well.
School was a more logical smart decision,
and so I went to Stanford
for aerospace engineering.
(upbeat music)
Obviously I'm not a teenager anymore,
so for this to be my first year attempting
to get on the challenger, 26 is quite old.
But I think I needed to
have my little journey
in order to really know that
this is 110% what I want.
I would like to be the first elite
level competitive surfer,
who is also a native Hawaiian woman,
with a PhD. I would love to do that.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky]
Ten minutes remaining with this heat,
and right now it's Brianna Cope on top
of this sweet rip, a 6.5 and a 4.9,
Gabriela Bryan in red in
second with a 5.5 and a 4.1.
As we said, first or second,
both going to the final.
Here's blue with first priority,
Maluhia Kinimaka in third,
needing a 3.6 to get there.
(waves crashing)
Keeping that board moving.
(tense music)
- Three minutes, 40 seconds remaining.
- [Joe] Yeah.
[Rocky] Last up,
blue is a 4.1, going to second
but now Gabriela Bryan
trying to take the lead.
Red needs a 4.9 and gets a 5.0 goes back
to second. 50 seconds remaining.
[Joe]
The top two surfers will advance.
(horn blaring)
[Rocky] Well, it'll be
Brianna Cope and Gabriela Bryan,
with Maluhia and Erin in third and fourth
but that was such a close heat.
This sports sometimes comes down to
fractional points of scoring.
[Maluhia]
Some losses are harder than others.
I love heats that are
like super competitive, like close,
'cause it really
challenges like your focus
and like, how calm you can stand under
pressure. So that was super exciting.
[Joe] 2022 Sunset Pro
Women's Final coming up next
and we'll crown our champions of
this event right down on the beach.
Every wave you take is a winning wave.
Literally, if it's not a six or better,
- [Ēwe] Mhm.
- You might as well let it go.
That's the difference of
how you start the final.
- Okay.
- Yeah,
just be clear in your
decisions and own it.
[Rocky]
Upon the completion of this final
one of these women will be
your 2022 Sunset Pro Champion.
Winner taking home 2,500
bucks and a thousand points.
Prize money and points for second,
third, and fourth as well but-
[Lu'ukia]
You've been here the whole day?
[Rocky] All of these competitors are in it
to win it to be the last surfer standing.
Ēwelei'ula Wong is in the green,
Nora Liotta in white,
Gabriela Bryan in blue
and Brianna Cope in red.
So yeah, I'm pretty
excited for this final.
All four girls have the ability to win.
Technically the other three girls are
a little sharper, but it's the final.
So it's how you're
feeling like emotionally
or are you like really clear
in your decision making
and then just what the
ocean provides, you know?
(horn blaring)
[Joe]
The Women's final is on.
[Rocky] 30 minutes for these wahine to
show the judges what they've got.
Anything can happen because
everyone in this heat's good.
- [Ēwe's friend] Yeah.
- [Joe] Well, here we go.
Let's see who's gonna strike first.
This is blue, Gabriela Bryan.
Rookie of the year on
the championship tour.
- [Rocky] First for blue, a 6.0.
- [Jason] Ēwe is priority right here.
[Joe]
It's green, Ēwelei'ula.
[Irie]
Ēwe's ripping.
- Aw that was such a sick move.
- Yeah.
- [Rocky] Green your first score, a 7.25.
- Come on Ēwe, back out there.
(tense music)
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan with two
big power moves, earning a 7.25.
- Oh, Gabby got the same score. 7.25.
- [Jason] What did Gabby get?
[Rocky] Gabriela Bryan,
now regaining that first place position.
[Irie]
Who's that? Who that? White? Nora?
- [Ēwe's friend] Uh...Yeah.
- [Rocky] Here's white, Nora Liotta,
in the spot, attacking right
off the bat on the outside.
(waves crashing)
New situation. White, you are
in second. Green, you're in third.
(suspenseful music)
Oh my God. It literally just went flat.
Look, it's literally flat.
(water rushing)
(Lu'ukia sighs)
[Rocky] Green, you're in third.
Green needs a 6.01.
- Oh my god. Three minutes. Come on.
- I think there's a set coming.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- Go!
[Rocky] One minute 45 seconds. Here's
green Ēwelei'ula Wong, looking for 6.01,
to be the Sunset Pro Champion.
And Ēwelei'ula finishing up there.
(supporters clapping)
Last of green, a 3.25. Not enough.
(horn blaring)
- Ēwe got third?
- Yeah.
- That's still really good, though.
- Yeah, that's good.
Third isn't bad.
[Ēwe] I was 0.5 away from being
in second place. 0.5 is not a lot.
That's like an extra little turn
or an extra little something.
I competed for the first time
with my Billabong sticker
and I'm just very excited and very happy.
(uplifting music)
[Rocky] In fourth place earning 600 points
and $900, give it up for Brianna Cope.
(crowd cheering)
In third place, earning
650 points and $1,100,
give it up for Ēwelei'ula Wong.
(crowd cheering)
[Ēwe]
I'm proud of myself
because I felt like today I
actually had a sense of urgency
and I feel like I got my competition
mojo back. It was very tough.
I'm competing against girls like Nora
Liotta, Gabriela Bryan, and Brianna Cope,
who are all very talented
surfers with a lot of experience.
And now we're going to Florida, there
will be more competition, more girls.
I'm very excited.
Do you know if we return our jersey's or...?
- [Rainos] No, keep that thing.
- Really?
Yeah. Don't return the jersey.
What are they gonna do with that?
I don't know... Just asking.
That's yours. That is yours. Take it home.
[Ēwe]
Okay.
(uplifting music)
[Maluhia]
The Supergirl Pro in Florida
is the last event for the
season on the Key West.
That contest will have more pressure
because it's the last chance you get
at qualification for the challenger,
it's the final cut.
[Pua] I have not won a QS yet my
whole life, so I need to really bring it.
I feel confident in my surfing and myself.
I just gotta take the
opportunity when it comes.
[Moana]
The pressure is definitely scary.
There's a lot of points
at stake in Florida,
so I am ready to show the
world what kind of surfer I am
and make everybody realize
I am a force to be reckoned with.
(music fading out)
[Newscaster] Hurricane Nicole is
approaching the east coast of Florida
bringing 75 mile per hour
winds and dangerous waves.
(intense percussion music)