Waterman League–Sunset

Mark posted this in the forum section, but the video is so much fun I want to make sure people get to see it: >>

I’d like to share some stoke about the Waterman League and its’ StandUp World Tour – Sunset Pro competition this past winter. I was fortunate to be on Oah’u when it took place. I didn’t know about it until the last minute and tried to enter as an alternate to no avail despite the very helpful and accommodating contest staff.

I did get to SUP great Kammies the first day of the event with some leaders in the sport, and had many great sessions at Sunset that whole week and a wild one at Haleiwa that Wednesday, always with a stoked progressive crew and positive vibes.

As someone who has surfed around the globe over 30 years the thing that really stood out about the event to me was the natural stoke and Aloha. The camaraderie reminded me of the way surfing was long ago before hyper-commercialization kicked in. There was a sense of being a part of something most people didn’t understand. Everyone was sort of figuring things out as they went along. There was a very down to Earth supportive energy. That’s an important element of surfing that often gets overlooked in the mainstream today, to live Aloha. Like the ability to SUP surf itself, I consider the above-mentioned experience as an unexpected gift. I want to say Mahalo to the folks behind the Waterman League and everyone who helped make the event what it was.

I was able to film some footage from the Big Wednesday of the event and some from the final Friday. I’ve finally edited it and would like to share it with anyone who may be interested. Check out the big wave ridden starting at 0:32 in vid.

Aloha
-Mark