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| Culture Clash |
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Event: The 38th Annual Surf N Sea Hale‘iwa International Open presented by Matsumoto's Shave Ice and Vertra Date: Dec. 21-31, 2007 (waiting period) Location: Hale‘iwa Ali‘i Beach Park Conditions: 2- to 4-foot high-performance, fun ones! 
While most of the North Shore was being battered by strong trade winds
in late December, Hale‘iwa's unique location was prime for competition,
offering up rights and lefts for the roster of local and international
surfers. This year HIO hosted more than 250 surfers from South Africa,
Australia, France, Portugal, Brazil, Israel, the US mainland, Japan and
the outer Hawaiian Islands. The cool thing about the HIO is the
camaraderie amongst competitors and local families. The event formally
started as the Mabo Royal, which was to be a goodwill, community
experience—an exchange of cultures and sharing the waves of Haleiwa's
Ali`i Beach. “I feel these were very important first steps because it
bridged the gap between generations, cultures and personalities that
are still strong today,” HIO director and pro surfer Jason Shibata
said.
For the surfer’s bounty, Nixon presented two custom engraved watches, which were awarded to Keanu Asing and Kiron Jabour for taking the Boys and Junior Men’s competition to another level. Vertra presented two MVP awards (a year’s supply of sunscreen) to Shinpei Horiguchi, who placed third in the Japan Men’s Final and scored the only perfect 10 of the contest with a beautiful double barrel through Hale‘iwa's tricky sections. The other Vertra MVP was awarded to Kiron Jabour for his outstanding surfing performance throughout the contest, earning him first place in the Junior Men and Men’s shortboard divisions. The In4mation crew gave out another specialty award to Billy Wiggins for the best performance by an un-sponsored surfer. 
The HIO is run by The Friends of Ali‘i Beach and is a certified non-profit organization whose goal is to raise funds to support the winter and summer programs at the Hale‘iwa Surf Center in an effort to promote ocean education. Another benefactor of the Hale‘iwa International Open is the Hale‘iwa North Shore Menehune Surfing Championships, which is a surfing competition for children under the ages of 12. These goals could not be met without the generous support of our gracious sponsors, local community, the City, the State, and HIO competitors and families. “Although the competition has grown both locally and internationally since its inception,” Shibata explains. “HIO is still a community event and the rules that be always come first.”—THCaptions: “I was so stoked to see the level of surfing in all divisions. It seems as if every year every division gets more competitive, but the Aloha Spirit vibe always shines through.”—Jason Shibata RESULTS Shortboard Boys: 1) Keanu Asing, 2) Arashi Kato, 3) Matty Costa, 4) Zeke Lau, Jr. Shortboard Junior Men: 1) Kiron Jabour, 2) Zeke Lau, 3) Payton Chidester, 4) Keanu Asing, 5) Kailani Jabour, 6) Hizon Lin-Kee, Jr. Shortboard Men: 1) Kiron Jabour, 2) Kenishi Kurosawa, 3) Brennan Boudreau, 4) Kailani Jabour, 5) Filipe Braz, 6) Yukio Ogawa Shortboard Masters: 1) Christian Budroe, 2) Dale Sabate, 3) Donald Day, 4) Bud Perez Shortboard Seniors: 1) David Hussadel, 2) Cedric Nishimura, 3) Chris Owens, 4) Ricardo Silva Shortboard Women: 1) Lani Hunter, 2) Sayuri Hashimoto, 3) Karen Gallagher, 4) Alessa Cuizon Shortboard Japan Men: 1) Naohisa Ogawa, 2) Yukio Ogawa, 3) Shinpei Horiguchi, 4) Kaishu Tanaka Longboard Men: 1) Nelson Ahina III, 2) Geoff Wong, 3) Leonard Foster, Jr., 4) Ka'ala Kawahakui Longboard Masters: 1) Leonard Foster, Jr., 2) Fabian Enanoria, 3) Calen Barcena, 4) Shane Hamamoto Longboard Seniors: 1) Gino Bell, 2) Leonard Foster, Sr., 3) Kalani Willia, 4) Caron Farnham Longboard Grandmasters: 1) Jock Sutherland, 2) Alan Wickland, 3) Dane Sherman, 4) Leonard Foster, Sr., 5) Michael Lorne Longboard Women: 1) Kaili Rodman, 2) Ashley Quintal, 3) Kaunani Kane, 4) Lindsay Mcgill.
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