Kailua is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the Koʻolaupoko District of the island of Oʻahu on the windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the ahupua'a named Ko'olaupoko. It is 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Honolulu – over Nu‘uanu Pali.
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gained a popular following across Europe and North America by the late 1970s and had achieved significant global popularity by the 1980s. Windsurfing became an Olympic sport in 1984.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Laird John Hamilton, né Zerfas, is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a former professional volleyball player, television personality, and model.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is named in his honor. He was also a crew member on the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa.
Hoʻokipa is a beach on the north shore of Maui, Hawaii, United States, perhaps the most renowned windsurfing site in the world. A combination of large, well-shaped waves breaking across a system of reefs that extend across the bay and consistently strong winds make it ideal for the sport.
The Maui Invitational, currently sponsored as the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui. It is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu, an NCAA Division II school. Eight NCAA Division I men's basketball teams are invited to Maui to complete the field. The Maui Invitational has been played since 1984 and is carried by ESPN. Camping World became the title sponsor for the 2020 Tournament only. Maui Jim became the title sponsor of the tournament in 2015 and returned as title sponsor in 2021; the previous fourteen tournaments were sponsored by EA Sports.
- 1.jpg|thumb|260p riding a wave at Peʻahi, Maui]]
Robert Staunton Naish is an American athlete and entrepreneur who has won 24 World Championship Windsurfing titles. He is also considered a pioneer of kiteboarding and standup paddleboarding.
The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is a prestigious event in professional surfing held annually at Pūpūkea on Oahu in Hawaii.
Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer/tow-in surfer, stand-up paddle (SUP) surfer and racer, surf and SUP board shaper, windsurfer, outrigger canoe racer, private adventure guide, and celebrity watersports enthusiast. Kalama, his wife, 2 sons and 1 daughter live in Kula, Maui.
Darrick Doerner is a big wave pioneer in the sport of tow-in surfing, in which personal water craft are used to tow surfers into large surf. Also known by the nickname, Double D, Doerner is an accomplished big wave surfer himself.
Andrea Moller is a Brazilian-American competitive canoeist and surfer. She competes in every outrigger race large event, from one-man (OC1) to six-man (OC6) canoes as well as SUP long distance races all year round. She is a professional Paramedic and mother, on Maui where she lives.
Poor Boyz Productions is a North American entertainment company which specializes on Freeskiing, Wind surfing and Standup paddleboarding films. The company was formed in 1994 by Johnny Decesare and is headquartered in Redondo Beach, California. In 2012 Poor Boyz began producing freeskiing videos in association with Red Bull Media House.
Jimmy Lewis is a Hawaiian surfer, sailor and surfboard shaper.
Ben Wilson is an Australian kitesurfer notable for holding the record for kitesurfing the largest wave ever captured on film; In 2011, Ben successfully kited Fiji’s most infamous wave, Cloudbreak at 35-foot. There have been many attempts by the next generation of kitesurfers including Nicolo Porcella and Jesse Richman to best this feat but as yet there has been no successful attempt.
Christian Bornemann is a German Windsurfer. He held 2014–2018 the German speed record over 500-meter, and since 2018 the German speed record over the nautical mile and is one of the twenty fastest windsurfers in the world.
Jason Polakow is an Australian professional windsurfer from Victoria. He founded the watersports company JP Australia and was the first windsurfer to ride big wave of Nazare, in Portugal. Polakow gained notoriety in 1991 when we won the Marui/O’Neill World Cup Grand Slam contest against Robby Naish becoming the first non-Hawaiian ever to win a World Cup Wave contest in Hawaii. Polakow won the PWA World Tour wave world title in 1997 and 1998.
Wing foiling or wing surfing or winging is a wind propelled water sport that developed from kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing. The sailor, standing on a board, holds directly onto a wing. It generates both upward force and sideways propulsion and thus moves the board across the water. The recent development of foilboards, which plane very early on a hydrofoil fin and thereby lift off the water producing low friction, represent the ideal complementary hydrodynamic platform for wings.
Dana Dawes (overall)
Britt Dunkerbeck (slalom)
Nathalie Le Lievre (overall)
Barbara Kendall (course race)
Anders Bringdal (slalom)
Jutta Müller (overall)
Jason Polakow (wave)
Alessandra Sensini (course race)
Nik Baker (wave)
Lucienne Ernst (Race)
Francisco Goya (wave)
Tony Garcia
Motoko Sato (wave)
Josh Angulo (wave)
Boujmaa Guilloul (wave)
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Wave)
Marcillio Browne (Wave)