woke up super early this morning. headed to magic island to support Aoi in his huge contest debut. the nerves started to increase as the time to his heat decreased. haha. here is Aoi’s fan club!
it’s always good to get a free surf before the contest starts. the only thing is everybody is thinking the same thing so it can get pretty aggressive. Aoi couldn’t really get a good wave. when he came in, i told him, “that’s good because it’s going to be even worst for your heat. better get more aggressive and more hungry!”
so many kids surfing so good these days. i love watching the stoke in all these kids eyes.
then the time finally came. Aoi grabs his jersey and gets ready for his heat. he told me he wasn’t nervous but i couldn’t understand why he was walking around in circles? haha. the boy was nervous!!!
then the long paddle out through the shark infested channel.
Aoi had a super hard heat. some of the best surfer kids in hawaii. i kept on telling him “don’t worry who’s in your heat. just surf against yourself.”
Aoi’s mom Chifumi-san was pretty nervous too. maybe more nervous than Aoi? haha.
Aoi ended up getting 4th place, which was awesome! he caught 5 waves and one of his waves was the biggest of the heat. he didn’t advance to the next round, but Aoi advanced to the next stage in his surfing life. he learned how to compete, he learned how to challenge himself, and he learned how to give it his best. we are all so proud of him. good job Aoi!
then went to pick up Abe-san and had a contest of our own! perfect waves and great smiles. another exciting and perfect day in hawaii! i’ll be sleeping good tonight, so will Aoi, and so will Abe-san. surf you dream!
