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The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation’s (DPR) Shore Water Advisory Group (SWAG) was formed to facilitate revisions, public participation, and implementation of the rules governing Shore Water Events for the City and County of Honolulu (island of O‘ahu). Shore Water Events typically include activities that involve permitted use of coastal and beach areas for the purpose of accessing the ocean, like surf contests, canoe regattas, triathlons, and swim races. These rules are designed to work in tangent with ocean permitting and usage guidelines facilitated by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR).
About SWAG
Over the past several years, there has been significant focus on managing the famous and awe-inspiring surf breaks and beaches on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Seen as one of the premier surfing destinations in the world, this coastline attracts surf contest organizers pitting some of the most talented surfers in the world against each other in competition. Recognizing the need to balance these popular events with regular public usage, a Triennial Calendar System was created to provide planning and transparency to the coastline. Since then, the public can see these calendars and the permitted contests well ahead of time on the dedicated Surf Event website.
Along with creating the Triennial Calendar System for North Shore Surf Events, SWAG assisted in revising the Shore Water Event rules and establishing the first South Shore Surf Event Calendar from May 1 – September 30, 2025. This was accomplished to further coordinate efforts on the North Shore and ensure events and public usage effectively coexist and remain sustainable for both shores. The new rules also provide a transparent process on how applications will be ranked through clearly described criteria. That criteria includes plans to mitigate the impact of surf events on the community, and how event organizers will encourage diversity amongst their participants. The final adoption of these rules in November 2023 followed several outreach and coordination efforts to balance the general public’s free access to ocean recreation, create equitable use of public resources for permitted events, broaden the types of events permitted and the user group they serve, and improve DPR’s ability to manage these events and resources in conjunction with other government agencies. Those efforts included a public survey, event organizer meetings, input from SWAG, Honolulu City Council collaboration, and a public hearing on October 20, 2023. Read more about these efforts, and find the resources you need, below. Mahalo and take care!
SWAG Members
While public participation is absolutely encouraged, the regular members of SWAG include staff from the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation and the following: Keone Downing, Kanani Oury, and Meghan Statts.
Meetings & Agendas
Shore Water Event Rules Promulgation Hearing (October 20, 2023):
Past SWAG Meetings
SWAG conducts public meetings, which are normally held virtually using the WebEx platform. Please click on the respective agenda/minutes below to access those PDF documents.
The public was invited to join the Advisory Committee meeting from a computer, smartphone, telephone, or in-person.
Click the date for meeting agenda and minutes:
Resources
North Shore Surf Events
- Park Use Permit Application
- Surf Event Application Supplement
- Instructions for Completing Applications: 2025-2027 North Shore Triennial Surf Events
South Shore Surf Events
- Park Use Permit Application
- South Shore Surfing Event Application Supplement
- Instructions on how to complete the South Shore Surfing Event Application for 2025
Rules & Public Surveys
- Shore Water Event Rules
- Click here to see the results of the Shore Water Event Public Survey. Survey was conducted from Dec. 2021 – Feb. 2022, with approximately 280 participants.