Applications
North Shore Surf Event Calendar
The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has posted the triennial calendar for North Shore Events scheduled from January 2025 through May 2027.
The posting of this calendar represents the third triennial calendar organizing surf events along the popular North Shore coastline of O‘ahu. This triennial calendar system first began in fall 2018, followed by the second posting in summer 2021, for surfing events held at Sunset Beach Park, Ehukai Beach Park (Pipeline), Waimea Bay Beach Park, and Hale‘iwa Ali‘i Beach Park.
“This most recent triennial calendar process has been illuminating regarding the variety of events being held, and whether they were providing opportunities for a more diverse demographic of participants, such as women and amateur surfers,” said DPR Director Laura H. Thielen. “In fact, this is the first time all of the applications were fully ranked and scheduled according to their ranking. In years past the ranking of event applications was only taken into account when a conflict arose amongst the event organizers, particularly scheduling. We have worked tirelessly with new and legacy event organizers to create a fair and transparent ranking process, following rules aimed at maintaining a balance between these world-class surf events and the public’s right to ocean resources and recreational opportunities.”
South Shore Surf Event Calendar
With the adoption of Shore Water Event Rules in 2024, specific requirements for surf events on O‘ahu’s South Shore including and event calendar:
Along with establishing the South Shore Surf Event calendar from May 1 – September 30, 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 rules are available online by accessing the following link: bit.ly/shorewaterrules
The final adoption of Shore Water Event Rules 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 groups 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 the City’s Shore Water Advisory Group, Honolulu City Council coordination, and a public hearing on October 20, 2023. We appreciate the participation of all of the various stakeholders throughout this rule-revising and permitting process.