Surfing named official high school sport

• Tweet

HONOLULU, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Surfing is now an an official competitive high school sport in Hawaii, state school officials said.

Hawaii public high school students will be able to compete in school sanctioned surf competitions as early as the spring of 2013 under a plan announced Monday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and state school officials.

While the Hawaii State Board of Education approved surfing as a high school sport in 2004, a lack of funding and other challenges have kept it from becoming a "fully-fledged school sport," the Hawaii Department of Education said in a release.

Abercrombie said educators are working on a plan to make competitive school surfing a reality.

"Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing. From Duke Kahanamoku to the thousands of residents and visitors who surf both recreationally and competitively, the sport is rooted in our culture and way of life," the governor said Monday. "Bringing surfing to our students is another step in our collective goal to transform public education and provide our children with rich and diverse educational opportunities."