Braddah Mel’s Surfing Championship kicks off on Tuesday’s BIG NW

DA KICK OFF SCHEDULE!

1) Longboard Divisions: Start date Tuesday 12/05 to Wednesday 12/06 Men’s and Women’s divisions.

2) Canoe, Supsquatch, A’lai’a, Junior Soft-Top and Junior Boogie Board divisions possibly on the weekend 12/09 and 12/10. (Surf Permitting)

(I will make a call for the Weekend by Wednesday 12/06.)

This year the holding period for Braddah Mel’s 4-day event is December 1-31, 2023.

Aloha, my name is Mel Puu, I’m a recently retired Makaha lifeguard and a life-long resident of the Westside. Every year I host the Braddah Mel’s Waterman Surfing Championships at Makaha Beach. This year the holding period is from December 1st to 31st 2023.

Braddah Mel’s Waterman Surfing Championships is a staple in the local Waianae community and is an annual international waterman surfing competition held at Makaha Surfing beach.

This event started as a fundraiser for a fellow Waterman, Steersman and good friend Leighton Look. Sadly, 3 years later Leighton Passed on. In memory of Leighton, the Mauka to Makai Makaha Foundation and Uncle Mel, has continued to hold the event in his honor annually.

The International Waterman event divisions are;

“$7,000.00 Professional Longboard Division Purse”

1) Pro-Longboard Women’s Div.

2) Pro-Longboard Men’s Div.

3) 4-Man Canoe Surfing Div.

4) 5-Man Supsquatch Surfing Div.

5) Alai’a Surfing Div.

6) Junior Soft-Top Longboard Div. (11yrs to 17yrs.)(Jerry Lopez Mod. No Fin Modification.)

7) Junior Boogie Board Div. (11yrs to 17yrs.)

Braddah Melʻs Waterman Surfing Championship, known informally as “Braddah Mel’s” is a staple in the local Waianae community and is an annual international waterman surfing competition held at Makaha beach.

Braddah Mel’s Surfing Championship was started in honor of Mauka to Makai Makaha Foundation’s Executive Director, Melvin Puʻu’s dear friend and fellow waterman, Leighton Look.

The annual event began in 2005 initially to help Leighton with medical expenses as he was paralyzed in a diving accident.

Sadly after 3 years Leighton passed away.

In memory of Leighton, Mauka to Makai Makaha Foundation INC. operating under the guidance of Uncle Mel, has continued to hold the event in his honor annually.

The waterman event divisions are “Men’s and Longboard Surfing”, “Stand- Up Surfing”, “Outrigger Canoe Surfing”, and “5-Person SupSquatch Surfing”.

Mauka to Makai Makaha Foundation, INC. (MMMF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation located in Mākaha on the island of O’ahu and is the fiercely proud of the annual surf contest that has created such impact and legacy.

Our mission is to be a foundation of excellence in providing education in Hawaiian history, Hawaiian cultural practices, living healthy lifestyles, ocean safety, and ocean sports to our community at large and visitors to the west side of Oahu.

Located on the Waianae Coast along the island of O’ahu, we not only focus our efforts on health and economic wellbeing for community members from the Mākaha, Waiʻanae and Nānākuli, but bridging the tourism economy to benefit the health and wellness of our communities as well.

MMMF started off as a grassroots organization serving the communities of Mākaha, Waiʻanae and Nānākuli over 20 years ago in the effort to promote health and safety by fostering history, cultural practices, ocean safety and sports, and has now grown into a notable local resource through their community-based approach & local collaborations.

The Braddah Mel’s surf contest event has over a thousand visitors over the weekend of the event coming into the Waianae community, and enjoying this unique sporting exhibition, and infusing much needed boost of spending into local businesses.

It’s a very community-driven, and community- oriented event which is welcome to locals and visitors to the island alike.

We’ll be praying for surf, trades and sunshine for the wild west side as our versatile water-men and women hit the line up. Looks like a nice 3-5′ NW comes in Sunday along with the return of trades.

Canoe Surfing Division and the always fun SUPsquatch Division will be ready along with the Stand-Up Surfing Division and much more…Dont miss it. SNN