North Shore NewsTwelve members of the Hawaii Adaptive Surf Team are back from La Jolla, California after placing fourth in the world at the 2020 AmpSurf ISA World
Para Surfing Championships last week. Team Hawaii was among 21 international teams that traveled to the World Championships March 11-15. The Hawaii surfers competed in seven of the eight divisions, which
include Kneel, Prone, Stand, and Visually Impaired. Team Hawaii took home the Copper Medal, following Spain (Gold), USA (Silver), and Brazil (Bronze).
In addition to the team’s fourth place win overall, four members of the Hawaii team also won top three places in their individual divisions, including Colin Cook of Waialua, who took home his first World
Championship Gold Medal in the Men’s Stand 3 Division. Cook lost his leg in a North Shore shark attack in 2015.
“I feel so honored and humbled to compete alongside such amazing surfers that have not only overcome so much but have pushed to surf at their highest level. Winning the Gold was just the icing on the cake. A big thank you to ISA and AmpSurf for putting the event together and to AccesSurf, Adaptive Surf Academy and Hawaii Adaptive Surf Team for supporting me from the beginning,” said Cook.
Joining the team were staff and supporters of AccesSurf, the local nonprofit that provides free surf and ocean experiences for people with disabilities. The nonprofit runs over 65 program days and over 2,500 ocean experiences a year, including adaptive paddling, surfing, swimming, and specialized events for wounded warriors. The entire group’s travel was
sponsored by Southwest Airlines.