Carissa Kainani Moore, Preserving Hawaii’s Pride in Surfing

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Carissa Kainani Moore

Born in the vicinity of Honolulu Beach, Hawaii, Carissa Kainani Moore, 29, has grown up in a strong surfing culture. She has been a professional surfer since the age of 12 and emerged as one of the best female surfers in the world. With her achievements, she preserves the pride of Hawaii, believed to be the birthplace of this wave-riding sport.

Moore indeed failed to win the sixth series of the 2022 World Surf League Championship Tour (WSL CT) on Plengkung Beach or G-Land, Banyuwangi, East Java, on 28 May-6 June. In the women’s final on Saturday (4/6/2022), the surfer, whose height measures 170 centimeters, was defeated by French surfer Johanne Defay.

It was her third loss in the peak round of the six series which were already held this season, none of which she had won. However, her performance was good enough for Moore to usurp the position of Costa Rican surfer Brisa Hennessy, who had been at the apex of the women’s provisional standing. Moore rose by one level in the standing from the second rank to the first with 32.095 points.

Apart from that, Defay was also surfing very nicely,” said Moore at the end of the contest.

Moore thus laid a foundation for the opportunity to maintain the WSL CT champion title she had won last year. “I made several errors in the beginning of the competition. I wasn’t aware of some of the opportunities Defay had. Apart from that, Defay was also surfing very nicely,” said Moore at the end of the contest.

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Moore’s ability is indubitable. She is among the female surfers with the biggest collection of world trophies, having won five titles, namely Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour 2011 and 2013 as well as CT WSL 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Moore has only lost to Australian women surfers Layne Beachley and Stephanie Gilmore, each having collected seven world titles. Nevertheless, she won the first Olympic surfing gold medal in history at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 last year.

“I’m very fortunate to have been brought up in Hawaii with its remarkable surfing community. I would not be in my present position if I were not from there,” said Moore as reported by Hawaiinewsnow.com on Saturday (2/4/2022).

Fulfilling destiny

Moore’s life fulfills her destiny as a Hawaiian. The Collections of Waikiki website on Sunday (1/5) noted that surfing was believed to have originated in the ancient tradition of Polynesian people, beginning at the very latest in the 12th century CE and perhaps even much earlier (other sources recorded around the 5th century CE), before being brought to Hawaii, where it became popular.

As time went by, surfing developed into an integral part of the customs and entertainment of the Hawaiian community. The art of standing and surfing upright on the traditional board, called papa nui, is also said to have been discovered in Hawaii.

Moore can be seen as further developing the DNA of Hawaiian surfing ancestors. She was born as the elder of two children of Christopher Moore and Carol Lum. When she was five, her father, a swimmer, acquainted Moore with the sea, and took her to play in the sea waves on Queen’s Beach, Waikiki, Hawaii.

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Carissa Kainani Moore

Her love for the sea was temporarily hampered by her parents’ divorce when Moore was only 10. For a while, Moore stayed with her mother, who lived a long way from the sea. Moore resisted this situation and asked to stay with her father, so as to be close to the sea and waves.

Her wish was granted. There was no conflict between her parents, who both consented to Moore’s desire to engage deeply in marine activities.

New phenomenon

With her abundance of talent, Moore became a new phenomenon of world surfing. At age 10, she won nearly all amateur competitions she joined. Even before starting her second year in junior high school, she had collected 11 titles of the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Championship.

The media spotlighted Moore’s performance as the most genuine talent ever found. She was known to be mentally exceptional in executing extreme maneuvers. Her action was not only graceful, but also like that of an artist dancing on rolling waves.

After occupying the third rank in the final standing and being named the Best Newcomer of ASP World Tour 2010, she was the champion of ASP World Tour 2011.

Moore was determined to start her professional career at the prime age of 12. It did not take long for Moore to attain prestigious achievements at the adult level. After occupying the third rank in the final standing and being named the Best Newcomer of ASP World Tour 2010, she was the champion of ASP World Tour 2011.

Thanks to all her accumulated achievements, Moore earned several individual titles like that of Surfers Hall of Fame in 2014. Her victories have become the pride of the residents and government of the State of Hawaii to such a degree that 4 January was officially declared “Carissa Moore Day” on 4 January 2016.

Moore’s reputation as a surfer was undeniable. But she was not content to only inspire people with her surfing successes. She set up a nonprofit, the Moore Aloha Charitable Foundation, in 2018.

Her main goal is to empower and encourage young women of Hawaii aged 10-16 to have more courage in pursuing their hobbies and realizing their dreams.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Carissa Kainani Moore

Moore focuses on women because of gender inequality, which is also prevalent in the surfing arena. She experienced herself how hard it was to make her dream to be a surfer come true in her early career-building period. Notwithstanding the circumstances, with her self-confidence, she managed to rise above all the challenges.

Carissa Kainani Moore

Born:Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 27 August 1992

Husband: Luke Untermann

Achievements:

- Gold medal, women’s shortboard surfing, Tokyo Olympics 2020

- Five-time world champion

- 25-time winner, WSL CT series

- The Best Newcomer, ASP World Tour 2010

- Two-time champion, Triple Crown of Surfing (2020 and 2021)

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.