Our friends at the Aloha Award are seeking nominations for next year. Do you know a surfer who gives back? Someone who helps others, particularly around the ocean?
We all know Aloha as a Hawaiian greeting, but there are very few people who understand its true meaning, and fewer still who have adopted the Aloha Spirit as a guiding philosophical principle.
The Aloha spirit lives in random acts of kindness, large and small, performed without the expectation of anything in return. The Aloha Spirit manifests itself across a broad spectrum of selfless acts, from putting one’s own life at risk to save another human being, to sharing a smile or a kind word with a complete stranger.
What is the Aloha Award?
The purpose of the Aloha Award is to recognize individuals in the global surfing community who are ambassadors of the Aloha Spirit. These are individuals who, in addition to cultivating and sharing their joy of surfing with others, have gone the extra mile to give back outside the water. They may be involved with organizations like Surf Aid, the Maui Ola Foundation, Waves for Water, Waves for Change, the Ahava Surf Project, or the countless other amazing organizations doing good work around the world. But they may just as likely be unsung heroes who are making a difference in their local communities while spreading joy and stoke in their local line-ups.
Previous Recipients
Into its third year, two worthy recipients have already received the Aloha Award. Inaugural winner Ian Glover for his amazing work teaching surfing to underprivileged children from housing projects in San Francisco and Tash Mentasti for her dedication and passion to surf therapy and adaptive surfing in South Africa.
Despite our success to date in surfacing incredible nominees, we are working to continue raising awareness of the award to further broaden the field of nominees.
Prize & How to Nominate
Nominations for the 2020 Aloha Award are open from October 1st 2019 – January 31st 2020. The Aloha Award judging panel (Kyron Rathbone, Greg Bertish & Jesse Richman) will choose a winner, who will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Namotu. In addition, the sponsor of the Aloha Award will also make a $5,000 donation on behalf of the award winner to a non- profit organisation of the winner’s choosing. Four runner ups will also receive a $250 donation from the Aloha Award to a non-profit organisation of their choice.
Nominate