By David Corrigan and Stephanie Salazar

[Video courtesy Stand Up World Tour]

HONOLII, Hawaii: The Stand Up World Tour has come to an end in Honolii, after a exciting weekend of paddleboard action on the waters.

18 year old Zane Schweitzer put on a dominant performance to secure the win at the Hawaii Island Finals, the last stop on the world tour for these young competitors.

19 year old Kai Lenny won his 2nd Overall World Title here on Hawaii Island Finals, with another impressive and dominant performance. He took second place in the Honolii contest.

Brazil’s Leco Salazar finished in 2nd place overall.

The tour is planning on a full year of events in 2012.

The stop in Honolii is fitting. Traditionally a surfing hotspot on the Big Island, the sport of S.U.P… or Stand Up Paddling, has exploded in popularity in recent years.

By David Corrigan and Daryl Lee

[Video  by Daryl Lee]

KONA, Hawaii: Leilehua defeated Kealakehe, 35-24, in the first round of the D1 state football tournament held at Waverider Stadium on Friday.

This video shows highlights from the first half of the game. Kealakehe mounted a heroic comeback after trailing 22-0, but there just wasn’t enough time to overtake the Mighty Mules of Wahiawa.

The Waveriders end the season at 10-2.

Leilehua will go on to face Kahuku in semi-final action taking place in Aloha Stadium next Friday.

Video courtesy Baron Sekiya, Hawaii247.com | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

KEAAU, Hawaii: Kamehameha Schools – Hawaii gets to hold the newly created Kipimana Cup, after defeating Keaau High School on the football field, 36 to 21.

These highlites come to us courtesy Baron Sekiya and Hawaii24/7… showing how Kamehameha jumped out to a big 23 to 7 halftime lead over the Cougars, before rolling on to victory.

That means the Warriors will get the inaugural Kipimana Cup, the trophy instituted by W.H. Shipman, Ltd… the large Puna land owner who was at one time the owner of the lands that are now occupied by both the Kamehameha Schools – Hawaii campus, AND Keaau High School.

“Kipimana” is how Hawaiians referred to Shipman more than 100 years ago, and the name is used today as a street name in the Keaau area.

Representatives of the company say W.H. Shipman is awarding $500 to the booster club of each school. But the real prize is a perpetual trophy and official bragging rights for the winning team.

Video by David Corrigan | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

PAHOA, Hawaii: Kids in Puna participated in a Hawaii County Police Click it Or Tick It 3-on-3 basketball tournament here in Pahoa on Saturday.

The local youth – ages 5 to 12 – hit the hardwood in pursuit of victory in a number of different age divisions in the double elimination tournament.

The Hawaii Isle Police Activities League’s East Hawaii Coordinator, Officer Joseph Botelho Jr., says that “Click It or Ticket” is a national educational and enforcement campaign to increase seat belt use and decrease traffic fatalities and injuries.

The Click It or Ticket 3-on-3 Basketball Tournaments are being held island wide this summer. Next up: August 13th & 14th at Kawananakoa Gym in Keaukaha, and September 10th & 11th at Laupahoehoe High.

Video by David Corrigan | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

HILO, Hawaii – Roller skates, helmets, painted faces, colorful outfits, suggestive uniforms, and names you wont find in a Hilo phonebook.

This is not your run of the mill local sporting event.

For the third time, the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium was filled with rabid roller derby fans – of all colors – to see the hometown Paradise Roller Girls do battle.

On Saturday, the opponents were the feared Maui Roller Girls, a big challenge for the Big Island team. The Paradise Roller Girls were competitive in the first half of the bout, skating and crashing their way to remain neck and neck with their more experienced opponents. But eventually, Maui pulled away for the 148-80 victory.

Despite the tough loss, team captain Anita Whiskey – whose jersey number is “90 proof”, of course – said there were a lot of positives about the team’s performance.

Coach Blue “Irish I Was Bashin’ Ya” Davis seemed quite happy with the girl’s performance, as well. Coach Davis, perhaps the most charismatic girl on the whole team, says the sport’s re-emergence has been a long time coming.

From the looks of the response from the crowded stands, roller derby hits the mark here in Hilo; a new generation of jammers and blockers, leading the renaissance of the wahine sport here in Hawaii … and all else that comes with it.

Video by David Corrigan

It was a rare treat for Warriors football fans on the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday, when the UH team held a practice and scrimmage at Kamehameha Schools in Keaau.

A large audience filled the stands to watch the pre-season preps. The team has been making an effort to travel to the so called “neighbor islands” like Maui in 2009 and Kauai in 2010.

Warriors coach Greg McMackin said it was a great chance to make the trip to the windward side of Hawaii Island to show the loyal fans what the team is all about, in person.

McMackin also said it was another chance to further evaluate his team for the upcoming season. The coach said he has the tough job of cutting 30 players.

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi was onhand to wish the team well.

Video by David Corrigan

Another large crowd turned out this year for the annual Haili Volleyball Tournament at the Hilo Civic this holiday weekend.

This was the 54th time the tournament has been run in Hilo.

The big winners of the event in the AA division: men’s team Cudags outplayed RZN and took the title in two straight sets 25-23 and 25-16.

The Oahu team included Big Island native Aaron Maluo, and was powered by the dominating play of James Butler and Dioniso Dante, outmatching their opponents at the net.

Meanwhile, the Rusty Wahine defeated the Hi-Intensity Sawaiians 24-26, 25-19, and 15-9 to take the women’s AA championship.

The Rusty Wahine – made up of former UH greats – were undefeated in the tournament.

The video below shows the first set of the AA mens final, the closer of the two sets between the teams.

Stand up paddle board championship has begun at Honolii

December 13, 2010 – HILO, Hawaii

Video courtesy Hawaii County Office of the Mayor | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

The Stand up World Tour is on Hawaii Island for the final event of the year, starting with an international parade around Liliuokalani Park, and a sacred Hawaiian awa ceremony on Moku Ola (aka Coconut Island), followed by surfing at Honolii Beack park. The event ends on Sunday with stand up paddle board race at the Hilo Bayfront.

The form of surfing is done on a paddleboard, rather than a surfboard. In the contest portion, surfers use a 28-inch wide paddle board, which is half a foot wider than a traditional surfboard. The trials will cut the field of 48 down to the top paddle board surfers.

The Stand Up World Tour was established in 2009 to address the exponential growth in the sport of stand up paddling. A quick look out onto the waters of Hilo Bay are testament to the surging popularity of the activity in Hawaii these days.

This year’s tour began on Oahu’s North Shore, and then subsequent contests were held in France, Tahiti and Brazil. Organizers plan to hold the finals at Honolii for the next few years

You can learn more at the Hilo Bayfront on Saturday and Sunday with demonstrations, music and a stand up paddleboard race within Hilo bay.

For more information, visit standupworldtour.com.

November 12, 2010 – HILO, Hawaii

Video courtesy Hawaii County, Office of the Mayor | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

Earlier on Veterans Day morning, nearly 200 runners filled the streets of Hilo as a part of the Second Annual Veterans Day 5K Run/Walk at Moku Ola, put together by Wayne ‘Big Dog’ Joseph and Big Dog Productions.

Participants had to bring a canned good or monetary donation to the Hawaii Island Food Basket in order to enter the race.

Speaking at the race were Joseph, Representative Jerry Chang and Dr. Joseph D’Angelo, a veteran of the war in the Mid-East and U.S. Army Reserve.

Taking first place for the men was Keoni Ucker while the women’s race was won by Kaylene Peric.

October 10, 2010 – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Produced by David Corrigan & Karin Stanton

Mobile version of video

The sport of triathlon has two new world champions, and they are both from Australia.

On Saturday, it took Chris McCormack 8 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds to regain the title he held three years ago, after he won the Ford Ironman World Championship in 2007.

The 37 year old McCormack narrowly fended off a last minute push by Andreas Raelert to cross the finish line first. Raelert, a 36 year old German, ran neck in neck with McCormack down the stretch for what seemed like an eternity to all the amazed onlookers. Although McCormack seperated himself from Raelert by the final mile, the finish was the forth closest in Ironman history. The German clocked in at 8 hours 12 minutes and 17 seconds, less than two minutes behind.

The Ironman’s other Australian world champion, Mirinda Carfrae, earned her her first Ironman crown, conquering the women’s division in 8:58:36.

One of the biggest stories on race day broke even before the Ironman began. The dominant three time world champion Chrissie Wellington suddenly bowed out of the contest, blaming flu-like symptoms. Although Wellington had been so impressive over the course of her three-peat that many considered her 2010 victory a foregone conclusion, champion Carfrae would have given Wellington a run for her money, according to the numbers.

Carfrae turned in a rare women’s sub-nine hour performance. The 29 year old now has the fourth fastest time in the 32-year history of the event and she also broke her own run course record – set last year – with a 2 hour 53 minute 32 second marathon.

Carfrae pushed past first time Kona competitor Julie Dibens, a 35 year old from Great Britain who ulitmately finished third. It took Switzerland’s 32 year old Caroline Steffen 9 hours and 6 minutes to finish second.

Video courtesy Ironman and the Hawaii County Office of the Mayor were used in this video cast.

You can find more from Karin Stanton at hawaii247.com, including many stories on the Ironman race.

Ironman media release:

Chris McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae Victorious at 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship

It was an Australian sweep at today’s Ford Ironman World Championship when Chris “Macca” McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae claimed titles in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i. McCormack, who won the event in 2007, added a second World Championship title to his resume when he finished in 8:10:37. Carfrae secured her first-ever Ironman title when she crossed the line in 8:58:36, the fourth-fastest women’s time ever set in Kona.

McCormack excelled over an impressive men’s field including two-time defending champion, Craig Alexander (AUS), Chris Lieto (USA), Andreas Raelert (DEU), Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) and Raynard Tissink (ZAF). Andy Potts (USA) exited the water first, but Lieto, Andreas Bocherer (DEU) and Maik Twelsiek (DEU) pushed ahead early on the bike to build a gap on the men’s faster runners. McCormack took the lead 11-and-a-half miles into the run, and although Raelert caught up from miles 22 to 25, a last-minute surge awarded McCormack the win. Alexander posted the second-fastest run split of the day, but could not make up his deficit from the bike.

1. Chris McCormack, AUS, 8:10:37

2. Andreas Raelert, DEU, 8:12:17

3. Marino Vanhoenacker, BEL, 8:13:14

4. Craig Alexander, AUS, 8:16:53

5. Raynard Tissink, ZAF, 8:20:11

Last year’s runner-up, Carfrae dominated a women’s field that included Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Julie Dibens, Virginia Berasategui (ESP), Caroline Steffen (AUS) and Rachel Joyce (GBR). While Joyce was first out of the water, Dibens made her way to the front within the first 12 miles of the bike and maintained the lead throughout the 112-mile course. Carfrae was 11 minutes down when she entered T2, but ran her way to the lead by mile 16 and set a new run-course record of 2:53:32 in the process. Switzerland’s Karin Thuerig, the 49th woman out of the water, finished the bike in 4:48:22, breaking Paula Newby-Fraser’s 1993 record by eight seconds and finishing sixth overall.

1. Mirinda Carfrae, AUS, 8:58:36

2. Caroline Steffen, AUS, 9:06:00

3. Julie Dibens, GBR, 9:10:04

4. Virginia Berasategui, ESP, 9:16:47

5. Rachel Joyce, GBR, 9:18:48

Nearly 1,800 athletes representing more than 45 countries and almost all 50 states officially started the Ford Ironman World Championship, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Competitors ranged in age from 19 to 80 years old. The Emmy Award-winning Ford Ironman World Championship broadcast will air on NBC on Dec. 18, 2010, from 4 – 6 p.m. EST. Check local listings and ironman.com for details.

For complete race day coverage and results from the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship, visit www.ironman.com.

October 9, 2010 – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Video from BIVN file and courtesy Ironman | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

Mobile version of video

It is time for the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship today in Kona.

Seeking to continue their incredible dominance, Chrissie Wellington (three time champ and women’s course record holder) and Craig Alexander (champ for the last two years) share some pre-race insights on preparation, expectations, and the Big Island in general.

August 23, 2010 – Hilo, Hawaii

Video by David Corrigan

The 12th induction class of the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame was introduced to Hawaii Island on Saturday.

This year’s inductees were Richard Nakano, Morris “Mo” Mathews, Harold “Russian” Furtado, Manny Vincent, Ruth E.K. Walker, Hamilton Manley, and Francis “Bo” Saiki.

The day long celebration included a short introductory ceremony at Hilo’s Prince Kuhio Plaza, where the wall of honorees is on display. The day also included a special 5 K race and a luncheon at Nani Mau Gardens.

This year’s ceremony was held in honor of the late Jack Matsui, founder of the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame. Board of Directors president Jerry Chang was on hand, and UH-Hilo Vulcan Baseball Team coach Joey Estrella introduced the inductees and their families.

Extended video from the 2010 BI Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony