Aloha Classic 2024: Solid opening day in Hoʻokipa, Philip Köster flies out of the race

Sun, blue walls of water and fat aerials from the best waveriders in the world. The photo gallery from Fish Bowl Diaries speaks for itself. It was an official opening day in Hoʻokipa, and with a few shining moments like Kai Lenny's goiter, it definitely whets the appetite for more. And that's exactly what we'll get over the next few days: the forecast for the weekend promises stronger winds and even better swell. Many of the pros and locals described the conditions on day one as nice and fun, but not perfect. Even though the wave height and wind strength were right, the direction of both components was not ideal to turn an average Hoʻokipa day into an epic one. However, this could change quickly at the weekend with a more northerly swell and possibly offshore winds.

In the Replay of the six-hour live broadcast you can get a good idea of the conditions and the rides. The preliminary rounds took place in the morning, at minute 2:40:00 it starts with round three and the top 24. This year's livestream offers beautiful drone images and is generally fun to watch.

Locals show off their skills, title race remains exciting

The local riders such as Kai Lenny, Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireaux, who mainly ride the waves by applying pressure on the edge of the board rather than using sail pressure, coped better with the slightly onshore wind than, for example, the World Championship contenders Philip Köster and Marino Gil, who like to feel a bit more steam in their sails. Köster is already out of the race, while Marino's second chance is still to come in round four (Redemption Round), in which he must progress to keep his title hopes alive. Riding more than solidly straight into round five is championship leader Marcilio Browne, who is looking to secure his fourth world title this weekend. Hot on his heels, however, is second-placed Victor Fernandez, who is also already safely through to the fifth round of the Aloha Classic.

Women's preliminary round completed, next up is Lina Erpenstein

On the first day, the only heat of the women's preliminary round was skied by Shawna Cropas, who won by a wide margin. Two sevens were on her score sheet at the end. In round two, ranking leader Lina Erpenstein will enter the arena in the very first heat. It will also be exciting to see how the contenders for the world title fare against die-hard Ho'okipa locals like Sarah Hauser and Shawna Cropas, or down-the-line experts like Maria Andres.

If you don't have any plans for later tonight: It continues on Maui at around 11 pm (German time). HERE to access the livestream on the IWT YouTube channel.