Surf's up! Hawaii may soon become the first state in the nation to recognize surfing as an official high school sport.

• Author: Kayal, Michele
• Position: Sports

When Heather Masters, 16, moved from Oklahoma to Hawaii last year, she set out not only to learn surfing but also to compete--until she found out she couldn't, at least not on a team at her school, Moanalua High, in Honolulu. "It would be cool to compete against people from different schools," she says on a pier near Waikiki.

In Hawaii, where even bicycles have surfboard racks, concerns about liability, safety, and cost have long kept surfing out of high school athletics.

Students have found ways around the rules, forming their own clubs, though they haven't been able to use their schools' names in competitions.

But a decision in May by the State Board of Education will let Hawaii's 44 public schools create surfing teams if they choose to. The policy is expected to be implemented next year, after guidelines are drafted by safety experts and education officials. Hawaii would become the first state to recognize surfing as a team sport in schools.

STUDENTS, NOT SLACKERS

Administrators still harbor reservations, but the opposition has been overcome by public lobbying to make the ancient sport of hee nahlu (pronounced HEH-ay NAH-lu), or wave sliding, a regular part of student life.

Some hope the...