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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, December 15, 2006

Kennelly, Andy Irons take awards

 •  Rest before hitting road again

Advertiser Staff

Kaua'i surfers Andy Irons and Keala Kennelly took the top honors at the second annual FreeSurf Magazine Kai Mana Awards last week.

Irons won the Top Male surfer award, and Kennelly took the Top Female surfer. The awards were determined by a public vote through ballot boxes at surf shops, and online at freesurfmagazine.com.

The results were announced at a ceremony at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center last Friday.

Among the other category winners:

  • Jamie Sterling was voted Paddle-In Charger for his big-wave surfing.

  • Mike Stewart won the Top Bodyboarder category.

  • Jason Shibata won the Ambassador of Aloha award.

  • Garrett McNamara and Kealii Mamala won best Tow-In Team.

  • Coco Ho and John John Florence won the Grom Phenoms category, which basically means they were voted the best youth surfers.

  • Bonga Perkins was voted Top Longboarder.

  • Melanie Bartels was selected the Breakthrough Female Pro.

  • Dustin Cuizon was voted the Breakthrough Male Pro.

    Also, Rabbit Kekai won the Lifetime Achievement award, and lifeguard Terry Ahue won the Ocean Safety award.

    SURFERS COME UP CLEAN

    The International Surfing Association announced this week that 100 percent of the anti-doping tests conducted on participants at the ISA World Surfing Games came up negative.

    The contest, which featured more than 300 surfers from around the world, was run in October at Huntington Beach, Calif.

    "This is great news for the sport of surfing," ISA president Fernando Aguerre said. "Surfing, a very healthy sport, produced zero positive tests."

    The tests were conducted at an International Olympic Committee accredited laboratory in Los Angeles. The surfers were tested for substances banned by the International Olympic Committee.

    Around 25 surfers were tested, including every finalist.

    Ten Hawai'i surfers participated in the contest. Bonga Perkins made the finals in the longboard surfing division.