Jon Price remembers the wave as awesome, one of the best he had tried to boogie board all day. But as he dropped down the wave’s face, the nose of his board suddenly sank too deep, sending him flying head over heels toward the sandy seafloor at Makapuu beach.
Price remembers trying to break his fall during that unforgettable moment in 2018, but he hit the ocean floor with his body contorted into a scorpion position. The impact broke his neck, and he lost consciousness.
“I woke up in Queen’s hospital two days later, completely paralyzed on a ventilator,” Price recalled. “My first thoughts were, how do I commit suicide when I can’t move a muscle? It was pretty bleak.”
But Price was back on a beach last month looking for waves at Kualakai, also known as White Plains Beach, surrounded by dozens of other people with physical and mental disabilities getting ready to surf at a “Day at the Beach” event hosted by .
The nonprofit provides assisted surfing and swimming activities for anyone affected by disabilities on the first Saturday of every month.
Since its founding in 2006, AccesSurf has worked to build an inclusive community and empower people with disabilities, said Cara Short, the organization’s executive director. In 2022, the organization held 94 events helping nearly 500 disabled participants surf and swim.
AccesSurf is funded through grants, sponsorships and donations. Its events are free for participants. Grants account for around 40% of the funding, according to Short, the largest of which are from the state and city.
The organization also hosts monthly events focused on helping wounded or ill veterans get out in the surf.
The nonprofit works with surfboard shapers and participants to figure out which kind of adaptive surf gear works best. Short said adaptive surf equipment is generally 15% to 20% more expensive than standard equipment, which presents another barrier for disabled surfers.
“It’s really exciting seeing the evolution of the equipment,” Short said.
Adaptive surfing has evolved into an international professional sport since AccesSurf started organizing competitions in 2007. now holds a world championship tour, in which members of the AccesSurf community have competed.
The AASP held its first competition of the year on Sunday at Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia, and will be holding its second competition on Oahu at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki, from May 13-16.
AccesSurf also funds surf competitions on local and regional levels and hosts other special events, such as personalized swim and surf clinics focused on helping people with disabilities become independent in the water.
‘It’s Freedom’
The therapeutic effects of adaptive surfing programs, like those provided by AccesSurf, have been gaining attention in academic and medical circles in recent years.
The programs have a positive impact on the psychological well-being of children with developmental issues and disabilities, according to a study published in. The study found that after just three adaptive surfing lessons, participants’ feelings of happiness, self-esteem and engagement in social interactions improved.
Similarly, surfing has been shown to promote feelings of well-being among combat veterans affected by PTSD, according to . While this type of research continues, individual testimonials from participants in adaptive surf programs are incredibly positive.
“It makes me feel happy,” said Buster Kawasaki, a longtime AccesSurf participant. “I don’t have to worry about my wheelchair or my condition. It’s freedom.”
Ann Yoshida, one of the founding athletes and current training and innovation specialist at AccesSurf, said she has also felt the ocean’s therapeutic effects and hopes to continue sharing it with others impacted by disabilities.
“You’re empowered to see what the possibilities are,” Yoshida said.
Ian Masterson, known locally as the “Surf Professor” for teaching various classes about the sport at colleges around the island, said that in Hawaiian culture, surfing is a spiritual practice and a celebration of one’s ancestors.
Bathey Fong, who has been a part of the AccesSurf community for nearly a decade, believes the spiritual part of the activity is as important as the physical.
“I feel very happy to be in the water, because the water is like a spirit,” Fong said. “It gives me the energy to have fun and enjoy the people around us.”
Short said the people who make up the AccesSurf community are what make the events so special. The inclusive environment creates something larger than just a recreational outing.
Volunteers are key to the AccesSurf community and pivotal to the success of events such as Day at the Beach, Short said. The paid staff is small, but growing, with four full-time and three part-time members.
“I started as a volunteer,” Short said. “I always say it changed my life for the first time. I just fell in love with everything about it. The community and the vibe and all of that stuff.”
For Price, it’s a second chance. He said AccesSurf saved his life and helped him live more fully.
“When you’re paralyzed you can’t hike, you can’t surf, you can’t do anything,” Price said. “To find people that all they want to do is help you get back in the ocean — it was like a whole new life again.”