KING KAHEKILI TROPHY THE SILK RIBBON OF CLIFF DIVING EXCELLENCE THE RED BULL CLIFF DIVING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS’ AWARD
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It’s the trophy that every cliff diver wants to win, but only the pick of the crop are awarded the King Kahekili Trophy for the overall title in honour of the great Hawaiian chief who first leaped from the holy cliffs of Kaunolu, the birthplace of the majestic sport of cliff diving. The old Hawaiian principles of ‘mana’ and ‘pono’, power and balance, were crucial when lele kawa, which loosely translates as ‘leaping feet-first from a high cliff into the water without making a splash’, was born on the islands in the midst of the Pacific in the 18th century. They are principles that have been upheld and are today prerequisites for the sport of cliff diving. It was from a rock made of lava on the island of Lanai that the last independent ruler of Maui, King Kahekili, dove in the late 1700s. The diving site has always been regarded as holy and up until today the chief’s name is inextricably linked with the earliest beginnings of humankind’s oldest extreme sport. Legend says that Kahekili used cliff diving as an initiation rite for his warriors. He required them to follow his example by jumping off cliffs in an effort to prove their loyalty. Historians see a
competitive idea behind these leaps: “We don’t know if he actually required his warriors to do it, but he challenged them. And in our culture, when you think about that, requiring somebody to do something is one thing, but when you challenge them to do it that is when you get the real participation.” Real participation is also demanded by the athletes of the World Series to be awarded the King Kahekili Trophy, created by the Hawaiian artist Kuaho Zane. The overall form references the shape and stance of ki’i or wooden images, traditionally carved as three-dimensional representations of gods and protective ancestors called aumakua. The trophy with its asymmetric, cliff like top is completely printed on the right side – similar to the tattoo completely covering the right side of Kahekili’s body. The base is made of Koa wood and symbolizes the feet of both the ki’i and the diver who must hit the water feet first. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series takes up the challenge to establish which single athlete has enough ‘mana’ and ‘pono’ to perform the best ‘lele kawa’ and take the overall victory in 2017.
MEN Orlando Duque, COL 2009 Gary Hunt, UK 2010 Gary Hunt, UK 2011 Gary Hunt, UK 2012 Artem Silchenko, RUS 2013 Gary Hunt, UK 2014 Gary Hunt, UK 2015 Gary Hunt, UK 2016 WOMEN Rachelle Simpson, USA 2014 Rachelle Simpson, USA 2015 Rhiannan Iffland, AUS 2016
NAMES ON THE KING KAHEKILI TROPHY TO DATE:
Who’ll grab the desired trophy in the most competitive season to date?
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