Soul Surfer

I was born in Hawaii to two die-hard surfers.

How could I not have salt water in my veins?

They say home is where the heart is.

And for most people, that consists of four walls and a welcome mat.

But for me, it's the ocean.

With the warmth of the sun on my skin.

"Two brothers."

That's my answer when anyone asks me why I'm so competitive.

And, of course, there's my best friend Alana.

- Trick or treat! - Trick or treat!

We spent more time wet than we did dry.

My mom was convinced that we were mermaids.

From the moment I caught my first wave,

I knew that I wanted to be a pro surfer.

Nothing else seemed to matter.

Surfing is my passion, my way of life.

The stoke I get from riding a perfect wave is pure joy.

But like my dad always says, "Life is an adventure."

"And sometimes, you wipe out and end up in the impact zone."

Bethany!

Bethany!

Let's go, you're lagging!

I'm coming!

Hey, sorry, Noah, I lost track of time!

Glad you could join us.

- Move over, Timmy. - Sorry, this seat's saved.

Come on.

- How were the waves? - Really fun.

- Ready for the contest? - Yeah.

Practice your snap off the lip?

No, but she's perfect on the wipeouts.

Guys, we're in church.

She's going to do her mermaid thing and crush it like she always does.

Almost got it.

Darn it.

Come on.

Interesting technique, Noah. Is that now the professionals do it?

Hey, I know what I'm doing.

Okay.

- Where you going? - To watch the competition.

They gave me a five!

Not so bad for a girl.

What!

Read it and weep, honey.

I'm not the one who's going to be weeping.

- Five! - Hey! Hey! Hey!

- Don't harass the judges! - Hey! Hey! Hey!

We're coming to get you!

- Babe, is it your knee again? - Got you!

Noah, put me down!

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the junior portion

of the Maui Jim Turtle Bay Resort Invitational.

We 're expecting a great competition today.

We've got skateboarding on the half-pipe. We've got all the action in the water.

- Watch top amateur surf.. - Hey, howzit?

- Hey. - Hey, Keoki.

If you get tired waiting for the waves out there,

you can always come and kick it with us. We don't have to wait for the action.

Well, when you get tired of the pipe, come surf some real waves.

Hey, Thursday night is a full moon.

If you guys aren't doing anything, we're all gonna go surfing.

Yeah, if we don't have anything better to do.

Okay. See you guys later.

- All right. Bye. - Bye.

In semi-final heat number one, we've got six competitors.

In orange is Olivia Jenner.

In black, Malina Birch.

In blue, Bethany Hamilton.

In yellow, Kaila Kahani.

In white, Lalani Bri.

And in pink, Alana Blanchard.

And it looks like the local groms have tracked down Hawaiian surfing legend,

Ben Aipa.

Yeah, Ben!

- Hey, you see that sick air Keoki just got? - I don't think so.

- What? - You're not going to distract me.

I'm catching that next wave.

I don't think they know how not to compete.

Holt, you didn't tell them, did you?

No, no. I didn't want to make them nervous.

I'm nervous enough for the both of them, as it is. You Know, they both have to place.

Black, Malina Birch, you're in first.

Blue, Bethany Hamilton, you're in second

looking for a 4-2 to overtake that top spot.

Pink, Alana Blanchard, you're in third, requiring a 5.4 to overtake first place.

Just a reminder; Ladies and gentlemen-

The winners of today's contest will qualify for the Hawaiian Island Regionals.

Alana Blanchard finds the cover to finish things off.

Solid wave for pink.

Yes!

Looks like we have a paddle-battle here.

Go, Bethany! Go!

It's blue and black scratching for a solid set wave.

Malina Birch taking the inside off of Bethany Hamilton.

Here she is, up and riding.

Malina Birch kicks things off with a very nice ride.

And a strong carve off the top-

She definitely knows what the judges are looking for.

That will be a solid wave for black.

Malina full on stole my wave, I had position.

It's okay, it's all right. Look, next time, I want you to really focus

on just diving into the water as far as you can.

- Rip that paddle back. Okay? - Okay.

All right, take a rest.

- You thirsty? - Yeah.

With five minutes remaining in this final,

pink, Alana Blanchard, you are in first.

Black, Malina Birch, you are in second.

And blue, Bethany Hamilton, you are currently in third.

You're not breathing, you know that, right?

Go! Go!

Yeah!

Big snap off the top.

She draws out her second bottom turn,

and hooks it one more time.

Bethany Hamilton is holding nothing back.

Potentially one of the highest scoring rides of the day.

As this final comes to a close here at Turtle Bay.

Yes! That's what I'm talking about.

You're doing a great job training her, Brother Tom.

- Thanks, Ben. - You got it, bro.

Looks like she has a real future.

As a pro.

She's been working so hard.

Well, with her heart, her will, she'll go far.

Third place of the Turtle Bay Juniors final goes to Alana Blanchard.

In second place, Malina Birch.

Good job, Malina.

Meaning, taking first place is Kauai's Bethany Hamilton.

Bethany! With to day's big victory,

Bethany Hamilton has to be considered the favorite

as we head to the Hawaiian Island Regionals.

Way to go, Bethany.

Girls, there's some people down there you might want to meet.

- Who? - It's the guys from Rip Curl, it's no big deal.

They want to sponsor both of you.

- No way! - What!

Oh, my gosh!

I got it, how about this one?

- Nice, if you're 100. - Okay.

- What about this? - Are you kidding?

Thing looks like a eye patch.

I think it's hot.

One wipe out in that tiny thing,

and you're going to be showing a lot more than your sick rides.

So much for so little.

Well, good thing it's on Rip Curl.

Yes!

But make sure to keep your eye on it,

if you don't want it snaked out from underneath you.

Hey, girls.

You realize I'm gonna take you next time, right?

Let's just let the surfing do the talking.

Every day between now and regionals,

when I'm in the water training, I'll be thinking of you, Hamilton.

Creepy.

Thanks, but I think you should stick to your training.

Seems like you could use a little focus.

I guess we'll find out.

Good seeing you again.

You guys are usually the first ones in here, let's go.

Let's finish up Rad Night with a game.

Can anyone tell me what he or she thinks this is?

- Easy, it's a dodge ball. - No.

Or Mars?

A blob in a lava lamp?

Very creative, but no.

- It's a fly's eye. - Weird.

- How about this one? - A brain.

Aren't brains supposed to be pink?

A dead, rotting brain?

That is gross, and that is a walnut.

So, you see how hard it can be to make sense of things

when you're looking at them really close?

The same thing's true in life.

So, if you guys are dealing with anything,

that's just too hard to handle

or doesn't seem to make much sense,

get a new perspective.

I want to share with you guys something that has really made an impact on my life.

That's Jeremiah 29:11.

"For I know the plans that I have for you," says the Lord.

"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

"Plans to give you hope and a future."

That's all the time we have tonight, guys.

If you are going on the mission trip,

please don't forget to give me your permission slips.

Hey, what's up? What's this?

Well, it looks like I'm not going to be able to go to Mexico,

so I brought some things for the orphanage.

I made the bracelets.

Noah donated the shoes and the Spam's from Timmy.

Are you sure you can't come?

I was really looking forward to it.

You're going to miss out.

Well, have a good trip.

Sarah's really bumming me out.

Any particular reason?

Yeah.

So, I told her I'm not coming to Mexico.