FROM THE USAPA
“ We Call it Pukaball on Maui”
BY GREG SMITH
In Hawaiian language,“ puka” translates to hole, so it seems logical to locals to refer to our awesome game as Pukaball.
It’ s taken some time, but 2016 was the year pukaball finally established itself here on the Valley Isle. With the number of calls from visitors and potential visitors inquiring about places to play steadily increasing, the Parks Department responded by having each geographic district designate one tennis court to be converted into a temporary pukaball court and establish a day and time for public play. After several months of parks staff laying down tape and monitoring usage, the designated temporary courts became permanent with painted pukaball lines.
In a relatively short time, the growing popularity of pukaball here has made the need for more courts greater. The Parks Department is open to looking at converting virtually unused tennis courts to pukaball courts, so that’ s very encouraging.
Currently we have a real dedicated group of about 25 players happy to drive to the different venues to play, with newbies trickling in to join the fun.
For places to play on Maui, go to www. usapa. org and look for Kihei, Kahului / Wailuku, Makawao, and Lahaina.
The popularity of pukaball on Maui has increased to the point where we now have three Ambassadors: myself, Laurie Loney, and Greg Smith. Our contact information can be found on the USAPA website. It ' s fun to be at the forefront of what’ s sure to be a monster wave of pukaball growth on Maui. •
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 | MAGAZINE 53