U.S. Open of Surfing
The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the ASP World Tour and is an ASP Prime event.[1] It is the largest surfing competition in the world.[2]
As part of the event, notable people in the world of surfing are added to the Surfing Walk of Fame and to the Surfers' Hall of Fame, both directly across from the pier.
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History [edit]
The U.S. Open, then called the West Coast Surfing Championship, was first held in 1959. In 1964 it became known as the United States Surfing Championships. In 1982 it became known as the OP Pro for its sponsor, Ocean Pacific. The event was named the U.S. Open of Surfing in 1994.[3]
The contest was traditionally held during Labor Day weekend. The event was changed to a different time period during the summer after riots occurred at the U.S. Open in 1986.[4]
Spending at the nine-day event adds $21.5 million to the Orange County economy and $16.4 million in Huntington Beach.[1] It is attended by nearly 500,000 people.[5]
Champions [edit]
West Coast Surfing Champions [edit]
1959: Jack Haley, Linda Benson
1960: Mike Haley, Linda Benson
1961: Ron Sizemore, Linda Benson
1962: Ilima Kalama, Gudie Wilkie
1963: LJ Richards, Candy Calhoun
United States Surfing Champions [edit]
1964: Jim Craig, Linda Benson
1965: Mark Martinson, Joyce Hoffman
1966: Corky Carroll, Joyce Hoffman
1967: Corky Carroll, Joyce Hoffman
1968: David Nuuhiwa, Linda Benson
1969: Corky Carroll, Sharon Weber
1970: David Nuuhiwa, Joyce Hoffman
1971: Brad McCaul, Jericho Poppler
1972: Dale Dobson, Mary Setterholm
Op Pro Champions [edit]
1982: Cheyne Horan, Becky Benson
1983: Tom Curren, Kim Mearig
1984: Tom Curren, Frieda Zamba
1985: Mark Occhilupo, Jodie Cooper
1986: Mark Occhilupo, Frieda Zamba
1987: Barton Lynch, Wendy Botha
1988: Tom Curren, Jorja Smith
1989: Richie Collins, Frieda Zamba
1990: Todd Holland, Frieda Zamba
1991: Barton Lynch, Frieda Zamba
1992: Team USA (Kelly Slater, Richie Collins, Todd Holland, Mike Parsons, Alisa Schwarzstein)
1993: Sunny Garcia, Kim Mearig
U.S. Open Champions [edit]
1994: Shane Beschen, Lisa Andersen
1995: Rob Machado, Neridah Falconer
1996: Kelly Slater, Layne Beachley
1997: Beau Emerton, Rochelle Ballard
1998: Andy Irons, Layne Beachley
1999: Shea Lopez, Keala Kennelly
2000: Sunny Garcia, Tita Tavares
2001: Rob Machado, Pauline Menczer
2002: Kalani Robb, Pauline Menczer
2003: Cory Lopez, Chelsea Georgeson
2004: Taj Burrow, Chelsea Georgeson
2005: Andy Irons, Julia Christian
2006: Rob Machado, Sofia Mulanovich
2007: C.J. Hobgood, Stephanie Gilmore
2008: Nathaniel Curran, Malia Manuel[6]
2009: Brett Simpson, Courtney Conlogue[7]
2010: Brett Simpson, Carissa Moore[8]
2011: Kelly Slater, Sally Fitzgibbons
2012: Julian Wilson, Lakey Peterson[9]
U.S. Open of Longboarding Champions[10] [edit]
1994: Colin McPhillips
1995–2000: Joel Tudor wins 6 in a row
2001: Josh Baxter
2002: Joel Tudor [7]
2003: Taylor Jensen
2004: Brendan White
2005: Joel Tudor [8]
2006: Dodger Kremel
2007: Colin McPhillips [2]
2008: Taylor Jensen [2]
2009: No competition
2010: Stephen Mangiacapre[11]
Awards [edit]
Notable people are inducted into Surfing Walk of Fame and Surfers' Hall of Fame each year during the U.S. Open. The Walk of Fame has plaques imbedded in the sidewalk, while the Hall of Fame has handprints. Each are located across the street from one another and across Pacific Coast Highway from the Huntington Beach Pier.
Surfing Walk of Fame [edit]
Every year the Surfing Walk of Fame at Huntington Beach inducts members in the categories of surf pioneers, surfing champions, local heroes, surf culture, woman of the year, and honor roll. Eligibility for each award are as follows:
- The surf champion must have held the world championship and/or world class event titles specific to the city of Huntington Beach.
- Woman of the Year winners are chosen based on who garners the most collective votes from the surfing champions, surfing culture, surf pioneers, and local heroes categories.
- Local Hero award winners have either resided in Huntington Beach for ten years or graduated from the Huntington Beach Union High School District and were finalists in the surfing champions category, contributed to Huntington Beach surfing culture, were surf pioneers in the city, or were champions of the annual Huntington Beach City Championships.
| Year | Surfing Champion | Woman of the Year | Local Hero | Surf Pioneer | Surf Culture | Honor Roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sean Colllins[12] | Stacy Wood, Dwyer Middle School surf coach[13] | ||||
| 2011[14] | Rob Machado | Debbie Beacham Kathy "Gidget" Kohner |
Bill Fury | Skip Frye | Dick Dale | Hole in the Wall Gang surf team |
| 2010 | Sunny Garcia, Ian Cairns | Candy Calhoun | Rick "Rockin Fig" Fignetti | Dewey Weber | Dave Rochlen | Dick Baker |
| 2009 | Mark Martinson | Wendy Botha | Jackie Baxter | Fred Hemmings | Duke Boyd | 50 Years at the HB Pier (Men's and Women's) |
| 2008 | Andy Irons | Lynne Boyer | Rich Chew | |||
| 2007 | Midget Farrelly | Mimi Munro | Scott Farnsworth | |||
| 2006 | L.J. Richards | Layne Beachley | Bob "The Greek" Bolen | |||
| 2005 | David Nuuhiwa | Kim Hamrock | Carl Hayward | |||
| 2004 | Corky Carroll | Lisa Anderson | Rick Harbour | |||
| 2003 | Martin Potter | Marge Calhoun | Chuck Linnen | |||
| 2002 | Kelly Slater | Kim Mearig | Brad Gerlach | |||
| 2001 | Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew | Janice Aragon | David Nuuhiwa | |||
| 2000 | Mark Occhilupo | Nancy Katin | Bud Llamas | |||
| 1999 | Tom Carroll | Jericho Poppler | Jack Haley | |||
| 1998 | Peter "PT" Townend | Frieda Zamba | Chuck Dent | |||
| 1997 | Shaun Tomson | Linda Benson | Gordie Duane | |||
| 1996 | Nat Young | Rell Sunn | Corky Carroll | |||
| 1995 | Tom Curren | Margo Oberg | Herbie Fletcher | |||
| 1994 | Mark Richard | Joyce Hoffman | Robert August |
Surfers' Hall of Fame [edit]
Inductees by year are as follows:[15]
- 2012: Rabbit Kekai, Dane Reynolds, Andy Verdone
- 2011: George Downing, Chuck Linnen, Simon Anderson, Taylor Knox
- 2010: Stephanie Gilmore, Ian Cairns, Randy Lewis
- 2009: Dick Baker, Chris Hawk, Joey Buran, Pat O'Connell, Bruce Brown, Jeff Hakman
References [edit]
- ^ a b Connelly, Laylan (July 28, 2011). "Biggest show on surf". The Orange County Register.
- ^ Sciacca, Mike (August 2, 2012). "Simpson wins his heats". Huntington Beach Independent. p. A1. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ^ "Surf City USA Surfing Culture". City of Huntington Beach web site. Retrieved July 23, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Fletcher, Jaimee Lynn; Connelly, Laylan (September 8, 2011). "25 years later, lessons from surf riot still apply". Huntington Beach Wave. p. 3.
- ^ Connelly, Laylan (July 31, 2011). "U.S. Open Rides In". The Orange County Register.
- ^ U.S. Open Champions
- ^ Connelly, Laylan; Roy, Bryan (July 25, 2009). "O.C.'s Courtney Conlogue wins U.S. women's surf title". The Orange County Register. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
- ^ Connelly, Laylan (August 8, 2010). "O.C.’s Simpson claims U.S. Open title, again!". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ Connelly, Laylan (August 5, 2012). "U.S. Open of Surfing champs crowned in Huntington Beach". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ [1] Huntington Beach Independent
- ^ [2] cb surf shop
- ^ Mike Cianciulli,Surfline.com, August 2, 2012, "Sean Collins Inducted into Surfing Walk of Fame". Retrieved August 30, 2012.
- ^ Connelly, Laylan (August 9, 2012). "H.B.'s Igarashi takes second". Huntington Beach Wave. p. 15.
- ^ Carroll, Corky (June 9, 2011). "Walk of Fame inductee list one of the best ever". The Orange County Register.
- ^ "Surfers' Hall of Fame". Huntington Surf & Sport website. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
