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 World Surf League and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by IMG since 2000.
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.
Video US Open of Surfing
History
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 renamed the U.S. Open of Surfing in 1994.
The contest was traditionally held during Labor Day weekend. The event was changed to an earlier date following the 1986 event when riots occurred at the OP Pro.
Rioting again marred the 2013 U.S. Open. On the final day of the event, as the crowds left the contest area and filled Main Street, a civil disturbance erupted, resulting in property damage and several arrests and some injuries. As a result, the event owner IMG stated that in 2014 it will discontinue events such as free concerts and focus more on the sport.
Spending at the nine-day event adds $21.5 million to the Orange County economy and $16.4 million in Huntington Beach. It is attended by nearly 500,000 people.
Maps US Open of Surfing
Champions
West Coast Surfing Champions
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
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, Sharron Weber
1970: David Nuuhiwa, Joyce Hoffman
1971: Brad McCaul, Jericho Poppler
1972: Dale Dobson, Mary Setterholm
Op Pro Champions
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
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
2009: Brett Simpson, Courtney Conlogue
2010: Brett Simpson, Carissa Moore
2011: Kelly Slater, Sally Fitzgibbons
2012: Julian Wilson, Lakey Peterson
2013: Alejo Muniz, Carissa Moore
2014: Filipe Toledo, Tyler Wright
2015: Hiroto Ohhara, Johanne Defay
2016: Filipe Toledo, Tatiana Weston-Webb
2017: Kanoa Igarashi, Sage Erickson
U.S. Open of Longboarding Champions
Awards
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
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.
Surfers' Hall of Fame
Inductees by year are as follows:
- 2017: Mick Fanning, Bethany Hamilton
- 2016: Blaine "Sumo" Sato, Shawn Stussy, Ryan Turner
- 2015: Gordon "Grubby" Clark, C.J. Hobgood, John Davis
- 2014: Timmy Turner, Carissa Moore, Rusty Preisendorfer
- 2013: Skip Frye, Rick "Rockin' Fig" Fignetti, Shane Dorian
- 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
- 2008: Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew, Sean Collins, Brad Gerlach, Mike Parsons
- 2007: Martin Potter, Bruce Irons, Al Merrick, Sofia Mulanovich
- 2006: Layne Beachley, Bob Hurley, Rob Machado, Greg Noll
- 2005: Carl Hayward, Tom Carroll, Bob McKnight, Mark Richards
- 2004: David Nuuhiwa, Jack Haley, Jericho Poppler, Mark Occhilupo, Peter Townend, Gerry Lopez
- 2003: Andy Irons, Shaun Tomson, Tom Curren, Jack O'Neill, Bud Llamas, Paul Strauch, Mike Doyle
- 2002: Laird Hamilton, Lisa Andersen, Kelly Slater, Joel Tudor, Robert "Wingnut" Weaver, Robert August, Corky Carroll
References
External links
- Official Website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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