Misplaced Pages

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.

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.

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

2018: Kanoa Igarashi, Courtney Conlogue

2019: Yago Dora, Sage Erickson

2020: Cancelled

2021: Griffin Colapinto, Caitlin Simmers

2022: Ezekiel Lau, Bettylou Sakura Johnson

2023: Eli Hanneman, Sawyer Lindblad

2024: Alan Cleland, Sally Fitzgibbons

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:

• 2024: Jeff Deffenbaugh, Jamie O’Brien, Ilima Kalama, Sugar the Surfing Dog (inducted in December 2024)
• 2022: Peter Mel, Martin Daly, Michele Turner
• 2019: Janice Aragon, Kai Lenny, Sam Hawk
• 2018: Ben Aipa, Herbie Fletcher, Brett Simpson
• 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 "PT" 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

1. "Men's Vans US Open of Surfing". World Surf League. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
2. ^ Connelly, Laylan (July 28, 2011). "Biggest show on surf". Orange County Register.
3. Sciacca, Mike (August 2, 2012). "Simpson wins his heats". Huntington Beach Independent. p. A1. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
4. "IMG Buys U.S. Open Of Surfing From Bluetorch". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
5. "Vans US Open of Surfing confirmed on WSL schedule". shop-eat-surf.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
6. "History Of The Us Open Of Surfing". City of Huntington Beach web site. Surfing News Daily. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
7. Fletcher, Jaimee Lynn; Connelly, Laylan (September 8, 2011). "25 years later, lessons from surf riot still apply". Huntington Beach Wave. p. 3.
8. Serna, Joseph; Foxhall, Emily (July 29, 2013). "Dramatic photos, videos of Huntington Beach rioting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
9. Fletcher, Jaimee Lynn; Connelly, Laylan (October 12, 2013). "Activities to be cut back for U.S. Open". Orange County Register. p. Local 4.
10. Connelly, Laylan (July 31, 2011). "U.S. Open Rides In". Orange County Register.
11. "U.S. Open Champions". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
12. Connelly, Laylan; Roy, Bryan (July 25, 2009). "O.C.'s Courtney Conlogue wins U.S. women's surf title". Orange County Register. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
13. Connelly, Laylan (August 8, 2010). "O.C.'s Simpson claims U.S. Open title, again!". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
14. Connelly, Laylan (August 5, 2012). "U.S. Open of Surfing champs crowned in Huntington Beach". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
15. Connelly, Laylan (August 1, 2013). "O.C. surfers both come up short at U.S. Open". Huntington Beach Wave. p. 5.
16. Connelly, Laylan (August 3, 2014). "Brazilian wins U.S. Open of Surfing". Orange County Register. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
17. Connelly, Laylan; Richcreek, Katie (August 3, 2015). "U.S. Open recap: Mellow vibe, lots of people watching and unexpected winners". Orange County Register. p. Sports 1. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
18. Connelly, Laylan (August 1, 2016). "U.S. Open of Surfing: Filipe Toledo tramples the competition to take top prize". Orange County Register. p. Sports 1. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
19. Connelly, Laylan (August 7, 2017). "Bringing It Home". Orange County Register. p. C1. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
20. Connelly, Laylan (August 5, 2019). "Riding Waves to Victory". Orange County Register. p. B1.
21. Connelly, Laylan (August 6, 2023). "San Clemente's Sawyer Lindblad, 17, wins US Open of Surfing". Orange County Register. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
22. Connelly, Laylan (August 12, 2024). "U.S. Open of Surfing has an action-packed finish". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
23. Huntington Beach Independent
24. cb surf shop
25. ^ Connelly, Laylan (August 9, 2024). "Surfing Walk of Fame marks 30 years with stories, memories shared". The Orange County Register. p. A3. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
26. ^ Connelly, Laylan (July 11, 2019). "Top pro Conlogue among this year's inductees into Surfing Walk of Fame". Huntington Beach Wave. The Orange County Register. p. A6.
27. ^ "Huntington's Surfing Walk of Fame welcomes new inductees". Daily Pilot. Los Angeles Times. August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
28. ^ Connelly, Laylan (June 30, 2016). "Bob Hurley, Mary Lou McGinnis Drummy among Orange County surf icons to be honored at Walk of Fame". Orange County Register. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
29. "Honor Roll". Surfing Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
30. ^ Carpio, Anthony Clark (July 30, 2015). "9 stars of surf join Huntington Beach shrines". Huntington Beach Independent. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
31. ^ "Surf Champion". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
32. ^ "Woman of the Year". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
33. ^ "Local Hero". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
34. ^ "Surf Pioneer". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
35. ^ "Surf Culture". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
36. ^ "Honor Roll". Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
37. "2013 Surfing Walk of Fame Inductees Announced" (Press release). Surfline. June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
38. Mike Cianciulli,Surfline.com, August 2, 2012, "Sean Collins Inducted into Surfing Walk of Fame". Retrieved August 30, 2012.
39. Connelly, Laylan (August 9, 2012). "H.B.'s Igarashi takes second". Huntington Beach Wave. p. 15.
40. Carroll, Corky (June 9, 2011). "Walk of Fame inductee list one of the best ever". Orange County Register.
41. Szabo, Matt (August 2, 2024). "Jeff Deffenbaugh, Jamie O'Brien and Ilima Kalama inducted into Surfers' Hall of Fame". Daily Pilot. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
42. Szabo, Matt (December 5, 2024). "Huntington Beach's Sugar the Surfing Dog enters Surfers' Hall of Fame". Daily Pilot. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
43. Szabo, Matt (May 4, 2022). "Huntington Beach to celebrate 25th anniversary of Surfers' Hall of Fame with three inductees". Daily Pilot. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
44. Kingsbury, Mike (July 9, 2018). "Surfer's Hall of Fame to induct Ben Aipa, Herbie Fletcher, and Brett Simpson". Vans US Open of Surfing Website. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
45. Connelly, Laylan (August 4, 2017). "'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton and champ Mick Fanning inducted into Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach". Orange County Register. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
46. Connelly, Laylan (June 19, 2016). "Surfers' Hall of Fame announces 2016 class". Orange County Register. p. Local 4.
47. Carroll, Corky (July 23, 2015). "Hall of Fame induction ceremony to feature stars and legends". Huntington Beach Wave. Orange County Register. p. 6.
48. "Surfers' Hall of Fame". Huntington Surf & Sport website. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
49. "The Surfers' Hall of Fame Announces its 2014 Inductees". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
50. "The Surfers' Hall of Fame Announces its 2013 Inductees". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
51. "Surfers' Hall of Fame – 15th Anniversary". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
52. "Category Archives: 2011". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
53. "Category Archives: 2010". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
54. "Category Archives: 2009". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
55. "Category Archives: 2008". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
56. "Category Archives: 2007". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
57. "Category Archives: 2006". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
58. "Category Archives: 2005". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
59. "Category Archives: 2004". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
60. "Category Archives: 2003". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
61. "Category Archives: 2002". Retrieved November 4, 2014.

External links

• Official Website

• World Surf League
• Surfing competitions in California
• Surfing in the United States
• Tourist attractions in Orange County, California
• Sports in Huntington Beach, California
• 1959 establishments in California
• Recurring sporting events established in 1959