The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

. 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 Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. (Ocean Pacific or OP) is a clothing company based in Irvine, California, United States. It produces T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and beverage mugs. History The first "Ocean Pacific" trademark brand was started by ...

. 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 Corky Carroll (born September 29, 1947) is a professional American surfer and is considered a pioneer in the sport by becoming the first real professional surfer as well as being the first to make paid endorsements. Life and career Carroll sta ...

, Joyce Hoffman 1967:

, Joyce Hoffman 1968:

David Nuuhiwa David Kealohalani Nuuhiwa III (more commonly known as David Nuuhiwa) is a Hawaiian surfer. Life Nuuhiwa was born in 1948 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of a Waikiki beachboy and martial arts instructor, and began surfing at age five, one year a ...

, Linda Benson 1969:

Sharron Weber Sharron Weber, an American surfer, won the women's world surfing championship in 1970 when it was held in Australia. She was the fifth women to hold that title. In 1972, Sharron Weber won the International Surfing Federation's (which was later rep ...

1970:

, 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 Frieda Zamba is a four-time world surfing champion from the United States. She won three titles in a row from 1984 to 1986, then won again in 1988. She lives in Costa Rica. Frieda Zamba was the youngest female to win a pro tour contest and the ...

1985: Mark Occhilupo, Jodie Cooper 1986: Mark Occhilupo,

1987: Barton Lynch, Wendy Botha 1988: Tom Curren, Jorja Smith 1989:

Richie Collins Richard Graham Collins (born 2 March 1962) is a former international Wales rugby union player. Originally a police officer, he started playing club rugby for South Wales Police RFC, and later Newport RFC, Cardiff RFC, Pontypridd RFC (he also coa ...

1990: Todd Holland,

1991: Barton Lynch,

1992: Team USA (

Kelly Slater Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is also ...

, Richie Collins, Todd Holland, Mike Parsons, Alisa Schwarzstein) 1993:

Sunny Garcia Vincent Sennen "Sunny" Garcia (born January 14, 1970) is an American professional surfer. He grew up in Waianae, Hawaii and, after leaving school, debuted on the 1986 Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach, Oahu, beating the 1984 champ Tom Carroll. His to ...

, Kim Mearig

U.S. Open Champions

1994: Shane Beschen,

Lisa Andersen Lisa Andersen (born March 8, 1969) is an American four-time world surfing champion. She won four successive world titles from 1994 to 1997. She was named ASP's Rookie of the Year in 1987. She was named as one of the 100 "Greatest Sportswomen of ...

1995: Rob Machado, Neridah Falconer 1996:

Layne Beachley Layne Collette Beachley (born 24 May 1972) is a former professional surfer from Manly, New South Wales. She won the World Championship seven times. Currently she is the chair of Surfing Australia. Surfing career At the age of 16 Beachley ...

1997: Beau Emerton, Rochelle Ballard 1998: Andy Irons,

1999: Shea Lopez, Keala Kennelly 2000:

, Tita Tavares 2001: Rob Machado, Pauline Menczer 2002: Kalani Robb, Pauline Menczer 2003: Cory Lopez,

Chelsea Georgeson Chelsea Georgeson (now Chelsea Hedges) (born 15 October 1983) is an Australian surfer who won the world title in 2005. She won the title after beating Brazil's Jacqueline Silva in the final at the season-ending event at Honolua Bay, Hawaii ...

2004:

Taj Burrow Taj Burrow (born 2 June 1978) is an Australian retired professional surfer. Taj retired from the WSL World Tour in June 2016 where he left a legacy of power and impressive surfing. Early life Burrow was born in Yallingup, Western Australia, A ...

2005: Andy Irons, Julia Christian 2006: Rob Machado, Sofia Mulanovich 2007:

C.J. Hobgood Clifton James "C.J." Hobgood (born July 6, 1979) is an Association of Surfing Professionals(ASP) World Championship surfer. He has a twin brother, Damien. They both compete in top-tier professional surfing events around the world. C.J. Hobgood e ...

Stephanie Gilmore Stephanie Louise Gilmore (29 January 1988) is an Australian professional surfer and eight-time world champion on the Women's WSL World Tour (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022). Career Gilmore's life as a surfer began at age 9 wh ...

2008: Nathaniel Curran, Malia Manuel 2009:

Brett Simpson Brett Simpson is an American surfer and coach from Huntington Beach, California. He is the inaugural head coach of the United States Olympic surfing team. As a surfer, he won the 2009 U.S. Open of Surfing The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-lo ...

, Courtney Conlogue 2010: Brett Simpson, Carissa Moore 2011:

Sally Fitzgibbons Sally Jayne Fitzgibbons (born 19 December 1990) is an Australian professional surfer on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the R ...

2012: Julian Wilson,

Lakey Peterson Laura Louise "Lakey" Peterson (born September 30, 1994) is an American professional surfer. She has been ranked as high as #1 by the World Surf League, the highest professional level of women's surfing, and #6 on the ASP Women's World Ranking. I ...

2013: Alejo Muniz, Carissa Moore 2014:

Filipe Toledo Filipe Toledo (born April 16, 1995) is a Brazilian professional surfer who has competed on the World Surf League Men's World Tour since 2013. He’s a second-generation pro who grew up outside of Ubatuba, Brasil on the northeastern coast of the s ...

Tyler Wright Tyler Wright (born April 6, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in 613 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He currently serves as director ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Hiroto Ohhara Hiroto Ohhara (大原洋人, ''Ōhara Hiroto'', born 14 November 1996 in Chiba) is a Japanese surfer. He placed 4th overall at the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games, earning qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He competed in the men's shor ...

, Johanne Defay 2016:

Tatiana Weston-Webb Tatiana Guimaraes Weston-Webb dos Santos (born May 9, 1996) is a Brazilian–American surfer based in Kauai, Hawaii. She was the only rookie on the WCT ( professional surfing) (World Championship Tour) in 2015. Weston-Webb wears jersey numbe ...

2017: Kanoa Igarashi,

Sage Erickson Sage Erickson (born December 28, 1990) is an American professional surfer born in Ojai, California, United States. Career At the age of nine, Erickson moved to the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. When she was 11, at Sunset Beach with her family, she p ...

2018: Kanoa Igarashi, Courtney Conlogue 2019: Yago Dora, Sage Erickson 2020: Cancelled 2021: Griffin Colapinto, Caitlin Simmers

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 Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish ...

, 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 The Huntington Beach Union High School District (HBUHSD) is a public school district serving portions of the Orange County cities of Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, and Westminster. It oversees eleven sites, offering courses f ...

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: *2022:

Peter Mel Peter Mel (born November 24, 1969, in Santa Cruz, California), is an American professional surfer. Mel began his surfing life in Capitola, California before moving on to Santa Cruz. He is known as a 'big wave' surfer and son of John Mel, a four ...

, Martin Daly, Michele Turner *2019: Janice Aragon, Kai Lenny, Sam Hawk *2018: Ben Aipa, Herbie Fletcher,

*2017: Mick Fanning,

Bethany Hamilton Bethany Meilani Hamilton (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off and who ultimately returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her exper ...

*2016: Blaine "Sumo" Sato, Shawn Stussy, Ryan Turner *2015: Gordon "Grubby" Clark,

, John Davis *2014: Timmy Turner, Carissa Moore, Rusty Preisendorfer *2013:

Skip Frye Skip Frye (born Harry Richard Frye; September 7, 1941 in San Diego, California) is an American surfer, surfboard designer and shaper, and environmental activist. Background Frye attended Mission Bay High School and began his professional surfi ...

, Rick "Rockin' Fig" Fignetti,

Shane Dorian Patrick Shane Dorian (born July 19, 1972), or "Shane", is an American surfer from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He spent 11 years touring on the World Championship Tour as a professional surfer. Dorian quit competition surfing in 2003 to focus on big w ...

*2012: Rabbit Kekai, Dane Reynolds, Andy Verdone *2011: George Downing, Chuck Linnen, Simon Anderson, Taylor Knox *2010:

Ian Cairns Ian Cairns (born 24 July 1952 in Kew, Victoria) is a former champion surfer who was also influential in establishing the world professional surfing circuit and particularly the World Championship Tour. He was described as "the premier "power ...

, Randy Lewis *2009: Dick Baker,

Chris Hawk Christopher Lee Hawk (February 16, 1951 – October 23, 2009) was an American surfer and board shaper. Hawk was born in Maywood, California in 1951. During the 1980s, he became a surfboard shaper, and his boards were popular among locals in ...

, Joey Buran, Pat O'Connell, Bruce Brown,

Jeff Hakman Jeffrey "Jeff" Hakman is a world surfing champion, now a businessman, who together with friend Bob McKnight convinced Alan Green, the co founder of Quiksilver (then a small surf company from Torquay, Australia) to allow them the rights to trade th ...

*2008: Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, Sean Collins, Brad Gerlach, Mike Parsons *2007: Martin Potter, Bruce Irons, Al Merrick, Sofia Mulanovich *2006:

, Bob Hurley, Rob Machado, Greg Noll *2005: Carl Hayward, Tom Carroll,

Bob McKnight Robert McKnight (March 19, 1938 – March 21, 2021) was an ice hockey player who played for the Canadian national team. He won a silver medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Game ...

, Mark Richards *2004:

, Jack Haley, Jericho Poppler, Mark Occhilupo, Peter "PT" Townend,

Gerry Lopez Gerry Lopez (born November 7, 1948), aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor. Early life Lopez was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, grew up in East Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, and attended Punahou School. He frequen ...

*2003: Andy Irons, Shaun Tomson, Tom Curren, Jack O’Neill, Bud Llamas, Paul Strauch, Mike Doyle *2002: Laird Hamilton,

Joel Tudor Joel Tudor is a surfer, primarily known for longboarding, and competitive grappler from San Diego, California. Biography Professional Surf career Tudor became a professional surfer at 14 and won his first professional ASP competition at age ...

, Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, Robert August,

References

External links

Official Website
{{Huntington Beach, California 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