The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship is named in honor of the "Father of Modern Surfing", Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku. The contest began in 1965 by invitation only at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

until it was replaced by the

Billabong Pro The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional ...

in 1985. The championship was the first surfing event to be broadcast on a regular basis by ABC's '' Wide World of Sports''. Two dozen of the best surfers in the world attended the first championship with big-wave surfers like Greg Noll and Fred Hemmings as competitors. Surfer Jeff Hakman was only seventeen when he claimed his first title. Noll's streamlined, Semigun surfboard

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

became the board of choice for contestants riding the Sunset Beach waves, with Ricky Grigg riding a Semigun to victory. Duke Kahanamoku handed out golden "Duke" statues to the winners for the first three years before he died on January 22, 1968. The first

native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

to win the championship was Clyde Aikau, in 1973, followed in 1977 by his older brother,

Eddie Aikau Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau (Kahului, Hawaii, May 5, 1946 – March 17, 1978) was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaii ...

Winners. 1960

Awards from 1965 to 1984: *1965 Jeff Hakman *1966 Ricky Grigg *1967 Jock Sutherland *1968

Mike Doyle Michael, Mick or Mike Doyle may refer to: Politics * Michael Doyle (Irish politician), Irish Farmers' Party politician from Wexford, TD from 1922 to 1927 *Michael Doyle, alleged member of the Molly Maguires *Mike Doyle (American politician) (born ...

*1969 Joey Cabell *1970 Jeff Hakman *1971 Jeff Hakman *1972 James Jones *1973

Clyde Aikau Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

*1974 Larry Bertleman *1975 Ian Cairns *1976 James Jones *1977

*1978 Michael Ho *1979 Mark Richards *1980 Mark Warren *1981 Michael Ho *1982 Ken Bradshaw *1983

Dane Kealoha Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the name ...

*1984 Derek Ho

References

External links

www.hawaiianswimboat.comwww.surfline.com
Surfing competitions in Hawaii Recurring sporting events established in 1965 Recurring events disestablished in 1985 1965 establishments in Hawaii 1985 disestablishments in Hawaii Sports in Oahu {{Hawaii-sport-stub