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 Huntington Beach Pier is a municipal pier located in Huntington Beach, California, at the west end of Main Street and west of Pacific Coast Highway. At in length, it is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. (The longest is Ocea ...

, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the

World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, 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 Prof ...

and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...

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 Joyce Hoffman (born 1946/47) is an American surfer, considered a pioneer in her sport. She is often regarded as the first female international surfing star and was one of the first inductees of the International Surfing Hall of Fame. In 1968 she ...

1966: Corky Carroll,

1967: Corky Carroll,

1968: David Nuuhiwa, Linda Benson 1969: Corky Carroll, Sharron Weber 1970: David Nuuhiwa,

1971: Brad McCaul, Jericho Poppler 1972: Dale Dobson, Mary Setterholm

Op Pro Champions

1982: Cheyne Horan, Becky Benson 1983:

Tom Curren Tom Curren is an American surfer. Professional career By the time Curren joined the ASP World Tour in 1983, he was competing with professionals such as Rabbit Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, and Cheyne Horan. He was world champion A world c ...

, Kim Mearig 1984:

, Frieda Zamba 1985: Mark Occhilupo, Jodie Cooper 1986: Mark Occhilupo, Frieda Zamba 1987: Barton Lynch,

Wendy Botha Wendy Botha (born 22 August 1965) is a four-time world surfing champion. She won her first title as a South African citizen in 1987, then she became an Australian citizen and won three more titles in 1989, 1991, and 1992. She also posed nude f ...

1988:

, 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 Robert Edward Machado (born October 16, 1973) is an Australian-born American professional surfer. Early life Machado attended San Dieguito High School. He describes himself in interviews, vlogs and social media as a "soul surfer," or fre ...

, Neridah Falconer 1996: Kelly Slater, Layne Beachley 1997: Beau Emerton, Rochelle Ballard 1998:

Andy Irons Philip Andrew Irons (July 24, 1978November 2, 2010) was an American professional surfer. Irons began surfing with his brother Bruce on the shallow and dangerous waves of Kauai, Hawaii, before being spotted by a local surfboard brand and flown to ...

, Layne Beachley 1999: Shea Lopez,

Keala Kennelly Keala Kennelly (born August 13, 1978) is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on thASP World Championship Tour (WCT) Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her p ...

2000: Sunny Garcia, Tita Tavares 2001:

, Pauline Menczer 2002: Kalani Robb, Pauline Menczer 2003: Cory Lopez, Chelsea Georgeson 2004: Taj Burrow, Chelsea Georgeson 2005:

, 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 ...

, Stephanie Gilmore 2008: Nathaniel Curran, Malia Manuel 2009: Brett Simpson, Courtney Conlogue 2010: Brett Simpson,

Carissa Moore Carissa Kainani Moore (born August 27, 1992) is a Hawaiian American Olympian, world champion surfer and activist. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic Gold Medal in women's short board surfing in 2020. She was also the 2011, 2013, 20 ...

2011: Kelly Slater, Sally Fitzgibbons 2012: Julian Wilson, Lakey Peterson 2013: Alejo Muniz,

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

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: *2022: Peter Mel, Martin Daly, Michele Turner *2019: Janice Aragon,

Kai Lenny Kai Lenny (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional big wave surfer, stand-up paddle (SUP) surfer and racer, surfer, tow-in surfer, windsurfer, kitesurfer, wing foiler and celebrity watersports enthusiast. Lenny lives on Maui. ...

, Sam Hawk *2018: Ben Aipa, Herbie Fletcher, Brett Simpson *2017: Mick Fanning, Bethany Hamilton *2016: Blaine "Sumo" Sato,

Shawn Stussy Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' () ...

, Ryan Turner *2015: Gordon "Grubby" Clark,

, John Davis *2014: Timmy Turner,

, Rusty Preisendorfer *2013: Skip Frye, Rick "Rockin' Fig" Fignetti, Shane Dorian *2012:

Rabbit Kekai Albert "Rabbit" Kekai (November 11, 1920 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional surfer and one of the original innovators of modern surfing. He was a dominant master of the sport in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, and was also a winner of ...

Dane Reynolds Dane Reynolds (born September 7, 1985 in Long Beach, California) is an American professional surfer from Ventura, California. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers. Biography ...

, Andy Verdone *2011: George Downing, Chuck Linnen,

Simon Anderson Simon Anderson (born 7 July 1954) is an Australian competitive surfer, surfboard shaper, and writer. He is credited with the 1980 invention of a three-fin surfboard design, called the "thruster". Early life Anderson grew up in the Northern B ...

, 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,

, 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:

Shaun Tomson Shaun Tomson (born 21 August 1955) is a South African professional surfer and former world champion, environmentalist, actor, author, and businessman. He has been listed among the top 10 surfers of the century, and was the 1977 World Surfing C ...

, Jack O’Neill, Bud Llamas, Paul Strauch, Mike Doyle *2002:

Laird Hamilton Laird John Hamilton (born March 2, 1964) is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television ...

, Lisa Andersen, Kelly Slater, Joel Tudor, Robert “Wingnut” Weaver,

Robert August Robert August (born 1945) is an American surfer and surfboard shaper. Raised in Seal Beach, California, he attended Huntington Beach High School where he was ASB President his senior year. He is most famous as one of the subjects of Bruce Brow ...

, Corky Carroll

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