US Open of Surfing facts for kids
The U.S. Open of Surfing is a super exciting surfing contest that happens every summer in Huntington Beach, California. It lasts for a whole week! You can usually find it happening right next to the famous Huntington Beach Pier.
This event is a really big deal because it's part of how surfers qualify for the World Surf League. It's actually the biggest surfing competition in the whole world! A company called IMG has owned it since the year 2000.
During the U.S. Open, special ceremonies take place. Famous surfers get honored and added to the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfers' Hall of Fame. Both of these cool spots are right across the street from the pier.
Contents
History of the U.S. Open
The U.S. Open of Surfing has had a few different names over the years! It first started in 1959 and was called the West Coast Surfing Championship.
- In 1964, it changed its name to the United States Surfing Championships.
- Then, in 1982, it became known as the OP Pro. This was because of its sponsor, a company called Ocean Pacific.
- Finally, in 1994, it got its current name: the U.S. Open of Surfing.
The contest used to happen around Labor Day weekend. But after some crowd problems in 1986 and again in 2013, the event owners decided to change the date. They also decided to focus more on the surfing sport itself. This meant they stopped having other events like free concerts.
This big surfing event brings a lot of money to the local area. It adds about $21.5 million to the economy of Orange County. And about $16.4 million of that stays right in Huntington Beach. Nearly 500,000 people come to watch the event each year!
Champions Through the Years
Many amazing surfers have won the U.S. Open over the decades. Here are some of the champions from when the event had different names.
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
U.S. Open of Longboarding Champions
Longboarding is another cool style of surfing. Here are some of the champions who have won the U.S. Open for longboarding.
| Year | Pro Longboard Open |
|---|---|
| 2013-2016 Duct Tape Invitational |
Justin Quintal (wins 4 in a row) |
| 2012 Pacifico Noserider Invitational |
Justin Quintal |
| 2010-2011 Pacifico Noserider Invitational |
Joel Tudor (wins 2 in a row) |
| 2010 Trestles |
Steven Mangiacapre |
| 2009 Corona Noserider Invitational |
Kevin Connolly |
| 2008 | Taylor Jensen [2] |
| 2007 | Colin McPhillips [2] |
| 2006 | Dodger Kremel |
| 2005 | Joel Tudor [8] |
| 2004 | Brendan White |
| 2003 | Taylor Jensen |
| 2002 | Joel Tudor [7] |
| 2001 | Josh Baxter |
| 1995–2000 | Joel Tudor (wins 6 in a row) |
| 1994 | Colin McPhillips |
Awards and Honors
Every year during the U.S. Open, special awards are given to important people in surfing. These people are added to the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfers' Hall of Fame.
The Walk of Fame has cool plaques set into the sidewalk. The Hall of Fame has handprints of famous surfers. Both are located across the street from each other and across Pacific Coast Highway from the Huntington Beach Pier.
Surfing Walk of Fame
The Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach adds new members each year. They have different groups for the awards: surf pioneers, surfing champions, local heroes, surf culture contributors, woman of the year, and an honor roll.
Here's how people qualify for some of these awards:
- A surf champion must have won world championships or big events in Huntington Beach.
- The Woman of the Year is chosen by votes from people in the other award groups.
- Local Hero award winners have lived in Huntington Beach for at least ten years or went to high school there. They also need to have been finalists in surfing championships, helped the local surfing culture, been surf pioneers in the city, or won the Huntington Beach City Championships.
| Year | Surfing Champion | Woman of the Year | Local Hero | Surf Pioneer | Surf Culture | Honor Roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Derek Ho, Joel Tudor | Courtney Conlogue | Sam Hawk | Reynolds "Renny" Yater | Jeff Divine, Art Brewer | Don MacAllister |
| 2018 | ||||||
| 2017 | Barton Lynch | Pam Burridge | Timmy Reyes | Jeff Hakman | Jim Jenks | Huntington Beach High School 50th Anniversary Coaches |
| 2016 | C. J. Hobgood | Mary Lou McGinnis Drummy | Timmy Turner | Whitey Harrison, Joey Cabell | Bob Hurley | Women's International Surfing Association (WISA) |
| 2015 | Reno Abellira | Sofía Mulánovich | John Boozer | Paul Strauch | Dick Graham | David Nuuhiwa, Sr. |
| 2014 | Larry Bertlemann | Phyllis O'Donnell | Mike Haley | Randy Rarick | John Van Hamersveld | Vince Moorhouse |
| 2013 | Taylor Knox | Keala Kennelly Sharron Weber |
Roy Crump, journalist | Donald Takayama | Jack McCoy, filmmaker | Father Christian Mondor |
| 2012 | Michael Ho | Alisa Schwarzstein-Cairns | George Draper | Michael Peterson and Dick Brewer | Sean Collins | Stacy Wood, Dwyer Middle School surf coach |
| 2011 | Rob Machado | Debbie Beacham Kathy "Gidget" Kohner |
Bill Fury | Skip Frye | Dick Dale | Hole in the Wall Gang surf team |
| 2010 | Sunny Garcia, Ian Cairns | Candy Calhoun | Rick "Rockin Fig" Fignetti | Dewey Weber | Dave Rochlen | Dick Baker |
| 2009 | Mark Martinson | Wendy Botha | Jackie Baxter | Fred Hemmings | Duke Boyd | 50 Years at the HB Pier (Men's and Women's) |
| 2008 | Andy Irons | Lynne Boyer | Rich Chew | Buzzy Trent and Wayne Lynch | Drew Kampion | The NSSA Founders of 1978 |
| 2007 | Midget Farrelly | Mimi Munro | Scott Farnsworth | George Greenough | Bill and Bob Meistrell | The H.B. Boys of 55' |
| 2006 | L.J Richards | Layne Beachley | Bob "The Greek" Bolen | Mickey Muñoz | Walter & Phillip Hoffman | Jan Gaffney |
| 2005 | David Nuuhiwa | Kim Hamrock | Carl Hayward | Buffalo Keaulana | George Greenough | Paul Morrow |
| 2004 | Corky Carroll | Lisa Andersen | Rich Harbour | Pat Curren | Gordon Clark | Meg Bernardo |
| 2003 | Martin Potter | Marge Calhoun | Chuck Linnen | Mike Doyle | Larry "Flame" Moore and Tom Morey | Michelle Turner |
| 2002 | Kelly Slater | Kim Mearig | Brad Gerlach | Miki Dora | Steve Pezman | Andy Verdone |
| 2001 | Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew | Janice Aragon | David Nuuhiwa | Rabbit Kekai | Simon Anderson | Max Bowman |
| 2000 | Mark Occhilupo | Nancy Katin | Bud Llamas | Eddie Aikau and Gerry Lopez | MacGillivray Freeman | Mike Abdelmuti and George Farquhar |
| 1999 | Tom Carroll | Jericho Poppler | Jack Haley | George Downing | Leroy Grannis | Chuck Allen |
| 1998 | Peter "PT" Townend | Frieda Zamba | Chuck Dent | Dr. John Heath "Doc" Ball | Jack O'Neill | Ann Beasley and Natalie Kotsch |
| 1997 | Shaun Tomson | Linda Benson | Gordie Duane | Dale Velzy | Hobie Alter and Rick Griffin | Bud and Gordie Higgins |
| 1996 | Nat Young | Rell Sunn | Corky Carroll | Greg Noll | Bud Browne | Tom Pratte and John Rothrock |
| 1995 | Tom Curren | Margo Oberg | Herbie Fletcher | Phil Edwards | John Severson | Jack Hokanson |
| 1994 | Mark Richard | Joyce Hoffman | Robert August | Tom Blake and Honorary induction for Duke Kahanamoku, the "Father of Surfing" | Bruce Brown | None |
Surfers' Hall of Fame
Here are the people who have been added to the Surfers' Hall of Fame each year:
- 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
