US Open of Surfing
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 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: Surfers' Hall of Fame. Inductees by year are as follows: