The World Surfing Champion is a title awarded annually to the best competition surfer for the year, today based on points earned for placings at events on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ASP World Tour. A qualification system decides who can compete on the tour, for a total of 44 men (called the top 44) and 16 women.
The earliest world titles were amateur events decided by a single event, open to all comers, and were held only intermittently. The first was at Manly in Sydney in 1964. The second was held in Lima, Peru in 1965.
From 1973 to 1975, there was no amateur championship held. The International Surfing Federation had been unable to establish a format or sponsorship and concurrent with this the new professional era was dawning.
1968 World Champion Fred Hemmings, retired from competition and began his career as an event promoter and ran the Smirnoff Rip Curl World Pro/Am that became the defacto professional World Championship from 1970 through 1975. The winners were; 1970: Nat Young (Australia), 1971: Gavin Rudolph (South Africa), 1972: Paul Neilsen (Australia), 1973: Ian Cairns (Australia), 1974: Reno Abellira (Hawaii) and 1975: Mark Richards (Australia).
In 1976 the International Professional Surfing (IPS) organisation was formed by the 1968 champion, turned promoter, Fred Hemmings. It put together an annual tour of 12 events around the world with a points system for event placings to decide a ratings winner at the end. This is the format used today by the ASP.
Peter Townend and Ian Cairns devised the points scoring system, shamelessly (as PT put it) appropriating the way Formula One motor racing did it. Townend also ended up the winner that first year (1976) with Cairns finishing in second.
In early years the title brought honour but only modest financial rewards in extra sponsorship etc, and not all professional surfers had it as their goal. In 1979 for instance when Mark Richards won he hadn't even attended all the events, reckoning it better to concentrate on his board shaping business than travel for the South African leg.
In 1982, following a less than positive experience with the IPS at the new Op Pro, Ian Cairns formed the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) which crowned its first champion, Tom Carroll, in 1983. The ASP continues as the worldwide sanctioning body for professional surfing.
In 1999, Mark Occhilupo's win was a remarkable comeback. He'd been on the tour about 10 years earlier but had abandoned it, then returned stronger than ever.
In 2001 the ASP cut the tour short after the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11, on surfers' fears for their safety at competitions. The ratings leader C. J. Hobgood was declared the championship winner.
As with almost every any sport there's an element of fortune needed in surfing competitions. The competition format, types of waves and human judging all have an effect, which leaves plenty of room for speculation about excellent surfers who never won a title, or could have won more.
Mark Richards' record of 4 titles above and below 1979 to 1983 stood until 1997 when Kelly Slater took his 5th. It was joked that it'd taken so long Richards was scarcely remembered by young fans and was known to them only as "that guy whose record Kelly beat". Slater's 7th win in 2005 made him both the youngest and oldest champion.
Frieda Zamba, Wendy Botha and Lisa Anderson all took 4 women's titles. Layne Beachley has won seven titles in her career, making her the most dominant female professional surfer in the sport's history.
Before learning any fancy skills on your board, first you need to catch a wave. With experience, you will be able to identify a wave on the horizon that is relatively easy to catch, then it is a case of paddling hard to match its speed. You will feel the wave carrying you forward, then stand on your board (‘pop-up’) and keep your balance! Usually you aim to ride the wave just ahead of the white water, the ‘curl’. Catching waves and getting to your feet are the fundamentals and can take considerable practice.
Once you feel you have mastered the basics, it may be time to try out a few moves like turning and carving. If you’re a beginner, you’re most likely using a longboard, which are great for tricks like ‘hang five’ – one foot at the front of the board with your toes just over the edge - or ‘hang ten’ / ‘nose riding’ – both feet at the front and all toes over the edge. Other board stances include ‘goofy foot’ – left foot at back of board or ‘hang heels’ – facing backward with your heels over the edge.
Probably the most common maneuver is the ‘cutback’ which is basically turning back towards the breaking part of the wave. To ‘fade’, aim toward the breaking part of the wave, then turn sharply and surf in the direction the wave is breaking towards. Try a ‘floater’ – where you ride on top of the breaking curl and the come down with it – or ‘off the lip’ – where you bank off the top of the wave. ‘Pumping’ is an up and down carving movement that helps build speed or you can ‘stall’ by shifting your weight to the tail of the board or putting a hand in the water to slow you down.
You need to watch more experienced surfers to pick up these moves and be prepared to wipeout (perhaps MANY times) on your first attempts. The best way to learn is through experience so get out there!
For more information about surfing or to find products, including your favourite surf brands at great prices, visit http://surfingstoreonline.info
Have you ever wanted to know what it was like to surf, but didn't have a beach near you? Now there is actually a way for you to do this. What you need, basically, is a cylinder and a board. You place the cylinder on the ground, put the board on the cylinder, and then get on the board and balance yourself in mid air. It sounds a little crazy, maybe even a little too simple, but there's actually a product available for this, and it's called an Indo Board. By standing on this board and balancing yourself in the air, you can learn to balance yourself just like you would need to do on a skate board or a surf board. You can use one of these indoor balance boards to improve your current skating, your current surfing, or to prepare to learn one or the other.
Balance Boards Offer Tons of New Tricks
However, people who have an indoor balance board are discovering that while it does enhance their skating and surfing, it's also a fun sport all on its own. There are many videos online that show people of all ages doing all kinds of tricks on their indoor board. From hanging ten, walking from one end to the other, to ollying, or popping the board up in the air and then landing on it - still balanced on the cylinder - there are many tricks that can be learned.
Improve Skating and Surfing Balance
The indoor balance board is great for everyone who wants to have some fun on a board, whether you already skate or surf, or if you just want to find out if you have what it takes to get started in those sports. With this board, you can now learn to balance a skate board or surf board without getting scraped up on pavement and without even getting wet. The indoor board can be mastered right in your own living room, and it's a lot of fun to play with even on those days when the surf is flat or when it's too rainy to skate.
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Discover more about surfing and the Indo Board and how it can help your balance!
If you are a water sports lover and want to try out something you have haven't done before, stand up paddle boarding is the best option for you.
The watersport involves standing on an extra large surfboard and directing it through a long paddle that is held by the hand. The game was initially started in 1960s but the modern incarnation of the sport came in 2002. The larger size of surfing board in comparison to the regular ones and an extra speed gained by paddling helps in getting through a lot more waves and facing more exhilarating turns.
The sport is actually targeted at the windsurfers who are used to stand up on a board and want to get out of water when the wind is down. If you are using the surfing paddle with an increased length, it would be extra buoyant and you will be able to catch long rides, no matter what the conditions are.
In case you are just a beginner who is not able to surf, stand up paddle board surfing is ideal for you. It is also a great exercise for legs and arms. The moment you get the balance and a hang of the sport, surfing canals and rivers will not be a difficult thing for you. Learning a sport is not difficult but you need to practice a lot to get mastery on it. Here are some tips that will help you to surf on a stand up paddle board:
• You should always get into your surfing gear, even if it is a dry suit for cold water or a wet suit for the ocean. Ensure that the gear is comfortable and provides you flexibility in moving.
• When you are buying a paddle, make sure that it gives enough space to stand with your feet apart comfortably.
• You can practice stand up paddle surfing by placing the board on the ground or sand. It is always better to practice this a few times before hitting the water. Once you get used to stand on the board, you are ready to enjoy the sport. The paddle should be placed on the board.
• The next step is placing the board in shallow water. Try to float and sit on the board for sometime to get used to be on water. Now, it's the time to push out onto the water.
• One should always climb on the board by pulling the chest up first and then moving a foot on the board. Then slowly move the other foot on the board and make sure it's shoulder length apart from the first foot.
• Start paddling the moment you stand on the board. Focus more on balance and good body posture. Then move slowly at the beginning and go at your own pace after sometime.
• If you will keep the steps in mind, you will soon be able to ride off the high tides and enjoy stand up paddle surfing.
This years Barton Lynch Blast Off Presented by Hurley finished in massive 6 to 8 foot waves at Palm Beach. In stormy, solid waves surfers from 10 to 14 years of age battled the conditions to put on a show that left the former World Champion, Barton Lynch in awe.
' To see these kids down here at Palmy today handle the conditions the way they did leaves me absolutely speechless, last year on the final day of the event at Avalon i thought i had seen it all when the groms had to tackle 5 foot conditions but this year was just remarkable.
I honestly saw a few 10 footers out their today and some of the performances i saw took my breath away, there were 10 year old girls out there giving it everything, taking big drops and taking some big wipe outs but funnily enough they would always come in with a big smile on their face.
The event began on Monday in small conditions which were similar all week long up until today thanks to a strong southerly change over night. In a busy week that saw champions crowned in the Under 8's, Under 10's, Under 12's and Under 14's, all in boys and girl divisions, their were two perfect 10 point rides posted today, one by Russell Bierke and the other by Riley Cadman.
Blast Off
A School Holiday Program Like No Other. BL’s Blast Off is a pre junior surfing competition which is a fun-filled school holiday program designed and organised by 1988 World Surfing Champion Barton Lynch to celebrate the coming of summer and Australia’s rich surfing heritage. In it’s 4th year, Blast Off is for boys and girls 14 years and under and promises a holiday activity like no other.
The aim is to introduce young surfers to the world of competition in a friendly and encouraging environment that focuses on surf improvement and family fun. BL’s Blast Off is not about who wins but about having a blast with your family and friends and building community spirit.
Major sponsors include Hurley, Electric, Fantasea and The Crusty Demons, Chilli Surfboards, Beach Without Sand, Coastalwatch.com, Surfing World and Fuel TV. There is also a host of supporting sponsors
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Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay is coming off an historic day of competition that saw cranking surf, perfect scores and some major upsets. Today’s culmination will crown a champion by day’s end and play an important role in the 2009 ASP World Title race.
“We’ve got good surf coming in again although there is a little more wind on it this morning than I would prefer,” Mike Parsons, Billabong Pro Contest Director, said. “We’ll be getting underway at 7:30am with the first heats of the day and will be running through the Final this afternoon.”
Yesterday saw the elimination of ASP World Title contenders Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, C.J. Hobgood (USA), 30, and Taj Burrow (AUS), 31, with the remaining frontrunners all advancing through to the final day of competition.
Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, current ASP World No. 1, was in sensational form yesterday, netting a Perfect 10-point ride as well as several high-scoring 9s. The phenomenal natural-footer will take on current ASP World No. 6 Bobby Martinez (USA), 27, in Quarterfinal 2 this morning.
Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 9, was devastating in yesterday’s Round 2 match, collecting four 9-point-plus rides before he was finished. The four-time past winner of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will take on compatriot Taylor Knox (USA), 28, in Round 3 this morning.
First up today will be 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez (PYF), 23, against free-surfing wunderkind Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, in Heat 5 of Round 3.
