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 [1] and was one of the first inductees of the International Surfing Hall of Fame. In 1968 she became the first woman to surf the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii.
Born in Dana Point, California, Hoffman started competing at an early age. She went on to win numerous honors including the US Surfing Championship for Women from 1965–67 and 1971, and the Makaha International Open in 1964 and 1966. In 1965, she was named LA Times Woman of the Year, making her the only surfer to ever win this honor. [2] Also that year she won the U.S. Women's championship (held in Huntington Beach), the World Championship (held in Lima, Peru) and the International Women's Surfing Championship (held in Makaha).
In 1966 she was voted best woman surfer in the world by the International Surfing Hall of Fame. [3] Hoffman was also the top vote getter for Surfing Magazine International Hall of Fame Awards in 1966 and 1967. In 1994 she was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame as that year's Woman of the Year; the Walk is in Huntington Beach, California. [4] There is a life-size statue and mural in Dana Point honoring Hoffman. [5]
She has also been a leading female motocross rider. [6]
Hoffman appeared as herself in the June 28, 1965 episode of To Tell the Truth , receiving two of the four possible votes. [7]
Layne Collette Beachley is an Australian former professional surfer from Manly, New South Wales. She won the World Championship seven times. Currently she is the chair of Surfing Australia.
Sofía Mulánovich Aljovín is a Peruvian surfer. She is a 3-time World Surfing Champion, 1 WSL and 2 ISA world championships,. She is the first Peruvian surfer ever to win a World Surf League World Championship Tour event and the first Latin American woman ever to win the World Title, which she did in 2004 In 2004, she won three out of the six World Championship Tour events, and finished the season as Absolute World Champion. Sofia is the only Latin-American surfer to win 2 ISA World Championships. Sofia won the ISA Championships, 2004 in Salinas-Ecuador and 2019 in Miyazaki-Japan. Her main sponsor is Roxy.
Fred Hemmings Jr. is an American surfer, author, businessman, and politician.
Sharron Weber, an American surfer, won the women's world surfing championship in 1970 when it was held in Australia. She was the fifth women to hold that title. In 1972, Sharron Weber won the International Surfing Federation's surfing world championship. She was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame as that year's Woman of the Year in 2013; the Walk is in Huntington Beach, California.
Margo Oberg was the first female professional surfer in the world. She won her first competition at the age of 11, won her first world title at 15, and became the first professional female surfer in 1975.
Frieda Zamba is a four-time world surfing champion from the United States. She won three titles in a row from 1984 to 1986, then won again in 1988. She lives in Costa Rica.
Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn was an American world surfing champion. Known as "Queen of Makaha" and "Aunty Rell", she was a pioneer in the world of women's surfing.
Lisa Andersen is an American four-time world surfing champion. She won four successive world titles from 1994 to 1997. She was named ASP's Rookie of the Year in 1987. She was named as one of the 100 "Greatest Sportswomen of the Century" by Sports Illustrated for Women. She was named the "1998 Female Athlete of the Year" by Conde Nast Sports for Women magazine. She is a two-times winner of Surfer Magazine's Readers Poll. In 2002, she was inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame. In 2004, she was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame as that year's Woman of the Year.
Albert "Rabbit" Kekai was an American 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 the Peruvian and Makaha International titles.
Corky Carroll is a professional American surfer and is considered a pioneer in the sport by becoming the first real professional surfer as well as being the first to make paid endorsements.
Phyllis O'Donnell was an Australian surfer who became the first Women's World Surfing Champion. O'Donnell won the championship in 1964 at the age of 27. At the time, surfing was dominated by men, and her championship was regarded as a step forward for women's recognition in the sport. O'Donnell also won the women's division of the Australian National Titles in 1963, 1964, and 1965.
Hobart "Hobie" Laidlaw Alter was an American surf and sailing entrepreneur and pioneer, creator of the Hobie Cat catamarans, and founder of the Hobie company. He created the Hobie 33 ultralight-displacement sailboat and a mass-produced radio-controlled glider, the Hobie Hawk.
Bernard "Midget" Farrelly was the first world surfing champion.
Ian Cairns is a former champion surfer who was also influential in establishing the world professional surfing circuit and particularly the World Championship Tour. He was described as "the premier "power" surfer of his era [who] dominated the North Shore during the mid to late-seventies".
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.
Carissa Kainani Moore is an American surfer. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic gold medal in women's shortboard surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is also a five-time world champion, winning in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021 on the World Surf League WSL Women's World Tour. Moore was the first surfer in history to win a WSL world title and the Olympic title in the same year.
Surfing in the United States is a popular hobby in coastal areas, and more recently due to the invention of wave pools, inland regions of the country. It contributes to a lifestyle and culture in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. USA surfing is the governing body for the sport of surfing in the United States, with surf leagues such as the World Surf League available in the country. Surfing can be traced back to 17th Century Hawaii and has evolved over time into the professional sport it is today, with surfing being included for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Courtney Conlogue is an American professional surfer. She was born in Santa Ana, California. Courtney learned to surf at the age of 4. In 2004 when she was 11, Conlogue was the youngest athlete to be selected to the USA Junior Surf Team. She went on to achieve 11th place in the 2005 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. In 2009, at the ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica, Courtney won an individual and team Gold Medal as a USA Surfing Team member. By the time she was 14, she had won a surfing gold medal as a member of the U.S.A. Team at the X Games. When she was 16 she won the biggest competition in the USA at the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, held at her home break in Huntington Beach, California. She won the US Open of Surfing again in 2018.
Marge Calhoun was an American surfer. She was the first woman world champion surfer when she won the Makaha International competition on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.