Bethany Meilani Hamilton is an American professional surfer and writer. In 2003, she survived a shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off; ultimately, she returned to professional surfing and wrote about her experiences in the 2004 autobiography, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. The book was adapted into the 2011 feature film, Soul Surfer. Hamilton attributes her strength to her Christian faith.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional 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 Professional Surfing founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick in 1976. IPS created the first world circuit of pro surfing events. In 1983 the Association of Surfing Pros took over management of the world circuit. In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League. Sophie Goldschmidt was appointed as WSL CEO on 19 July 2017. Paul Speaker had stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2017, and Dirk Ziff acted as the interim WSL CEO until Goldschmidt's appointment.
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, para surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
John "John John" Alexander Florence is an American professional surfer. He is considered one of the most dominant pipe surfers of his era and won back-to-back world titles on the 2016 World Surf League and 2017 World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. He is the first Hawaii-born surfer to win back-to-back world titles since the late Andy Irons. Florence qualified to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in surfing's debut, as well as qualified for the Paris Olympic Games.
The East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) is an annual surfing contest held in late August in Virginia Beach, Virginia on the oceanfront, and is one of the United States Surfing Federation's major amateur events.
The Noosa Festival of Surfing was established in 1992 at Noosa, Queensland by members of the Noosa Malibu Club, as an amateur surfing competition called the Noosa Malibu Classic. It allowed club members to invite friends to surf Noosa's right-hand point breaks and the event's popularity among competitive longboarders gave the club a chance to take the event to a higher level. In 1996 a professional division was introduced and prompted the name change to The Noosa Festival of Surfing (NFoS) in 1998. The World Tandem Surfing Championships were brought to Noosa in 1999 and Stand up paddle surfing was incorporated into the festival in 2007 with live entertainment and fundraising auctions also being held. In 2008, the festival, sponsored by Global Surf Industries and maintained and managed by USM Events, commenced with the traditional Mixing of the Waters ceremony led by Hawaiian waterman Brian Keaulana. The Noosa Festival of Surfing is an official Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Longboard rated event.
Moonlight State Beach is a state beach in Encinitas, California. It is located one fifth of one mile beyond the point where Encinitas Boulevard turns into B Street after it crosses Highway 101.
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.
Adriano "Mineirinho" de Souza is a Brazilian professional surfer and also the 2015 WSL World Champion. He has been competing on the World Surf League Men's World Tour since 2005.
Owen Wright is an Australian professional surfer on the World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. His sister, Tyler Wright, is also a competitor on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer. He won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. In two appearances at the Olympic surfing tournament, Medina won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
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.
Filipe Toledo is a Brazilian professional surfer who has competed on the World Surf League Men's World Tour since 2013. He is a second-generation pro who grew up outside of Ubatuba, Brazil on the northeastern coast of the state of São Paulo. His father, and long-time coach, Ricardo, was a two-time national champion. In 2014, as his career took flight, Filipe convinced his entire family to move to San Clemente, California.
Surfing in South Africa began in Durban in the 1940s.
Surfing made its Summer Olympics debut in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics were originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but were postponed to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Competitions in the sport of surfing, governed by the International Surfing Association (ISA), have been held at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games. First selected as one of the discretionary sports at the 2020 and 2024 games, surfing will be inducted as one of the mandatory sports at the 2028 games. Athletes compete in the discipline of shortboard surfing, which is the sole event in the sport at the Olympics. The United States have won the most gold medals (2), while Brazil have won the most medals overall (3).
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal formerly known as MEO Pro Portugal, Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal or Rip Curl Pro Portugal is a professional surfing competition of the WSL World Tour. As of 2022, held every year in March at the Supertubos beach in Peniche, Portugal. The event was first founded in 2010 as Rip Curl Pro Portugal.
Kanoa Igarashi is a Japanese-American surfer who has competed professionally worldwide since 2012. In 2016, he was the youngest rookie on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), and had collected more Round One wins than any other surfer, finished 2nd place at the Pipeline event, and 20th place overall that year. His greatest career performance was in the 2022 WSL CT where he finished top 5 and got to compete on the final event of the year held in Trestles California. He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.
