World Surfing Games

The Largest Surfing Encyclopedia

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A-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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It has introduced many things to the world, including shortboards, Tom Curren and Brazilian surfing. On the other hand, it delivered organization, rules and uniformity, trying to conform a way of life into a shrink-wrapped Olympic sport. More than anything else, since its inception in 1964, the World Contest has been about bringing together the tribe.

Most people had their ideas of who was the best surfer in the world, but with limited international exposure and no unified means of establishing the top dog, it was impossible to back it up in the early '60s. The International Surfing Federation sought to change that. In Manly, the best surfers from Australia, Great Britain, France, South Africa, Peru, New Zealand and the United States commenced for the inaugural World Surfing Contest. While the criteria was still new and the result disputed, local Bernard "Midget" Farrelly upset Mike Doyle and Joey Cabell to be crowned the first World Surfing Champion. Said Doyle of the 70,000-plus fans and royal treatment, "For once we were being treated as athletes should be. It was amazing to see the warmth and hospitality shown toward these surfers." Most felt Cabell deserved the win, but his aggressive behavior found disfavor among the judges. It was a problem that would plague organized surfing indefinitely. Farrelly's compatriot Phyllis O'Donnell won the women's title, and the event became a biannual occasion.

Longboard styling was still the desired mode of surfing by 1966, but that hit an abrupt end in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Aussie Nat Young arrived for the World Contest with a funny-looking surfboard adorned with a fin resembling that of a yellowfin tuna and convincingly blew away the noseriding contingent. He won the event and ushered in a new style of surfing based on total commitment. In two weeks, the world had turned upside down.

By the mid-'70s, competitive surfing had given way to the soul era, and the World Contest went into hibernation. The ISF gave way to the International Surfing Association (ISA, generally recognized as the World Governing Body of surfing) in 1976, and the contest returned two years later. By that time, a professional surfing tour was in place and the World Contest became a strictly amateur affair. As professionalism grew into a viable entity, the contest was touted as the showcase for future stars, and the United States, having suffered a talent drought since Rolf Aurness claimed victory in 1970, found its savior in Curren.

Curren's arrival was a shock, just as 15-year-old La Jolla product Margo Godfrey (later Oberg) had been a decade earlier when she claimed victory in Puerto Rico. Curren won the Juniors' title in 1980 and the Open in 1982, single-handedly ending an era of Australian dominance. In 1984, a group of less-talented Americans coached by Aussie expatriates Peter Townend and Ian Cairns defeated a powerhouse squad from Down Under led by one Gary "Kong" Elkerton, whom the media had practically crowned before the event. It was the heyday for American surfing and for the World Contest.

The remainder of the decade signaled the arrival of the Third World into the upper ranks of competitive surfing. It would be years before they could challenge the stronghold of the United States and Australia in terms of overall competition, but a few individuals inspired future greatness among their countrymen. Tahiti's Vetea David defeated Kelly Slater to capture the 1986 Junior Title in England, and Brazilian Fabio Gouveia rose to victory in 1988 in Puerto Rico.

The '90s became the search for credibility. ISA President Fernando Aguerre embarked on a mission to impress the International Olympic Committee, convinced that surfing was destined to become an Olympic sport. In order to comply with Olympic regulations, professionals were allowed to compete in the World Contest beginning with the 1996 event in Huntington Beach. The IOC granted official recognition to what became known as the ISA World Games, but little else. The United States was victorious, led by Open winner Taylor Knox and Juniors' champ Ben Bourgeois, but their collapse was imminent. Due to a lack of leadership and pride in the flag, the team would slide from sixth to 10th in subsequent events. The Third World had closed the gap as complacency whittled away at the former superpowers.

After another Aussie sweep in 1998, Brazil completed the transfer of power on home turf in 2000, winning all but one division and running away with the team trophy. Several other countries have also closed to gap, hungry to follow Brazil's footsteps. With other contests offering valuable points and prize money, the World Surfing Games has lost some luster. The best surfers in the world are not found in the event, and little attention is given it in the press. Its value, while declining in America, has skyrocketed in other nations. More than 30 countries gather at each event, and rather than being bullied, they finally have a legitimate chance at winning. The uniformity the organizers sought is at last a reality. -- Jason Borte, December 2000

Past Champions:
1964 Manly, Australia
Open: Bernard "Midget" Farrelly, Australia
Women: Phyllis O'Donnell, Australia

1965 Lima, Peru
Open: Felipe Pomar, Peru
Women: Joyce Hoffman, USA

1966 San Diego, USA
Open: Nat Young, Australia
Women: Joyce Hoffman, USA

1968 Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Open: Fred Hemmings, Hawaii
Women: Margo Godfrey, USA

1970 Bells Beach, Australia
Open: Rolf Aurness, USA
Women: Gail Cooper

1972 San Diego, USA
Open: Jim Blears, Hawaii
Women: Sharon Webber, Hawaii

1980 Biarritz, France
Open: Mark Scott, Australia
Women: Alisa Schwarzstein, USA
Junior: Tom Curren, USA

1982 Gold Coast, Australia
Team Australia
Open: Tom Curren, USA
Women: Jenny Gill, Australia
Junior: Bryce Ellis, Australia
Kneeboard: Michael Novakov, Australia

1984 Huntington Beach, USA
Team USA
Open: Scott Farnsworth, USA
Women: Janice Aragon, Australia
Junior: Damien Hardman, Australia

1986 Newquay, England
Team USA
Open: Mark Sainsbury, Australia
Women: Connie Nixon, Australia
Junior: Vetea David, Tahiti

1988 Aguadilla Puerto Rico
Team Australia
Open: Fabio Gouveia, Brazil
Women: Pauline Menczer, Australia
Junior: Chris Brown, USA
Longboard: Andrew McKinnon, Australia

1990 Chiba, Japan
Team Australia
Open: Heifara Tahutini, Tahiti
Women: Kathy Newman, Australia
Junior: Shane Bevan, Australia
Longboard: Wayne Deane, Australia

1992 Lacanau, France
Team Australia
Open: Grant Frost, Australia
Women: Lynnette Mackenzie, Australia
Junior: Chad Edser, Australia
Longboard: Teva Noble, Tahiti

1994 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team Australia
Open: Sasha Stocker, Australia
Women: Alessandra Vieira, Brazil
Junior: Kalani Robb, Hawaii
Longboard: Michel Dumont, Tahiti

1996 Huntington Beach, USA
Team U.S.A
Open: Taylor
Knox, USA
Women: Neridah Falconer, Australia
Junior: Ben Bourgeois, USA
Longboard: Geoff Moysa, USA

1998 Carcavelos, Portugal
Team Australia
Open: Mick Campbell, Australia
Women: Alcione Silva, Brazil
Junior: Dean Morrison, Australia
Longboard: Alexandre Salazar, Brazil

2000 Porto de Galinhas, Brazil
Team Brazil
Open: Fabio Silva, Brazil
Women: Tita Tavares, Brazil
Junior: Joel Centeio