The inaugural Makaha International Surfing Championships were held during the Christmas holidays in 1954.  The event featured many categories of competition, including divisions for women, men, juniors, bodysurfing, paddleboard, tandem surfing, mat surfing and night torch surfing.  This annual event was the standard from which other surf competitions were born.

The first Duke Kahanamoku Classic was scheduled for the best day between December 13 and December 17, 1965.  The "Holding Period" was born.  Duke watched the contest from the beach as 17 year old Jeff Hackman outperformed 23 of the best surfers in the world at eight foot Sunset Beach.  In 1969, a $1000 purse was introduced at the Duke Classic.

The Smirnoff Pro-Am was originally held at Santa Cruz, California.  It moved to Hawaii in 1970 and was established as a mobile event to seek the best waves on Oahu.  The first Hawaiian Sminoff contest, held at 15 foot Makaha, was won by Nat Young, who pocketed $2000.  Subsequent events were held at Haleiwa, Sunset, Laniakea and Waimea.  Older surfers may remember the marketing tie-in of the big waves at the Waimea contest won by Reno Abellira in 1974 with the Smirnoff slogan, "It leaves you breathless!"

Many surfers who were restricted from surfing Waimea on the best day of the year in 1974 complained and rules governing surf contests were finally established by the City and County of Honolulu in 1978.  These rules were amending in 1991 and are being re-written today.

The first Pipeline Masters was won by Jeff Hackman in 1971.  This specialty event had only six competitors: Mike Armstrong, Jock Sutherland, Jimmy Blears, Jackie Dunn, Jeff Hackman and Corky Carroll.

International Professional Surfing (IPS), incorporated in Hawaii in 1976, established the first world tour for professional surfers. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) supplanted the IPS in 1983 and has since developed a World Championship Tour at select spots around the world along with a feeder circuit called the World Qualifying Series.

In 1983, Fred Hemmings organized The Triple Crown of Surfing .  "The concept was to focus attention on three of the world's most prominent surfing competitions held in unquestionably the most competitive and awesome surfing venue anywhere," Hemmings said. "The whole idea behind the Triple Crown Series was to have a champion emerge from the three major surf sites on Oahu's North Shore. Catching an eight-to-ten-foot wave at the Pipeline certainly demands different skills than riding a 15-foot wave at Sunset."  Prize money at these events now ranges between $100,000 and $250,000 and the Triple Crown Champion earns an additional $15,000.

The original events such as the Makaha International Championships and the Duke are no longer held, but the past quarter century has seen the emergence of many more competitions.  Some of the long standing amateur events on the North Shore include the Menehune Contest and the Haleiwa International Open.  The NSSA and HASA also hold amateur events around the island.  North Shore professional events include the Triple Crown events, the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau , the Excel Pro , the Backdoor Shootout , the Bodyboarding Pipeline Pro , the World Championship of Women's Bodyboarding , the Monster Pipeline Pro , the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic, and since 2005, Banzai Women's Pipeline Championship .

The Buffalo Big Board Contest has been held for many years at Makaha and many other contests are held each year on the South Shore.  Surf contests are held for amateurs, international professionals, aspiring local surfers, men, women, bodyboarders, longboarders and body surfers.  Windsurfers compete in waves.  Kite surfing is growing rapidly.  Tow-in surf contests are being organized.  There is no lack of demand for competition.

Ultimately, the questions must be asked: How many contests are necessary? And, at what point are there too many?  Every contest restricts usage by the public.  There is no special stadium for contests, which are held, essentially, at local parks.  It is important to remember that the beaches and near shore waters belong to the public, not to contest promoters and contestants.

If you believe that keeping the number of surf contests in balance with the public's need to use its beaches is important, please Become a Supporter of Let's Surf Coalition today.