Everything You Need to Know About The History of Competitive Surfing In Under 60 Seconds

1976: Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick establish International Professional Surfers (IPS) World Tour and crown Australian Peter “PT” Townend the first World Professional Surfing Champion.

1979: Mark Richards sets the standard for the competitive surfing field and wins his first of four consecutive World Titles (1979 – 1982).

1983: Ian Cairns establishes surfing’s new governing body, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP).

1990: Tom Curren sets a new record by becoming the first surfer in history to win the ASP World Title as a Trialist, earning his third World Championship Crown.  

1992: The Trials for ASP World Tour events are dissolved and replaced with a World Qualifying Series.  The ASP Top 30 is changed to become the Top 44 who will now compete in a top-tier World Championship Tour.

1999: 1978 World Champion Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew takes over as director of the ASP and the headquarters are relocated from Huntington Beach, CA to Australia’s Gold Coast.  

1999: Vans and Surfing Magazine partner to create the Vans Surfing Magazine Airshow Series (SMAS), a competitive format established where surfers earn scores only for successfully completing above the lip aerial maneuvers.  

2001: Professional Surfer Brad Gerlach establishes the National Surf League (NSL) and unveils “The GAME” team format for competitive surfing in Cardiff, California, featuring a San Diego County vs. Orange County event.  

2003: The X-Games includes surfing for the first time as one of its championship sports, amid some controversy with the ASP, by incorporating NSL’s “The GAME” team format in an East coast vs. West coast event held in Huntington Beach, California.  

2006: Innagural season of the National Surf League’s High School Cup is launched. In its first two years both national champions were from California.

2006: Kelly Slater owns the record books by claiming his eighth ASP World Championship Crown, making his statement as one of the most dominant competitive athletes ever.  

2007: X-Games XIII Surfing, held at Puerto Escondido, incorporates a women’s division in its “GAME” format, along with changing the men’s teams into a USA vs. The World structure, and featuring a live webcast.