Mark Occhilupo has won the second heat of the “Clash of the Icons” against surfing legend Tom Curren, at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.
Occy took the victory with a total of 13.67 points.
The “Clash of the Icons” ended in a draw.
The rivalry between Mark Occhilupo and Tom Curren has 26 years, but the two surfers had a really great time surfing together at Jeffreys Bay.
Five decades of champions join the Walk of Fame Honor Roll
Against the backdrop of the golden anniversary celebration of competitive surfing at the Huntington Beach Pier, the Surfing Walk of Fame will honor its 16th class of inductees on Thursday, July 23 at 10:00 a.m. Joining more than 100 individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport and culture of surfing are Fred Hemmings, Duke Boyd, Wendy Botha, Mark Martinson and Jackie Baxter.
The open-to-the-public ceremony takes place in front of Jack’s Surfboards located on the corner of PCH and Main. More information is available at surfingwalkoffame.com
This year’s honorees include:
Local Hero: Jackie Baxter
A fearless regular footer from Huntington Beach, Jackie earned his reputation by tackling Pipeline and Sunset Beach in the late ‘60s. Baxter grew up in Venice in the ‘50s. By age 12 he was hitchhiking for rides to Malibu with his “wood” Velzy or Jacobs surfboards in hand. By the mid ‘60s Jackie was riding for Dewey Weber and, in 1967, Sonny Vardeman introduced a Jackie Baxter Model—the same year he moved to Hawaii. In 1971, he was an invitee to the prestigious 1971 Duke Kahanamoku Classic. His son Josh is a world-class longboarder.Surf Culture: Duke Boyd
Hang Ten founder Duke Boyd was born in Kansas City in 1934 and began surfing at age 12 in Waikiki. In 1960 Boyd asked seamstress Doris Boeck to stitch together a durable pair of surf trunks he designed. The first-ever “board-shorts” to be capable of withstanding the rigors of surfing were an instant success with surfers and beach-goers along the California coast and the Hang Ten brand was born. For the next decade, the company’s trademark horizontal stripes and personality-filled ad campaign took the surf world by storm. Boyd sold Hang Ten in 1970 and later played a roll in the success of Lightning Bolt.Woman of the Year: Wendy Botha
A prolific South African surfer, Wendy won four world titles (1987, 1989, 1991 & 1992) and three Surfer Poll Awards (1990, 1991 & 1993). Born in 1963, Botha began surfing at age 13 and won four consecutive South African National Championship titles from 1981 to 1984. She turned pro in 1985 and finished the season ranked seventh in the world, earning rookie-of-the-year honors. Wendy became an Australian citizen in 1989 and would go on to win a record seven World Tour events that year. She retired from competitive surfing after the 1993 season and moved to New Zealand.Surfing Champion: Mark Martinson
Born in 1947 and raised in Long Beach, Mark’s signature moment came in 1965 when he won the U.S. Championships. Martinson started surfing at age 10 and six years later was runner-up in the 1962 West Coast Championships. In the mid to late ‘60s Mark crisscrossed the globe with the MacGillivray/Freeman team filming Free and Easy and Waves of Change. Although 1965 was Martinson’s “competition” peak, he’s recognized for being among the first California surfers to convert to the new, shorter boards.Surf Pioneer: Fred Hemmings
Prolific Hawaiian surfer, event promoter and politician, Fred Hemmings was born in 1946 and raised in Honolulu. He won the Makaha International contest in 1964 and 1966 then captured the World Surfing Championships in 1968. Fred then turned his attention to promoting professional surfing, founding the Pipeline Masters in 1971 and in 1976 co-founded International Professional Surfers (IPS), forerunner to the ASP. In 1983 he created Hawaii’s Triple Crown of Surfing. Hemmings would later focus on business and politics. In 1984 he accepted a seat on the Denver Broncos’ NFL Board of Directors and was elected to Hawaii’s House of Representatives. In 2000 he was elected to the state senate.
Country Energy Australian Surf Festival
Surfing New South Wales
Port Macquarie New South Wales
15 – 29 August 2009
Maroubra Beach, NSW — Australia’s leading energy service’s corporation has today solidified their support of Australian surfing with the announcement of the second annual Country Energy Australian Surf Festival.
Taking place at Port Macquarie, on the NSW Mid North Coast, from August 15 – 29 The Country Energy Australian Surf Festival will see 350 of the best surfers from around the country competing for 23 prestigious national titles over three spectacular disciplines. After a watershed year in 2008, Andrew Latta, Regional General Manager for the Port Macquarie Hastings area is excited about the festival returning to the Port Macquarie region.
“Country Energy is proud to be the naming rights sponsor for the Australian Surf Festival for the second year running – we are looking forward to the 2009 Festival and encourage everyone to come along to watch the competition, visit the art exhibition or see one of the movies to be screened at the Glasshouse.”
For Andrew Stark, CEO of Surfing Australia, the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival is the most esteemed event on the calendar of events. “This is the pinnacle event on the annual amateur surfing calendar in Australia,” he said. “This event has a rich history stemming back nearly 50 years and is one that will always hold its proud place on the annual Australian events calendar.”
With 23 Australian titles to be awarded in 21 divisions, the Country Energy Australian Surf Festival will also see the Australian Longboard, Stand Up Paddle Board and Shortboard titles for the first time in 45 years of Australian competitive surfing history; making it the largest surfing event held in Australia.
“This year we create history with the first ever Stand Up Paddleboard “SUP” Australian Titles,” Stark said. “We hope everyone can enjoy the new spectacle of SUP at the highest level in Australia.” Also to be held in conjunction with the competitive surfing will be live music, movie screenings, surf art and photography exhibitions and other cultural offerings taking place in the new, state of the art Glasshouse.
