Fifty years ago, the U.S. Open was born in Huntington Beach.  It's hard to believe that it's been half a century since the inception of the world's largest professional surfing competition. Now branded as the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, its golden anniversary (just this past July) brought on a slew of new national attention to Huntington Beach from the surfing community.  Like we needed it.  We ARE talking about Surf City, USA, here.

Past and Present Collide
Way back when, the event was an instant success and drew thousands to the famous Huntington Beach Pier.  Wide World of Sports began broadcasting the event in 1962.  In 1966, our own Corky Carroll won the first of several titles and pioneered sponsorships for pro surfers.  Op Pro Surfing Championships took over in 1982 and elevated the "stadium seating" concept.  And it just kept on growing.

In 1984, TV promos and intense marketing of the action-sport lifestyle drove attendance to over 200,000.  Then 2001 rolled around and the presence of skateboarding, BMX, music, and technology brought about a veritable explosion.  This year, Hurley took over, bringing the U.S. Open to a new level.  Youthful attitude.  Elite athletes.  Fashion.  Music.  All set against one undeniable fact: this was a celebration of 50 years of competitive surfing right here in Huntington Beach.

Seriously Massive
Produced by IMG Action Sports, the leading sports, media and entertainment company, the immense event hosted 500 world-class athletes and drew over 400,00 spectators.  It featured North America's only combined men's and women's six-star World Qualifying  Series (WQS) competitions along with junior divisions for boys and girls, and longboarding.  And of course, there was skateboarding, BMX riding, music, fashion and art.

Sure, the event was huge.  But the waves were even bigger.  The strong southern-hemispere swell brought on the biggest conditions ever seen in the competition.  Spectators were faced with more action than ever up on the pier, literally drenched by 12-to15-foot waves crashing directly underneath them.

Homegrown Heroes
What else was giant?  The prize.  The $100,000 purse was the biggest check ever written for winning a pro surfing contest.  Who claimed it in the men's competition?  None other than twenty-four-year-old Huntington Beach local Brett Simpson.  And if that wasn't enough of a victory for the ecstatic hometown crowd, the women's competition was won by sixteen-year-old Courtney Conlogue.  Yep, you guessed it - another Orange County local.