TheDuke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship is named in honor of the "Father of Modern Surfing",Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku. The contest began in 1965 by invitation only atSunset Beach on theNorth Shore ofOʻahu until it was replaced by theBillabong Pro in 1985. The championship was the first surfing event to be broadcast on a regular basis byABC'sWide World of Sports.[1]
Two dozen of the best surfers in the world attended the first championship withbig-wave surfers likeGreg Noll andFred Hemmings as competitors. SurferJeff Hakman was only seventeen when he claimed his first title.[2] Noll's streamlined,Semigun surfboarddesign became the board of choice for contestants riding the Sunset Beach waves, with Ricky Grigg riding a Semigun to victory.[1] Duke Kahanamoku handed out golden "Duke" statues to the winners for the first three years before he died on January 22, 1968.[2]
The firstnative Hawaiian to win the championship was Clyde Aikau, in 1973, followed in 1977 by his older brother,Eddie Aikau.
Awards from 1965 to 1984:[3]
|
|
 | This article about a sporting event is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
  | This article related to sports in Hawaii is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
