The Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame, the nation's first sidewalk monument to honor surfing, has announced its fourteenth class of inductees; a rich group of surfing icons that features Midget Farrelly (Surfing Champion), Scott Farnsworth (Local Hero), Mimi Munro (Woman of the Year), George Greenough (Surf Pioneer) and Bill & Bob Meistrell (Surfing Culture).
The Huntington Beach Boys of “55”, some 30 members of the original HB Surf Club, will join the Walk of Fame’s coveted Honor Roll. The Surfing Walk of Fame's annual ceremony to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport and culture of surfing will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thurs., July 26th in front of Jack’s Surfboards (located on the corner of PCH and Main St.).
Later that morning, the inductee class of 2007 will join with select honorees from the past 13 years to be feted at a Gala Luncheon at Duke’s; just one of many activities that day as Jack’s celebrates its 50th anniversary.
The Surfing Walk of Fame selection process is unique among surfing-related historical institutions in the U.S. An international panel of surf affiliated voters cast their votes in each of the five categories (a committee selects the Honor Roll recipient). This prestigious event coincides with the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing Presented by O’Neill, the world’s largest professional surfing competition. Both the Surfing Walk of Fame and the U.S. Open were founded in 1994.
Yet
another outstanding class of inductees includes Scott Farnsworth, 1984 ISA
World Amateur Champion as Local Hero. The longtime brand manager at Oakley,
former president of OAM and now V.P. of Quiksilver wetsuits and accessories
joins such local greats as Robert August, Corky Carroll, Jack Haley, and
Carl Hayward. Mimi Munro, a member of the East Coast Legends Surfing Hall
of Fame, enters the Walk of Fame as Woman of the Year.
Munro, from Ormond Beach, won the East Coast Championships in 1965 and was
the first person from the East Coast to surf in an international surfing
competition –the 1966 ISA World Contest in San Diego (finishing third behind
inaugural Walk of Fame woman of the year, Joyce Hoffman).
Innovative surf filmmaker Greenough becomes only the third inductee to be selected in a second category (behind Carroll and David Nuuhiwa) and rejoins the Walk of Fame as Surf Pioneer. George is a living legend and unique icon in the surf world best known for his innovative film making, surf photography and surfboard design.
Through the '60s, Surf Champion Midget Farrelly was a cultural icon in Australia and arguably the most successful competitor in the world. Aside from winning the original 1964 ISA world title, he placed second at the 1968 and 1970 ISA world contests.
Midget formed the company Surf Blanks and became a dominant figure in Australian board manufacturing in the 1970’s and produced two books – A Surfing Life and How to Surf – in collaboration with the fine Australian journalist Craig McGregor.
Surfing Culture inductees Bill and Bob Meistrell, twin brothers, were
pioneering watermen and lifeguards whose inventions, talents and exploits
helped transform surfing and diving into worldwide phenomena. The
Meistrells are best known for inventing in 1953 the first practical
wetsuit. Bill Meistrell came up with the phrase "fits like a glove" and
Body Glove was born.
The Walk of Fame breaks its “Honor Roll” tradition this year in a grand
manner by honoring the 30 HB Boys of “55”, the founding members of the
Huntington Beach Surf Club. The original architects of Sothern California
surfing as we know it today, recipients include Bud Higgins, Bruce Brown,
Dick Metz, Pete Siracusa, Gordie Duane, Chick Edmondson, Frank Cirelli and
many others.
“Surf Culture as we know it today began with the HB Boys of ‘55’,” said Peter Townend, Walk of Fame board member and former world champion (1976). “Their combined exploits include winning championships, opening surf shops, creating museums, producing feature films; essentially laying the groundwork for surf culture.”
Created in 1995, the Honor Roll pays tribute to those individuals who have contributed to surfing and its culture and are deserving of recognition, but might not qualify to receive a stone on the Walk of Fame. The Honor Roll is the only category voted on by all the board of directors.
Founded on May 28, 1994 by honoring Duke Kahanamoku as the Father of Modern Surfing, the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame marked a historic addition to “Surf City USA.” Each year, the Walk of Fame’s selection committee conducts ongoing research through surf associations, museums and media venues around the world to compile a comprehensive ballot of qualified candidates.
Every inductee receives a granite stone embedded in the sidewalk (PCH side)
in front of Jack’s, the Surfing Walk of Fame Patron. More information is
available at surfingwalkoffame.com.
www.surfingwalkoffame.com