YESTERDAYS COLUMN IN THE OC REGISTER SPECIAL HALL OF FAME CEREMONY FOR CARRISA MOORE By Corky Carroll Each year when the big U.S. Open of Surfing hits Orange Counties famed Huntington Beach Pier there are a number of other activities on the venue besides the surfing competition. One of the biggest and most prestigious of these is the annual induction ceremony for the SURFERS HALL OF FAME, which traditionally takes place on the final Friday morning of U.S. Open week. This year the big ceremony is scheduled for August 1st. But due to a scheduling conflict the amazing Carissa Moore will be inducted in a special ceremony on Friday July 25. This is due to the fact that she is in the midst of a World Title race and she has been scheduled to be in the water in the middle of the competition at the exact time that she would be getting inducted on Aug 1. So, this year there will be two separate induction ceremonies. The August 1 cemermony will feature the other two inductees, Rusty Preisendorfer and Huntington Beach wonder kid Timmy Turner. More on them next week. “We are stoked and excited to honor Carissa Moore at this year’s Surfers’ Hall of Fame,” said Aaron Pai, the founder of the Surfers Hall of Fame. “Carissa is battling for another world title and we wanted to ensure that she could enjoy her own induction ceremony along with family, friends and sponsors without worrying about rushing off to the competition. We’re pleased that she is able to join us for a special ceremony in her honor.” The Hawaiian born Carissa began her competitive surfing career at age 12 and would win 4 National Scholastic Surfing Association Open Womens titles and become the most decorated surfer in the history of the NSSA with a total of eleven National Titles in all. She then went on to win two World Championships in 2011 and 2013 and is currently in pursuit of a third. Along with that she took home the U.S. Open title in 2010 and again last year, making her the defending champion. Top that off with being the youngest ever to win the Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii and also being named as the top womens surfer in the world by the SURFER magazine readers poll and you have an amazing surfer who is well deserving of the nod as one of this years inductees into the SURFERS HALL OF FAME. The ceremony for Carissa will take place in the SURFERS HALL OF FAME plaza, which is located right on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach, directly in front of Huntington Surf ‘n Sport. It begins at 10 A.M. and is open to the public free of charge. The emcees for this years event are legendary surfing announcers David Stanfield and Rockin’ Fig. Also Bob Hurley, yes the infamous Hurley of the surfing brand with the same name, will make an appearance as a special presenter and speak about Carissa. Owner of Huntington Surf ‘n Sport, Aaron Pai, had the idea to create the SURFERS HALL OF FAME back in the early 1990’s. A local surfer himself, who was born in Honolulu and grew up riding the waves at the Huntington Beach Pier, Aaron wanted to do something to honor the greats of surfing who had contributed to the sport in extraordinary ways. His vision was to enshrine the inductees hand and foot prints in the concrete in front of his store surrounding a huge statue of the great Duke Kahanamoku. He made it come true and the list of inductees include the greatest names ever in the history of surfing such as Kelly Slater, Paul Strauch, Phil Edwards, David Nuuhiwa, Robert August, Mickey Munoz, Gerry Lopez, Laird Hamilton, George Downing, Bud Lamas, Bob Hurley, Simon Anderson, Tom Carroll, Rob Machado, Margo Oberg, Lisa Anderson, Linda Benson, Joyce Hoffman, Randy Lewis, Skip Frye, Mike Doyle, Rabbit Kekai and Chuck Linnen. To be inducted into the SURFERS HALL OF FAME is one of the highest honors you can receive in the surfing world. Tune in next week for more on the August 1 ceremony and inductees Rusty Preisendorfer and Timmy Turner.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:25:47 +0000
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