’s Surf Poll produced some surprising results—and some that were to be expected. In the first place it was carefully designed so that those who answered would need a fairly good knowledge of the sport. Instead of simply asking for the top surfer, as other polls had done and which could result in a flood of uneducated replies, the 

 poll required the voter to place the nominees in various categories. There were five categories—Big Wave Riders; Performance Wave Riders (both were for senior men); Junior Men; Up-and-Comers; Women Surfers. There was one other category—Best Overall Surfer. This last allowed the voter to express his opinion as to who he thought was the best in all kinds of surfing—big waves or performance waves—by selecting the surfer best at the top of all categories.

It is obvious that those who voted had to know something about the sport and not be guided solely by popularity or publicity. Obviously, he would have to know that Greg Noll was at his best on big waves—THE HAIRIER THE BETTER. Obviously, he would have to know that Phil Edwards could milk a small wave of all its possibilities with his smooth style. But it was not these headliners who proved the knowledge of those casting their votes—it was in the selection of runners-up and up-and-comers that surf knowledge showed. The surprising thing about the poll was the quality of the people who were placed in the top five in each category. Some of them had received very little publicity and 

’s staff were under the impression that only a few people knew of their skill. Such was not the case. On the other hand, those who had received considerable publicity did not necessarily place at the top.

Perhaps it was because of the way the poll was arranged that only those who knew what they were talking about could vote—or perhaps the average surfer knows more about the sport than he is generally given credit for. In any case, of the thousands of replies, very, very few were wild guesses. To those who gave us the benefit of their educated opinions—a tip of the 

Announcement of the winners was withheld until the awards dinner which was held at the Miramar Hotel, Santa Monica, on April 3. Even U.S.S.A. executive secretary Don Murray, who made the presentations, did not know who the winners were until he opened the envelopes on the stage. Hang Ten Surfwear, who made a presentation of a matched set of trunks and jackets to each of the winners, were simply given a list of sizes (it was a tough job to guess the sizes of everybody but 

 made a fairly successful stab at it). Duke Boyd, of Hang Ten, was anxious about this arrangement but it worked out pretty well—at least, we did not hear any complaints when the winners were handed a beautiful set of surfwear. Laguna Sportswear also made presentations to each of the winners with the top man in each category getting a transistor radio. The excellent trophies (top winners’ trophies incorporated electric clocks) came from South Bay Trophy Shop in Redondo Beach.

Following the dinner and the presentations, The Challengers arrived (a little late because of a TV engagement) to play for the group.

1965 Surfing Illustrated Surf Poll

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