A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Elite, oceangoing professional surfing competition held in Indonesia's Mentawai Islands in 2000 and 2001; sponsored pri- marily by Ocean Pacific beachwear, with support from Surfer magazine. The Op Pro Mentawai Islands, also known as the Op Boat Trip Challenge, debuted in 2000 as a nonworld tour event, meaning it offered no points toward the world championship. Four surf charter boats were hired for the event, and the total prize purse was $102,500. The concept was to put the world's best surfers in the world's best surf, and present the results to the surfing public through magazines, cable TV, the Internet, and video. (Surfwear giant Billabong had done much the same thing with a series of contests in the mid- and late '90s called the Billabong Challenge.) Six men—Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, and Sunny Garcia from Hawaii; Mark Occhilupo from Australia; Tim Curran and Shane Beschen from California—competed for a winner- take-all $65,000, the biggest cash prize in surfing history. Four women—Layne Beachley and Serena Brooke from Australia; Rochelle Ballard and Megan Abubo from Hawaii—competed for a winner-take-all $37,000. The format was different from the standard pro contest: in the men's division, four two-hour heats were held at various breaks across the 200- mile-long Mentawai island chain, with all six competitors surfing at once. The winner of each round received 10 points, second-place earned 9 points, third received 8 points, and so on. The surf was flawless throughout the event, and 34-year-old Occhilupo, who just months earlier had been declared the 1999 world champion, took first. The women surfed in three two-hour rounds, with 29-year-old Ballard coming out on top. Inspired by the friendly vibe among the competitors, Occhilupo and Ballard surprised everyone by pooling their winnings and distributing the money evenly among the 10 entrants. Occhilupo later said the 2000 Op Pro was "the best contest I've ever been involved with." Occhilupo, Bruce and Andy Irons, Curran, CJ Hobgood of Florida, and Hawaii's Shane Dorian made up the men's field for the 2001 Op Boat Trip event; the women's division consisted of Beachley, Brooke, Ballard, and Hawaii's Keala Kennelly. The purse was raised to $127,500, with $30,000 going to repeat-winner Occhilupo, $22,500 going to women's division winner Kennelly, and the remainder distributed among the rest of the competitors. Once again, the surf was first-rate. Outside magazine covered the 2000 Op Pro; Sports Illustrated, GQ , and the Men's Journal covered the 2001 Op Pro. The event was also covered online, on cable television, and in video specials. See also: Ocean Pacific, Op Pro Huntington Beach.

Op Pro Mentawai Islands

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing