Former 1968 world champion surfer Fred Hemmings, began his career as an event promoter in 1969 and ran the Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships between 1969 and 1977.[1] Originally held at Santa Cruz, California, later events were held at various locations in Hawaii.
Due to the International Surfing Federation being unable to establish a format or sponsorship, no official amateur championships were held between 1973 and 1975, so The Smirnoff World Pro-Am became known by some as a de facto professional World Championship.[2] Laura Lee Ching became the first woman to compete in the Hawaiian Smirnoff World Pro-Am contests in 1973.[3][4]
| Year | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 |  Corky Carroll (USA) | Margo Godfrey (USA) |
| 1970* |  Nat Young (AUS) | |
| 1971 |  Gavin Rudolph (RSA) | |
| 1972* | Paul Neilsen (AUS) | |
| 1973 | Ian Cairns (AUS) | |
| 1974 | Reno Abellira (USA) | |
| 1975 | Mark Richards (AUS) | |
| 1976** | Mark Warren (AUS) | Jericho Poppler (USA) |
| 1977** | Reno Abellira (USA) | Jericho Poppler (USA) |
The Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships were superseded by the International Professional Surfers (IPS) in 1976.
- *ISA world surfing champions were Rolf Aurness in 1970 and Jimmy Blears in 1972.
- **IPS (later ASP/WSL) world surfing champions were Peter Townend in 1976 and Shaun Tomson / Margo Oberg (Godfrey) in 1977.
References
- The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Matt Warshaw, p. 548 (accessed 27 April 2011)
- The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Matt Warshaw, p. 548 (accessed 27 April 2011)
- "Laura Ching". Thesuperstars.org. 1950-12-25. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- "'Superstar' Laura Ching Posed Nude For Magazine". Sarasota Journal. Sarasota. December 20, 1974. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Matt Warshaw, p. 548 (accessed 27 April 2011)