![]()
By Jim Kempton / Surfer / Sept 30, 2024
The 1966 World Surfing Championships in San Diego was a watershed moment in surfing. Organized by an international cadre of visionary contest directors, led by Peruvian maestro Eduardo Arena, the event was attended by more than ten thousand spectators, showcasing the budding sport to the nation in real time. Held in the city’s coastal enclave of Ocean Beach, it was the first world contest ever hosted by the United States and helped put San Diego on the map as an attractive tourist city in America.
Under a sliver of a new moon, with the great Duke Kahanamoku himself presiding, from September 29 to October 4, the world witnessed the first glimpse of surfing’s seismic shift in performance and design.
![]()
Although the competitive field was full of the top surfers from seven nations, the matchup between California’s David Nuuhiwa and Australia’s Nat Young was considered the ultimate test of both skill and style. Nuuhiwa was generally acknowledged as the best nose-rider in the world, and a supreme stylist of the smooth, elegant approach to wave-riding. Nat Young was at the opposite end of the spectrum, explosive and intense.
By Jim Kempton / Surfer / Sept 30, 2024
The 1966 World Surfing Championships in San Diego was a watershed moment in surfing. Organized by an international cadre of visionary contest directors, led by Peruvian maestro Eduardo Arena, the event was attended by more than ten thousand spectators, showcasing the budding sport to the nation in real time. Held in the city’s coastal enclave of Ocean Beach, it was the first world contest ever hosted by the United States and helped put San Diego on the map as an attractive tourist city in America.
Under a sliver of a new moon, with the great Duke Kahanamoku himself presiding, from September 29 to October 4, the world witnessed the first glimpse of surfing’s seismic shift in performance and design.
Although the competitive field was full of the top surfers from seven nations, the matchup between California’s David Nuuhiwa and Australia’s Nat Young was considered the ultimate test of both skill and style. Nuuhiwa was generally acknowledged as the best nose-rider in the world, and a supreme stylist of the smooth, elegant approach to wave-riding. Nat Young was at the opposite end of the spectrum, explosive and intense.