Surfers of different generations were honored today for their common love of one thing: waves.
In front of a crammed crowd in front of Jack’s Surfboards, the Surfing Walk of Fame paid tribute to iconic surfers who paved the way for a future generation. At the same time, winners of the 2009 O.C. Surfer of the Year contest were given awards for being fan favorites of ocregister.com online voters.
The morning started with the O.C. Surfers of the Year being introduced by Peter “P.T.” Townend. More than 600,000 votes were cast during a six-week period for the contest, which was put on by the Orange County Register.
The winners include: Brett Simpson (shortboarder), Joe Aaron (longboarder), Courtney Conlogue (Rising Star Female), and Andrew Doheny (Rising Star Male).
Surfers got creative when it came to generating votes, posting updates on their Twitters and Facebooks.
Simpson said it was an honor to be included in an event where the Walk of Fame surfers were being honored.
“That’s a pretty awesome feat. Hopefully, one day when I get older, I can be there too,” he said.
The Surfing Walk of Fame paid tribute to five surfers who have had an influence on the sport of surfing. The nominees were selected from a group of 200 surf journalists from around the world. Those honored include: Duke Boyd, the man behind Hang Ten, four-time world champion Wendy Botha, Fred Hemmings, considered the godfather of professional surfing, and local hero Jackie Baxter.
One-by-one, the surfers told stories of past days when surfing was much different.
Surf Culture: Duke Boyd
We’ve just launched a 
In just a few weeks, 80 of the world’s best 19 and under Junior Pro surfers will be taking over the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.
