Rip Curl Pro
Australian surfing competition
title: "Rip Curl Pro" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["world-surf-league", "surfing-competitions-in-australia", "sports-competitions-in-victoria-(state)", "recurring-sporting-events-established-in-1973", "1973-establishments-in-australia"] description: "Australian surfing competition" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Curl_Pro" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian surfing competition ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox sports league"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | Rip Curl Pro |
| current_season | Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2025 |
| pixels | 125 px |
| sport | Surfing |
| country | Australia |
| champion | AUS Jack Robinson (Men) |
| AUS Isabella Nichols (Woman) | |
| most_champs | AUS Mick Fanning,USA Kelly Slater e AUS Mark Richards 4 titles (Men) |
| AUS Gail Couper 10 titles (Woman) | |
| website | http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/mct/1413/rip-curl-pro-bells-beach, http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/wct/1412/rip-curl-womens-pro-bells-beach |
| :: |
| title = Rip Curl Pro | current_season = Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2025 | logo = | pixels = 125 px | sport = Surfing | country = Australia | champion = AUS Jack Robinson (Men) AUS Isabella Nichols (Woman) | most_champs = AUS Mick Fanning,USA Kelly Slater e AUS Mark Richards 4 titles (Men) AUS Gail Couper 10 titles (Woman) | website = http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/mct/1413/rip-curl-pro-bells-beach, http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2016/wct/1412/rip-curl-womens-pro-bells-beach The Rip Curl Pro, formerly the Bells Beach Surf Classic, is a WSL (formerly ASP) World Tour surfing competition held in and around Torquay, Victoria and sponsored by surf company Rip Curl. The event is based at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia. The event winner is awarded the prestigious 'Bell' trophy. It is the longest running professional surfing competition in the world.
The song "Hells Bells" by AC/DC is played every morning before the first competition.
History
The competition has been held annually at Easter time at Bells Beach, Victoria continuously since 1962, becoming a professional competition and sponsored by Rip Curl in 1973. The contest has had various sponsors over the years, including in 1984 Australian rock band, Australian Crawl.
The first Bells Beach contest was supposed to be held in late 1961 but was delayed until the Australia day weekend of 1962. The first winner was NSW surfer Glynn Ritchie. Occasionally George "Ming" Smith is credited as winning the 1961 event but he actually won the "wave of the day" in the first contest (1962) and was awarded a prize of 1 pound, and a pennant saying "winner 1961".
The event became mobile from 1993, and was held at various locations in Victoria, depending upon weather conditions. The entire 2005 event was held at Phillip Island due to poor conditions in Torquay. The event is now held only at Bells Beach and nearby Winkipop.
The famous Bells trophy was designed and built by Bells Beach local Joe Sweeney. The first time a Bell trophy was awarded was 1968. Winners of the Rip Curl Pro receive smaller replica Bells trophies to keep. Each year, Rip Curl founder Doug 'Claw' Warbrick presents the trophies to the winning athletes.
The 2020 and 2021 contests were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Naming
Since the birth of this competition it had different names, such as the Bells Beach Easter Classic.
Results
Men
::data[format=table]
| Year | Winner | Nation | Score | Runner-Up | Nation | Score | Prizemoney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jack Robinson | 13.50 | Kanoa Igarashi | 12.80 | $80,000 | ||
| 2024 | Cole Houshmand | 13.50 | Griffin Colapinto | 12.80 | $80,000 | ||
| 2023 | Ethan Ewing | 14.50 | Ryan Callinan | 11.00 | $80,000 | ||
| 2022 | Filipe Toledo | 14.74 | Callum Robson | 12.94 | $80,000 | ||
| 2021 | Not Held | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2020 | Not Held | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2019 | John John Florence | Hawaii Hawaii | 14.30 | Filipe Toledo | 13.83 | $607,800 | |
| 2018 | Italo Ferreira | 15.66 | Mick Fanning | 12.83 | $607,800 | ||
| 2017 | Jordy Smith | 18.90 | Caio Ibelli | 17.46 | $579,000 | ||
| 2016 | Matt Wilkinson | 17.37 | Jordy Smith | 14.16 | $551,000 | ||
| 2015 | Mick Fanning (4) | 15.27 | Adriano De Souza | 15.27 | $525,000 | ||
| 2014 | Mick Fanning (3) | 16.83 | Taj Burrow | 13.26 | $450,000 | ||
| 2013 | Adriano De Souza | 16.26 | Nat Young | 15.83 | $450,000 | ||
| 2012 | Mick Fanning (2) | 18.80 | Kelly Slater | 18.07 | $425,000 | ||
| 2011 | Joel Parkinson (3) | 18.53 | Mick Fanning | 13.25 | $425,000 | ||
| 2010 | Kelly Slater (4) | 17.03 | Mick Fanning | 12.00 | $400,000 | ||
| 2009 | Joel Parkinson (2) | 17.40 | Adam Robertson | 13.37 | $320,000 | ||
| 2008 | Kelly Slater (3) | 15.63 | Bede Durbidge | 15.16 | $320,000 | ||
| 2007 | Taj Burrow | 16.83 | Andy Irons | Hawaii Hawaii | 14.73 | $300,000 | |
| 2006 | Kelly Slater (2) | 15.44 | Joel Parkinson | 13.83 | $280,000 | ||
| 2005 | Trent Munro | 16.57 | Andy Irons | Hawaii Hawaii | 15.07 | $270,000 | |
| 2004 | Joel Parkinson | 17.13 | Taj Burrow | 14.04 | $250,000 | ||
| 2003 | Andy Irons (2) | Hawaii Hawaii | 17.57 | Joel Parkinson | 15.40 | $250,000 | |
| 2002 | Andy Irons | Hawaii Hawaii | 24.45 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaii Hawaii | 22.65 | $250,000 |
| 2001 | Mick Fanning | 20.85 | Danny Wills | 19.15 | $250,000 | ||
| 2000 | Sunny Garcia (3) | Hawaii Hawaii | 23.05 | Flavio Padaratz | 21.00 | $135,600 | |
| 1999 | Shane Dorian | Hawaii Hawaii | 24.75 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaii Hawaii | 23.65 | $120,600 |
| 1998 | Mark Occhilupo | 24.25 | Shane Dorian | Hawaii Hawaii | 19.80 | $120,600 | |
| 1997 | Matt Hoy | 26.50 | Damien Hardman | 21.80 | $120,600 | ||
| 1996 | Sunny Garcia (2) | Hawaii Hawaii | 30.80 | Todd Prestage | 29.15 | $105,000 | |
| 1995 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaii Hawaii | 34.70 | John Shimooka | Hawaii Hawaii | 33.00 | $105,000 |
| 1994 | Kelly Slater | 29.70 | Martin Potter | 28.30 | $105,000 | ||
| 1993 | Damien Hardman (2) | 22.00 | Barton Lynch | 20.00 | $100,000 | ||
| 1992 | Richie Collins | 30.00 | Martin Potter | 27.00 | $100,000 | ||
| 1991 | Barton Lynch | 71.80 | Damien Hardman | 68.80 | $125,000 | ||
| 1990 | Tom Curren (2) | 111.3 | Dave Macaulay | 100.8 | $92,500 | ||
| 1989 | Martin Potter | 123.5 | Damien Hardman | 113.3 | $66,500 | ||
| 1988 | Damien Hardman | 126.6 | Tom Carroll | 114.1 | $42,000 | ||
| 1987 | Nick Wood | 3 | Richard Marsh | 2 | $35,000 | ||
| 1986 | Tom Carroll | 5 | Tom Curren | 0 | $30,000 | ||
| 1985 | Tom Curren | 2 | Richard Cram | 1 | $25,000 | ||
| 1984 | Cheyne Horan | 2 | Tom Carroll | 0 | $25,000 | ||
| 1983 | Joe Engel | Wes Laine | |||||
| 1982 | Mark Richards (4) | Tom Carroll | $20,000 | ||||
| 1981 | Simon Anderson (2) | Cheyne Horan | $16,000 | ||||
| 1980 | Mark Richards (3) | Wayne Bartholomew | $15,100 | ||||
| 1979 | Mark Richards (2) | Wayne Bartholomew | $11,200 | ||||
| 1978 | Mark Richards | Wayne Bartholomew | $14,450 | ||||
| 1977 | Simon Anderson | Peter Drouyn | $9,500 | ||||
| 1976 | Jeff Hakman | Hawaii Hawaii | Ian Cairns | $6,000 | |||
| 1975 | Michael Peterson (3) | Shaun Tomson | |||||
| 1974 | Michael Peterson (2) | Peter Drouyn | |||||
| 1973 | Michael Peterson | Midget Farrelly | |||||
| 1972 | Terry Fitzgerald | Peter Drouyn | |||||
| 1971 | Paul Neilsen | Peter Drouyn | |||||
| 1970 | Nat Young (3) | Ted Spencer | |||||
| 1969 | Ted Spencer (2) | Frank Latta | |||||
| 1968 | Ted Spencer | Keith Paull | |||||
| 1967 | Nat Young (2) | Peter Drouyn | |||||
| 1966 | Nat Young | ||||||
| 1965 | Robert Conneely | Nat Young | |||||
| 1964 | Mick Dooley | ||||||
| 1963 | Doug Andrew | ||||||
| 1962 | Glynn Ritchie | ||||||
| 1961* | George "Ming" Smith | £1 ($2) Note: Smith won "wave of the day", not the actual final and the 1961 event was actually held in 1962. | |||||
| :: |
Women
::data[format=table]
References
Bibliography
- Mark Richards: A Surfing Legend, authorised biography by David Knox, 1992,
- The Ol' Girl, Tracks magazine, March 2006 (listing men's winners 1973 to 2005)
- Kelly Slater Wins 2006 Rip Curl Pro, by Nick Carroll at Surfing Magazine.
References
- [http://www.aspworldtour.com/schedule/asp-world-tour-schedule/ ASP World Tour Schedule] {{Webarchive. link. (2 January 2012 (accessed 28 April 2011))
- Shackell, James. (29 June 2020). "How Bells Beach changed the shape of modern surfing forever".
- Wilson, Peter. (3 April 2010). "Gilmore wins Rip Curl Women's Pro". ESPN.com.
- [http://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/bells.htm Surf Coast Shire] {{webarchive. link. (31 December 2006)
- (21 October 2020). "Turning Points".
- "Bells Beach » Torquay Historical Society".
- "Surfing News".
- "Wizards of the Water (1981)".
- "Source".
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