Surfing’s “masters” events have never quite had the cachet of the masters of golf or tennis, but having run four masters’ world championships for Quiksilver back at the turn of the century, I retain a soft spot for them.
And I don’t mean the “legacy” demo heats the organisers sometimes chuck out to give competitors a rest at Bells or J-Bay, which can be fascinating or downright embarrassing, depending on how much time had been spent in the beer tent. I’m talking about the formalised contests between former top-ranked pros which began with the Oxbow Masters at Tavarua in 1997 (won by Terry Richardson) and was taken over by Quiksilver Europe in 1999, when I became the event director, alongside contest director Rod Brooks.
For me, having covered the seminal pro tour events of the 1970s, the next four years were a succession of incredible surfing and fabulous reunions with old mates, twice in France, then in Ireland and finally in Makaha, Hawaii. The only regret was having to cancel the Masters in Safi, Morocco, after six months of prep, because George Bush invaded Iraq.
The Sunny Coast’s own Gary “Kong” Elkerton, always a world title bridesmaid in his first pro career, won three of the Quik Masters in succession, and I’ll never forget him kissing the sand at Lafitenia in France after finally becoming a deserving world champ. But for me the spirit of the Masters was best exemplified by Australia’s Nat Young riding the biggest wave of the contest at Makaha in 2003, streaking across a mountain of water before wiping out and having to swim in. Gasping for breath behind a wide smile on the beach, he told reporters: “You gotta have a go, no matter how old you are!” Nat was a mere kid of 56.
The last time I attended a pro Masters was the WSL event in the ruggedly beautiful Azores Islands in the mid-Atlantic in 2018, but I’ve kept an eye on the ISA amateur masters events that followed, none more so than last week’s event at El Sunzal in Surf City, El Salvador, where the locals must be getting mightily sick of hosting a title event every second week, but seem not to show it.
The main reason for my interest in these Masters, was the return to competition of an old friend named Becky Benson, a pioneer of women’s surfing in Hawaii in the ‘70s and a gal of great spirit. Colonel Al Benson, a veteran of three wars, had retired in 1967 and moved his wife and five kids to the North Shore of Oahu, where he turned himself into a surf photographer. Just like that.
I met the colonel (always “the colonel”) on the beach at Pipe on my first winter on the North Shore and we hit it off, which was not difficult with the affable gent. Through him I met Becky and her older sister Blanche, both great surfers but it was Becky who had the competitive edge. There was no world tour for women in 1976, the first year of the IPS rankings, but in 1977 Becky finished third behind Margo Oberg and Lynne Boyer, both multiple world champions.
A 98lb pocket rocket, Becky was fearless in big waves, but also excelled in the small stuff, and although her contest record was patchy, she won the Makaha International as a junior in 1971 and the Op Pro in 1982, to bookend her competitive career. I last saw her at an ASP awards night in Honolulu about 2010, and she told me she was fit and well and surfing regularly, but it was still a surprise to see her name on the list as a competitor in the debut of the women’s Kahuna (over 60) division at El Sunzal.
Having dusted off the quiver and flown to El Salvador, the 67-year-old was a sensation on the rights of El Sunzal, taking the Kahuna crown and joining later generations’ Rochelle Ballard and Melanie Bartels in a clean sweep of the women’s divisions to give Hawaii the team silver medal, behind Brazil with team gold and ahead of Australia, whose bronze was largely down to a brilliant display by Scott Schindler to win the Grand Masters (over 50) and Serena Brooke with a silver in the over 40s women.
But it was Beck’s day. Still got it, girl! The Colonel would be proud.
Sunny Sets is coming
Speaking of girls having a dig, the Sunny Sets Women’s Surf Comp is coming our way, “a weekend of growth, empowerment and inspiration, a celebration of female surfing community – a surf competition like no other”, according to the organisers.
It happens 1-2 February 2025, an immersive two-day surf event for women of all ages, hosted by the Noosa Malibu Club and supported by the Queensland State Government’s Active Women and Girls Program. Both days will include a sunrise yoga and breathwork session on the beach, with a focus on surf-specific strength and flexibility, mindfulness practice and intention setting.
Saturday is all about fun, learning and development – professional longboarders and accredited surf coaches and judges will assess each ‘practice’ heat, with video analysis of each wave caught.
Sunday will encourage surfers to apply the knowledge and insight gained from the day before and apply them in a traditional format surf contest will be held, with 20 minute heats, five women per heat. Divisions range from groms to grannies, novices to pros!
Registrations are now open and are expected to fill up fast, so if you’re interested head to sunnysets.com.au and following the link to register.
