A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Specialized surfing event, popular in the 1990s and '00s, where competitors are judged solely on aerial maneuvers; conceived and developed in 1996 by 

 magazine senior editor Skip Snead, with help from aerialist Shawn "Barney" Barron of Santa Cruz.

Surfing aerials—first attempted in the late '70s, then given a boost in popularity in the early '90s by Christian Fletcher and Kelly Slater, among others—were inspired by airborne moves performed by skateboarders. Aerials were long thought of as too high-risk to perform in traditional-format surf contests, which tended to reward consistency over progression.

The first aerial-only contest ran as an adjunct to the 1996 Cold Water Classic event in Santa Cruz and was won by Shawn Barron. Over the next 16 months, six aerial contests were linked together as the original Surfing Magazine Airshow (SMAS) tour, worth a total of $10,000, with aerial pioneer Christian Fletcher topping the ratings at the end of the season. SMAS events over the years to follow often featured some of the world's best-known mainstream surfers—including Kelly Slater, Matt Archbold, Andy Irons, and Kalani Robb—but the top slots invariably went to a small but dedicated group of aerial specialists, such as Eric McHenry, Jason "Ratboy" Collins, and Randy "Goose" Welch. Josh Kerr, originally an aerial specialist, later made the transition to top-ranked world tour pro.

The crowd-pleasing SMAS series grew quickly, and in 1999 the tour was underwritten by Vans. Copycat airshow events and tours soon followed, including the National Scholastic Surfing Association O'Neill Airshow Series (an amateur version of the SMAS) and Surfing Australia's Quiksilver Airshow Series. The 2002 Quiksilver Airshow World Championships, a $64,000 one-off event held at Manly Beach, Australia, was won by Hawaiian Goose Welch, who earned $20,000.

As a rule, Airshow competitors were judged on the combined scores of their two best aerial movies; all other parts of the ride were not counted. None of the Airshow events had a women's division.


1996-97: Christian Fletcher
1998, 1999: Jason Collins
2000: Randy Welch
2001: 2002: Eric McHenry
2003: Aaron Cormican


2000-01: Oscar Wright
2001-02: Dave Reardon-Smith
2002-03: Kirk Flintoff
2004-05: Josh Kerr

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

Videos

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

Videos