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Charismatic and barrier-breaking surfer of the early and mid-1970s, from Honolulu, Hawaii; a confident big-wave rider and first-generation competitor on the world tour, as well as a 

Laura Blears was born (1951) in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of former professional wrestler Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears, moved with her family to Hawaii as a child and at age seven began surfing in Waikiki, along with the rest of her family. (Tally-Ho had a brief surfing cameo in 

. and during the '70s and '80s was the on-site announcer at virtually every professional surf contest in Hawaii.)

By 1970, Blears was Hawaii's top-rated woman surfer. In 1972, she won the Makaha International and placed 4th in the World Surfing Championships, while older brother Jimmy won the men's division. The following year, Blears was the only female surfer invited to the Smirnoff Pro-Am, surfing's richest surfing event at the time.

Six women were invited to the 1974 Smirnoff, and Blears was the top point-getter, earning $1,000.

Blears became a minor pop culture celebrity the following year when she was invited to ABC-TV's multi-event 

 competition—sometimes called "celebrity Olympics"—where she vied against the likes of Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby and Wimbledon champion Billie Jean King. She placed 5th in the 1975 Superstars, and returned for the next two years, finishing 3rd in 1976 and 5th in 1977; over three years, she won just over $26,000 in Superstars prizemoney. (Newly married, she now went by Laura Blears Ching, Laura Lee Ching, or Laura Ching.)

In 1975, Blears also posed and surfed in the nude for "Here's Why the Lady is a Champ Super Surfer!" a six-page layout in the July issue of 

; the outdoor photos were shot at Yokohama Bay, a semi-secluded beach on Oahu's west side.

In 1979, Blears was one of 72 women featured in "Supersisters," a line of trading cards; other Sisters included singer Helen Reddy, civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, and feminist author Gloria Steinem.

Blears surfing career hit a snag in 1975 when she was again announced as the Smirnoff winner, only to learn a few minutes later that there was a scorer's error and that Margo Oberg was in fact the winner. Blears continued to compete, but never again with the success she'd had earlier in the decade; when the women's pro circuit began in 1977, Blears sat it out. "I never got to go on tour," she later said. "But I paved the way [for women's pro surfing], and I'm proud of that."

After moving to Maui with her family, Blears worked as a hostess and taught water aerobics. Dylan Ching, her son, was a star wide receiver at San Diego State in the late 1990s and played in the 2000 Hula Bowl.

Blears, Laura

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