CONTRIBUTOR – SURFING
Randy Rarick
In 1955, at the age of 5, the Rarick family moved from Seattle to Honolulu (Kaimuki) then settled in Niu Valley. At age of 10, Randy learned how to surf on Oahu’s south shore and fell in love with the sport after watching a surfing movie in 1962.
Surfing was Randy’s passion and he learned every aspect of the sport, from competing, repairing and shaping boards, to passing out posters of surfing movies, collecting tickets at the door and even running the movie projector at the theater.
After graduating from high school, surfing competitively allowed Randy to travel the world but would always make it a point to return home for the winter surf on Oahu’s north shore. Traveling allowed Randy to witness the emerging popularity of professional surfing. He also noticed how the events lacked cohesiveness.
After returning to Hawaii in 1975, he approached Fred Hemmings, who was the main promoter of surf events, and convinced him to create a circuit to link the individual events in Hawaii together and create the first professional surfing circuit. The circuit involved 12 events around the world, including 3 in Hawaii, under the title name, International Professional Surfing (IPS). (Note: IPS was the forerunner to the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) tour)
In 1983, the 3 events in Hawaii, Pipeline Masters, The Duke Classic and the Reef Hawaiian Pro were combined into the Triple Crown of Surfing. Randy organized the Triple Crown from its inception in 1983 until 2012 but continues to be intimately involved with one of the world’s most prestigious surfing contest.
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