Surfing stars to join Walk and Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Huntington Beach

Though the beach is the central fixture in Huntington Beach during the U.S. Open of Surfing this week, many fans will be focusing off the sand Thursday and Friday morning to help honor several legends of the waves at the annual Surfing Walk of Fame and Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

The honorees for the 24th Walk of Fame inductions Thursday include Jeff Hakman (as Surf Pioneer), Barton Lynch (Surf Champion), Pam Burridge (Woman of the Year), Jim Jenks (Surf Culture) and Timmy Reyes (Local Hero). Being inducted in the Honor Roll are five coaches from the Huntington Beach High School surf team, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary: Bill Garland (1967-68), Bruce Gabrielson (1969-75), Rob Hill (1976-81), Chuck Allen (1981-88) and Andy Verdone (1988 to present).

All will be immortalized on plaques in the pavement at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street during a ceremony from 9 to 11 a.m. in front of Jack’s Surfboards.

Lynch, a 1988 world champion, claimed 17 championship tour wins during his 15-year career, including winning the U.S. Open’s precursor, the OP Pro, in 1987 and 1991 in Huntington Beach, according to a news release.

Hakman won the Pipeline Masters in 1971 and became the first non-Australian to take the Bell Beach trophy in 1976. He also co-founded Quiksilver USA.

Jenks helped change surfing culture with his Irvine-based Ocean Pacific, or OP, surf clothing brand.

Reyes, of Huntington Beach, began surfing at age 5 and rolled through a stellar amateur career before turning pro upon graduation from Edison High School in 2000.

Burridge started surfing in 1975 at age 10 and won the Australian national title at 15. She took the women’s world championship in 1990.

On Friday, Bethany Hamilton and Michael “Mick” Fanning, both of whom survived shark attacks while surfing, will be inducted at 9 a.m. into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame in front of Huntington Surf and Sport at 300 Pacific Coast Hwy. They will have their hands and footprints embedded in cement.

Hamilton reached national fame as the subject of the bestselling book “Soul Surfer,” which detailed the loss of her left arm to a 14-foot tiger shark at age 13. The book was adapted into a film in 2011.

Within two years of the attack, Hamilton won a national amateur title. She placed third at the 2016 Fiji Women’s Pro.

Hamilton also is part of several charitable efforts, including founding the Friends of Bethany foundation to help amputees.

Fanning, nicknamed “White Lightning” for his speed, gained widespread fame when he escaped unscathed from a great white shark attack in 2015 during a surfing competition in South Africa.

(Warning: Video contains some explicit language)

But before that, Fanning had worked his way into the highest echelon of surfing by collecting three world titles.

His 2009 book, “Surf for Your Life,” describes the impact his brother Sean’s death in a 1998 car accident had on his life and priorities.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot

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