final round of the event set feb. 10
ABOVE VIDEO: Space Coast Sports Hall of Famer and Cocoa Beach Native Kelly Slater competed in the opening round of the World Surf League’s Lexus Pipe Pro.
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA – Space Coast Sports Hall of Famer and Cocoa Beach native Kelly Slater competed in the opening round of the World Surf League’s Lexus Pipe Pro in Oahu, Hawaii.
The final round of the competition is set for February 10.
11-time World Champion Slater is regarded as the greatest competitive surfer of all time, holding nearly every major record in the sport, including 11 World Titles, 56 CT victories, and being both the youngest and oldest World Champion in men’s history. He’s had a huge influence on the sport through his progressive surfing, competitive nature, and wave system technology.
Slater’s incredible career started with winning Rookie of the Year in 1990 and spans more than three decades. He won his first World Title in 1992 and his most recent Title in 2011.
In 2022, Slater claimed his 56th CT victory at Pipeline, just a few days before his 50th birthday. Now at age 51, Slater is in search of adding yet another World Title and a provisional Olympic qualification to his name.
Cocoa Beach is Home
Born in 1972 and raised in Cocoa Beach, where he still resides, Slater learned how to surf in the Atlantic waters at Fourth Street North with his older brother Sean and his younger brother Stephen.
In Slater’s opinion, Cocoa Beach is as good a place as any to develop the fundamentals and skills needed to be a championship surfer.
“It breaks farther out,” he says, “so it’s easier to learn. If I had the choice of learning in Florida or Hawaii, I’d choose Florida. You don’t try to run before you can walk.” Sebastian Inlet is still one of his favorite surfing venues.
As a perennial amateur champion, which included six Eastern Surfing Association and four national titles, Slater and his brother Sean started to appear in board shorts ads in the mid-80s, and when he was ready to join the pro ranks in 1990, he was one of the most recognizable athletes in the sport of surfing.
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The post WATCH: Cocoa Beach Native Kelly Slater Competes in Opening Round at the Lexus Pipe Pro in Hawaii appeared first on Space Coast Daily.