NSSA executive director Janice Aragon to be inducted into Surfers’ Hall of Fame

It’s 6 a.m. on a Saturday in mid-December. It’s cold and overcast, and you’re in bed, warm and dry.

Not Janice Aragon.

She’s on the beach, maybe in Huntington, maybe in Ventura, setting up for another surf contest. Either way, she doesn’t mind the chill, or the mist in the air. Just as long as there are waves.

Aragon, 63, is the executive director of the National Scholastic Surfing Assn., a position she’s held for 30 years. And soon, she’ll be a member of the Surfers’ Hall of Fame.

Aragon, along with Sam Hawk and Kai Lenny, will be inducted into the Hall during a ceremony in front of Huntington Surf & Sport on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach on Aug. 2 at 9 a.m.

Aragon, like other surfing legends before her, will put her handprints and footprints in cement, literally cementing her place in surf history, in recognition of her contribution to the sport, both in and out of the water.

“Janice Aragon is a true surfing champion and surfing legend that has impacted our sport and generations of surfers in a huge, positive way,” Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai said in a press release.

Unlike some Hall of Famers, who were surfing almost as soon as they could walk, maybe lived on the North Shore of Oahu, or even north Huntington, Aragon had no such built-in advantages.

She was born in Fresno and moved to Downey when she was 3. Family vacations to Hawaii introduced her to surfing when she was 15, and she moved to Huntington at age 18 when she started college at Long Beach State.

Back then in the 1970s, not very many young women surfed, and even fewer competed. It wasn’t until she was 28 in 1983 did Aragon compete in her first surfing contest.

It was the Huntington Beach city contest, and yes, she won it. Aragon then won the International Surfing Assn. world title in 1984, and won the NSSA Nationals in 1986 at age 30.

“Winning the world championships was a dream come true,” Aragon said. “[Former world champ] Peter Townend and NSSA founder Chuck Allen were coaches of that team and they believed in me. PT was a hardcore coach, but I responded to his style of coaching. I’m very competitive and so is he. Winning the world title opened up many doors for me in my surfing career. Being hired as NSSA executive director was one of those.

“Winning the NSSA Nationals was a huge goal of mine. It was cool because I beat Lisa Andersen in that final. Lisa and I competed in the NSSA together and we were both super competitive. As the story goes, she went on to be a multi-time world champion and I went on to become the NSSA executive director. Different paths.”

Different paths because winning surfing contests wasn’t the only thing going on in Aragon’s life at the time. She had become a mother of two.

“I won the 1984 ISA women’s world title and I had many sponsor opportunities come my way,” she said. “But I couldn’t travel because I had a toddler and I also had the goal of winning the NSSA Nationals. In 1986, I won the Nationals and had my second child so traveling all over the world to professional events was definitely out of the question.”

That path, however, led her to becoming a contest judge, and she was the first woman ever to judge a world tour event.

“That was a very exciting time for me,” Aragon said. “I got to judge the Stubbies Pro and then the OP Pro. I learned a lot about the judging aspect of the sport, which is such an important element of running top quality events, so it really helped me in my job as executive director. To be a great leader you need to have experience in all facets of the sport.”

Thirty years into her tenure leading the NSSA, Aragon is not slowing down. Giving up the reins to the organization is not in the cards for now.

“I love my job at the NSSA and when you love your job there is nothing but positive things that can come of it,” she said. “I plan on spending many more years at the helm. I’m always looking for ways to improve and elevate the program.”

Aragon takes pride in the successes achieved — both in and out of the water — by many of the kids who have surfed in the NSSA.

“To help kids achieve their dreams and goals whether it be professional surfing or heading off to college and pursuing a career is very rewarding,” she said. “Hopefully it leaves a lasting impact on them. My goal each year is to continue to bring new and exciting things to the NSSA and focus on the progression of our contests and to bring the best quality events to our members. I am going to push on to help grow the sport.”

And that includes opportunities for young women, who are among those in the lineup more and more every year.

“Women’s surfing has definitely come a long way,” she said. “The men’s side still outnumbers the female side by big figures, but the women’s game is elevating. I’m a big proponent of encouraging our young female surfers to get more progressive. Airs are a big part of the game now on the men’s side and the women definitely need to step up and follow suit.”

Soon, Aragon’s cement square will solidify her place among other Hall of Famers like Laird Hamilton, PT, Kelly Slater, Robert August, Jack O’Neill, Bud Llamas, Bob Hurley, Rob Machado, Jericho Poppler, Bethany Hamilton and others.

“Being inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame is a glorious feeling,” Aragon said. “Most definitely one of the highlights of my career. To have my handprints and footprints in cement with so many legends in the sport is a tremendous honor. It makes me take a deep breath and smile.”

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