There may be bigger waves of the professional surfing circuit but few have earned the same reverence as the right-hand reef break at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.
Every year since 1961, the cream of the pro surfing world has converged on this little pocket of coast found an hour-and-a-half outside of Melbourne, with the who's who battling it out for the right to ring the bell over the Easter weekend.
And while superstars from the northern hemisphere have risen above the pack down under, Bells' champion has more often than not been a local.
From the pioneers of the longboard era to the household heroes of recent years, here is every female surfer to have won the Bells Beach Surf Classic.
Year | Winner | Nationality | Score |
1964 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1965 | Not Held | - | - |
1966 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1967 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1968 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1969 | Vivien Campbell | Australian | - |
1970 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1971 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1972 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1973 | Not Held | - | - |
1974 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1975 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1976 | Gail Couper | Australian | - |
1977 | Margo Oberg | American | - |
1978 | Margo Oberg | American | - |
1979 | Lynne Boyer | American | - |
1980 | Margo Oberg | American | - |
1981 | Linda Davoli | American | - |
1982 | Debbie Beacham | American | - |
1983 | Helen Lambert | Australian | - |
1984 | Kim Mearig | American | - |
1985 | Frieda Zamba | American | - |
1986 | Freida Zamba | American | - |
1987 | Jodie Cooper | Australian | - |
1988 | Kim Mearig | American | 115.9 |
1989 | Wendy Botha | Australian | 120.8 |
1990 | Lisa Andersen | American | 111.5 |
1991 | Pauline Menczer | Australian | 90.8 |
1992 | Lisa Andersen | American | 23.2 |
1993 | Pauline Menczer | Australian | 19.7 |
1994 | Layne Beachley | Australian | 20.67 |
1995 | Lisa Andersen | American | 27.10 |
1996 | Pauline Menczer | Australian | 22.30 |
1997 | Lisa Andersen | American | 26.00 |
1998 | Layne Beachley | Australian | 24.50 |
1999 | Layne Beachley | Australian | 21.25 |
2000 | Megan Abubo | Hawaiian | 18.90 |
2001 | Neridah Falconer | Australian | - |
2002 | Not Held | - | - |
2003 | Not Held | - | - |
2004 | Not Held | - | - |
2005 | Sofia Mulanovich | Peru | 15.83 |
2006 | Not Held | - | - |
2007 | Stephanie Gilmore | Australia | 16.50 |
2008 | Stephanie Gilmore | Australia | 16.50 |
2009 | Silvana Lima | Brazilian | 17.34 |
2010 | Stephanie Gilmore | Australian | 14.67 |
2011 | Sally Fitzgibbons | Australian | 16.77 |
2012 | Sally Fitzgibbons | Australian | 10.76 |
2013 | Carissa Moore | Hawaiian | 11.00 |
2014 | Carissa Moore | Hawaiian | 15.73 |
2015 | Carissa Moore | Hawaiian | 14.00 |
2016 | Courtney Conlogue | American | 16.53 |
2017 | Courtney Conlogue | American | 17.00 |
2018 | Stephanie Gilmore | Australian | 14.17 |
2019 | Courtney Conlogue | American | 15.83 |
2020 | Not Held | - | - |
2021 | Not Held | - | - |
2022 | Tyler Wright | Australian | 16.93 |
2023 | Tyler Wright | Australian | 16.00 |