Elite field chosen for Triple Crown's Pipeline Masters
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Thanks to a new invitation-only format, the 31st annual Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters will feature a masterful field.
The staff of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing carefully selected an elite field of 48 to compete in this year's contest, which is scheduled for Dec. 8-17 at the famed Banzai Pipeline on O'ahu's North Shore.
Because of the make-or-break consequences involved with each wave at Pipeline, the contest has long been considered one of the most prestigious events in the sport.
"This is as good a field as we've ever had," said Randy Rarick, executive director of the Triple Crown. "What we've done is tried to get a good mix of young guys and veterans. We also tried to mix the local Hawaiian guys with some international guys. Bottom line is, we feel like we have the best surfers at Pipeline in the field."
To be sure, invitations were based on seven categories: Pipeline "specialists" (8), former Pipeline champs (8), event winners from the previous stops on this year's world tour (3), current elite world tour competitors (8), international "specialists" (8), youth "specialists" (7), and "wildcards" (4). Two spots will remain open for emerging contenders from this year's Triple Crown (the Pipeline Masters is the third contest in the Triple Crown series).
At least 21 surfers from Hawai'i have received invitations.
In previous years, the Pipeline Masters was part of surfing's World Championship Tour, and entry was restricted to active tour surfers. Non-tour surfers wanting a shot at the title had to qualify through "trials" heats, which became as fierce as the actual contest because of the high level of competition. Last year, for example, 32 surfers competed in the trials, and only the top two performers received spots in the main contest.
"The previous format didn't really give an equal opportunity to the surfers that perform the best out there," said Pancho Sullivan, a North Shore surfer who earned an invitation as a Pipeline specialist. "A lot of the (world tour) surfers surf really well at Pipeline, but a lot of others don't. The whole level of performance will be raised under this format."
This year's contest will not count toward the world tour standings, but it will be the only surfing event in the world to be televised nationally on NBC.
"It still hasn't hit me yet," said the North Shore's Jamie O'Brien, who is 18 and one of the youth specialists. "I was actually kind of scared when I first found out I was in. But I think I'm ready for it. I surf out there just about every day there's waves."
The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is scheduled to begin Nov. 12 with the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach. That will be followed by the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach, Nov. 26-Dec. 7, and then the Pipeline Masters.
Surfers invited to the Xbox Pipeline Masters
Previous champions: Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Jake Paterson, John Gomes, Derek Ho, Michael Ho, Tom Carroll, Mark Occhilupo.
2001 world tour event winners: Mick Fanning, Cory Lopez, Trent Munro.
2001 world tour elite competitors: Sunny Garcia, Andy Irons, Shane Dorian, C.J. Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, Luke Egan, Kalani Robb, Mick Lowe.
Pipeline specialists: Liam McNamara, Tamayo Perry, Braden Dias, Brian Pacheco, Pancho Sullivan, Myles Padaca, David Cantrell, Strider Wasilewski.
International specialists: Rizal Tandjung (Indonesia), Paul Canning (South Africa), Carlos Cabrero (Puerto Rico), Takayuki Wakita (Japan), Naohisa Ogawa (Japan), Diddier Piter (Europe), Renan Rocha (Brazil), Manoa Drollet (Tahiti).
Youth specialists: Bruce Irons, Rocky Cannon, Danny Fuller, Mark Healey, Fred Patacchia Jr., Jonah Morgan, Jamie O'Brien.
Wildcards: Shea Lopez, Joel Tudor, Christian Fletcher, Nathan Fletcher.
