Waves were small at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach yesterday for the second day of the Op Pro Hawai'i.

But that was just fine with Japanese surfer Teppei Tajima.

"Hawai'i is No. 1," Tajima said after winning his third-round heat. "The water is warm. The wave is strong. No place in the world like this."

The third round and half of the fourth round was run yesterday in 1- to 3-foot waves. The Op Pro Hawai'i is the first event of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for men.

Tajima was just one example of how the sport of surfing has gone global.

Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, estimated that 80 percent of the surfers in this year's Triple Crown are not from Hawai'i. In the early years of the Triple Crown in the 1980s, the ratio was the opposite.

"In the old days, we'd load up the field with Hawaiians," Rarick said. "There was always a strong showing from the Australians, but not so much from the other countries. Now, you're seeing guys from, literally, all over the world."

The international influence was on display yesterday.

Among the nations represented in yesterday's heats were Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, France, Puerto Rico, Tahiti, Spain and the Canary Islands.

Hodei Collazo from Spain said he fulfilled a childhood dream by competing in the Triple Crown for the first time yesterday.

"The whole year, I was trying to get points (in other events) so that I could surf in Hawai'i," he said. "For everybody who surfs, Hawai'i is the biggest thing. I am so happy just to be in it, I don't care what the waves are like."

Rarick said the international field has expanded in the Triple Crown because the number of international events on the World Qualifying Series has increased.

Surfers qualify for the Triple Crown events by accumulating points in other WQS contests held earlier in the year.

"There's over 1,000 surfers on the WQS now, so that's a lot of guys going after points," Rarick said. "What a lot of these guys are doing is racking up points in their own places. That's why you see a lot more Brazilians and Australians here than you did in the past. They're getting the points you need to get here."

If yesterday was an indication, the international surfers are improving — at least in the small waves.

Bernardo Miranda of Brazil posted the top score of the day, receiving a two-wave total of 16.50 in his third-round victory.

"If you get a good result in Hawai'i, everybody in the surfing world will know," Miranda said. "Every surfer dreams of Hawai'i. Not just from Brazil, but everywhere in the world."

Rarick said the international field has led to additional exposure for the Triple Crown, and the state of Hawai'i.

"From a business standpoint, we're creating world-wide interest," he said. "When the Japanese guys are in (the Triple Crown) we get an incredible amount of coverage in Japan."

The toughest part for the international surfers might be dealing with the cost of living on O'ahu's North Shore for two months.

"My sponsor is Rip Curl, and they set up a few houses for us," Australia's Kieren Perrow said. "It gets crowded — there's like six or seven guys in each house. But it's what we have to do to save money and surf here."

The Hawai'i surfers were not completely wiped out yesterday. Among the standouts from Hawai'i advancing were Flynn Novak, Ola Eleogram, Makua Rothman, T.J. Barron and Sean Moody.

Among the Hawai'i surfers eliminated yesterday were Kaipo Jaquias, Kalani Chapman, Jason Shibata, Daniel Jones, Nathan Carroll and Mason Ho.

The top-seeded surfers received byes yesterday. Among the top seeds are defending Triple Crown champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i, and Hawai'i surfers Sunny Garcia, Bruce Irons, Pancho Sullivan and Fred Patacchia Jr.

The contest is expected to continue today. For status of the event call 596-7873 or visit triple crownofsurfing.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.