2010 VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING RECAP (See photos below)
Stop 1: Reef Hawaiian Pro and Cholo's Women's Pro at Haleiwa, Ali'i Beach Park
Reef Hawaiian Pro
The holding period for Haleiwa was November 12-23, 2010. The men's Reef Hawaiian Pro started off on November 15th with a bang and huge 12-16 foot (faces) with occasional 20 foot bombs.
The highlight of the Reef Hawaiian Pro was the first ever "Clash of the Legends. " This special surf event was between surf legends Tom Curren (USA), Mark Occhilupo (AUS), Sunny Garcia (HAW) and Tom Carroll (AUS) battling it out for the two highest waves scores after three rounds for a $20,000 cash prize. Curren dominated the first two rounds, but in the end, it was Garcia who found the waves and the high scores in round 3 taking first place overall.
Final Results of the Clash of the Legends:
1. Sunny Garcia (HAW)
2. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
3. Tom Curren (USA)
4. Tom Carroll (AUS)
At Haleiwa, many of the surfers stuck to the inside at the "Toilet Bowl" area where the waves were more consistent to score points. The brave few waited in the outside section for the inconsistent bombers. In the finals, it came down to the favorites Haleiwa local Joel Centeio and Aussie Joel Parkinson fighting it out. Parkinson dominated the finals and eventually overtook Centeio.
Final Results:
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6500Pts, $20,000
2. Joel Centeio (HAW) 4875Pts, $10,000
3. Julian Wilson (AUS) 3656Pts, $5,100
4. Heath Joske (AUS) 3199Pts, $4,900
Cholo's Women's Hawaiian Pro
Day 1 for the women's Cholo's Hawaiian Pro was on November 16th with 6-8 foot+ surf. 24 female competitors participated in the Hawaiian Pro. The women competed alongside the men and finished up in two days on the 16th and the 17th. The upset of the contest was Oahu's Carissa Moore's surprising elimination in Round 1. Ranked #1 on the ASP Tour and 4x ASP World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore consistently did well in all her heats finishing strong with first place overall.
Final Results:
1. Stephanie Gilmore(AUS)3000Pts, $4,500
2.Tyler Wright (AUS) 2520Pts, $2,500
3. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 2160Pts, $2,100
4. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 2040Pts, $1,900
Stop 2: O'Neill World Cup of Surfing and O'Neill Women's World Cup at Sunset Beach
O'Neill World Cup of Surfing
The holding period for Sunset Beach was November 24-December 6th, 2010. On the first day of the holding period contest officials decided to hold the contest for the men in challenging 6-10 foot+ surf with strong offshore winds. Day 1 standouts for the men were Rudy Palmboom (ZAF) and Hawaiian surfers Joel Centeio, Sunny Garcia, Myles Padaca, Pancho Sullivan, and Hank Gaskell. Even though the surf was up the next day, the contest was postponed in observation of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Due to small surf the contest did not resume until December 1st. Simultaneous heats were ran in 2-4+ foot surf at Sunset Beach Kammieland (break directly left of Sunset across the channel) to efficiently finish heats. More than 1,000 waves were surfed that day to complete two and a half rounds.
On December 2nd, the men continued competition at Sunset and Kammieland. After a few heats in the morning at Kammieland, the rest of the competition continued at 4-6+ foot windy Sunset Beach. In the end, Raoni Monteiro made Brazilian history being the second Brazilian to win a Vans Triple Crown title.
Final Results:
1. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 6500Pts, $20,000
2. Julian Wilson (AUS) 4875Pts, $10,000
3. Granger Larsen (HAW) 3656Pts, $5,100
4. Josh Kerr (AUS) 3199Pts, $4,900
O'Neill Women's World Cup
The women completed the O'Neill World Cup in two days on November 24th and December 2. Day 1 for the women was alongside the men on the first day of the holding period on the 24th. The women got to show off their talents in the big and difficult conditions at Sunset. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) dominated the day with the highest single wave scores.
Day 2, Carissa Moore redeemed herself after her fast elimination at Haleiwa with the highest average score for the contest in the quarterfinals with a 16.83 out of 20, but was eventually knocked out in the semifinals. Sixteen year old Tyler Wright from Australia surprised everyone and took first place at Sunset after a fierce competition from Stephanie Gilmore and Sunset local Coco Ho. Wright is the younger sister of Owen Wright also a ASP professional surfer.
Final Results:
1. Tyler Wright (AUS) 1200Pts, $12,000
2. Coco Ho (HAW) 972Pts, $7,000
3. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 756Pts, $6,500
4. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 654Pts,$6,000
Stop 3: Billabong Pipe Masters and Vans Duel for the Jewel at Banzai Pipeline
Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons
Andy Irons passing on November 2, 2010 rocked the surf world, leaving family, friends, and surf fans in shock and disbelief that one of the greatest surfers in the world had died at such a young age. Irons was born and raised in Hanalei on the island of Kauai and competed professionally for numerous years. Irons won 3 ASP world titles and 20 elite titles and is considered the only surfer to compete on the level of Kelly Slater. Irons death was just before the start of the 2010 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and all the competitors had Andy on their minds and in their hearts, with many dedicating their wins to him. Irons is survived by his parents, brother Bruce, wife Lyndie, and newborn son Andrew Axel and will be missed dearly among the surf community. If you want to donate please send email to cedes_hardie@msn.com.
The final stop for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing was Banzai Pipeline and the holding period was December 8-20th, 2010. After the shocking passing of Andy Irons on November 2nd, the Billabong Pipe Masters was held "In Memory of Andy Irons."
December 8th the first day of the holding period was Day 1 of the Pipe Masters at Pipeline and Backdoor. Day 1 the waves were clean and barreling 6-10 foot in the morning and got a little messy in the afternoon. Two rounds of competition were completed on Day 1 in alternating two man heats.
After a few days of small surf, Day 2 was held on December 15th in 4-6 foot surf and Rounds 3, 4, 5 were completed at Pipeline and Backdoor. The morning brought clean barrels and the afternoon brought an increase in swell and strong winds. Kieren Perrow (AUS)was a standout in Round 3 scoring the single highest wave 9.83 out of 10. In Round 4, Kelly Slater (USA) topped Perrow's high score with a perfect 10 at Backdoor, the only perfect 10 at Pipe so far. Also, in Round 4, the upset of the day was Hawaii's Dusty Payne eliminating ranked Mick Fanning (AUS). This win also secured Payne enough points to make the 2011 ASP World Tour.
The final day of the Pipe Masters was December 16th in 4-8 foot surf. Perrow continued to dominate his heats eliminating ranked Jordy Smith (ZAF) in the quarterfinals and Dane Reynolds in the semifinals. The other standout was underdog Jeremy Flores from France who knocked out seemingly invincible Kelly Slater in the semifinals. Perrow and Flores fought it out in the finals and in the last couple minutes Flores got the wave he needed to outscore Perrow. This was Flores first WCT win ever.
Final Results:
1. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.54, 1000Pts, $75,000
2. Kieren Perrow (AUS), 13.77, 8000Pts, $30,000
Vans Duel for the Jewel
This is the first time in history of the Vans Triple Crown that the women's third stop was alongside the men at Pipeline. Usually held at Honolua Bay in Maui, this year the top four women with the most points after competing in Haleiwa and Sunset competed for all the points, cash, and notoriety at Pipeline.
December 15, 2010, four women made history at Pipeline in the Vans Duel for the Jewel: Tyler Wright (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Coco Ho, (HAW), and Alana Blanchard (HAW). This specialty event was a one heat battle for a $55,000 purse prize. The women got some picturesque barrels at Backdoor and Gilmore dominated the heat and eventually won first place.
Final Results:
1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50
2. Tyler Wright (AUS)) 7.50
3. Coco Ho (HAW) 6.86
4. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.50
- Taryn Wong
