Once a year, surfing's top-ranked men and women arrive in Hawaii to take on the world's most challenging waves in the final battle for world titles, prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing titles, over $800,000 in prize money, and all-important seeding for the following season.
For the men: It begins with the Reef Hawaiian Pro (Nov. 12 - 23 at Haleiwa Ali’i Beach Park), followed by the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (Nov. 24 - Dec 6 at Sunset Beach), and finishes with the Billabong Pipeline Masters (Dec. 8-20 at Banzai Pipeline), which offers a $300,000 prize purse. The Women’s Triple Crown of Surfing begins with the Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach (Nov. 12 - Dec 6, at Sunset Beach) and the Billabong Pro in Maui (Dec. 8-20 at Honolua Bay).
North Shore -The Mecca of Surfing
This is your chance to witness some of the world's best surfers riding some of the most famous waves in the world! Three separate surf events are staged at three different locations along the incredible North Shore – also called the Mecca of surfing. Each surf break requires special equipment, unique strategy and exceptional mental toughness.
Over the past 27 years, the Triple Crown evolved from a local series to the premier competition in professional surfing. In 1983, Fred Hemmings, former world champion surfer decided to create this title series by linking the three existing Hawaiian events (Hawaiian Pro, Pipeline Masters and World Cup Surfing) into one colossal surfing competition where a champion could emerge after conquering the three very different competitions.
Three Events – Three Challenges
The first event begins at Haleiwa break and features a fast ride that peels off over coral reef, allowing the surfers a large variety of maneuvers. The second event takes place at Sunset Beach, which in contrast to Haleiwa, breaks almost a half-mile out to sea in very deep waters. Consequently, the waves can be up to 20 feet thick and up to four stories high. The final event takes place at Banzai Pipeline with waves that rears up 50 feet from shore and showcases waves of up to five stories high, making it a great spectator event. These waves hit with speed and power, and launches abruptly from just a few feet in height to 15 or 20 feet in a matter of seconds. The effect of this is a hollow, barreling wave that has made the name "Banzai Pipeline" famous around the world.
Each event has an extended holding period of more than 10 days, allowing competitors and organizers to pick and choose the biggest and best days within the alloted time frame. Each competition will run a total of 4-5 days within its specified holding period, with heats scheduled from 8am to 4pm on days of competition.
