Pipeline, beautiful and deadly : photo ASP/Tostee

2005 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing 

Mens events:    
Op Pro Hawaii
O'Neill World Cup of Surfing
Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters

Womens events:
Roxy Pro
O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge
Billabong Pro

Venues:
North Shore, Oahu, & Maui, Hawaii
12 November - 20 December 2005

2005 VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING SET TO START SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, Honolulu, HAWAII - (Thursday, November 10, 2005) - The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is set to start this Saturday, November 12, at Haleiwa's Ali'i Beach Park with the opening rounds of competition of the Op Pro Hawaii men's and Roxy Pro Hawaii women's competitions.

The schedule for the day's events is as follows:

10:00am - Opening blessing
10:15am - Hula Halau performance
10:30am - Opening remarks from Roxy & Op
10:45am - Press Briefing
11:00am - Competition to get underway, surf permitting

A north/north-west swell with open ocean heights of six feet is forecast for Saturday, and bodes well for the opening day of competition for the 2005 Vans Triple Crown winter surfing season.

"With the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) world title battle between Kelly Slater and Andy Irons now decided, the pressure is off and you can expect to see some of the most exceptional surfing from both of these surfers this season," said Series Executive Director Randy Rarick.

"Slater will be looking to celebrate an unprecedented seventh world title with a strong finish to a great year at Pipeline, and Andy will for sure be looking to win the Triple Crown in the same dominant fashion he did back in 2003. We know the kind of performances in store for us from these surfers as both have won the Triple Crown twice, and both have won individual event titles here more than a handful of times.

"The women's world title is still up for grabs, and you can expect Chelsea Georgeson (Australia) and Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) to hit top gear from the word 'go' at Haleiwa. This will also be one of the toughest women's Triple Crown battles in history.

"The attention of the surfing world definitely shifts now to the Vans Triple Crown, which has always stood as one of surfing's most coveted titles. To win the Triple Crown is to prove yourself as the most accomplished surfer in the world's most challenging waves."

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing consists of three men's and three women's events, offering an additional $10,000 bonus to the top performing male and female over the Series. Defending Triple Crown champions Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) and Chelsea Georgeson (Australia) will both be competing at Haleiwa - Garcia in his final round of world tour competition after 20 years, and Georgeson in position to claim her maiden world title.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is comprised of the following events:

1. Op Pro Hawaii/Roxy Pro Hawaii - Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park, November 12-24
2. O'Neill World Cup of Surfing/O'Neill Sunset Challenge for Women - Sunset Beach, November 26-December 6
3. Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters/Billabong Pro Maui Women's - Pipeline (men)/Honolua Bay Maui (women), December 8-20

Videos:
Op Pro Hawaii pre-event highlights
Roxy Pro Hawaii pre-event highlights

Good swell on tap - Good chance of day 1 start at Haleiwa

The holding period for the Op Pro Hawaii and Roxy Pro starts this Saturday, the 12th of November. It looks like we will get waves right at the start of the contest waiting period. A new NW swell moves in on Friday and will continue to peak right into Saturday. Check first thing Saturday morning for the contest director's call.

Roxy Pro Hawaii update:

 
Roxy Jam Pro-Am trials finalists

Tory and Chastity advance out of Roxy Jam trials and into the trials for the Roxy Pro

As an added element of the Roxy Pro Hawaii this year, Roxy hosted the - ROXY JAM PRO/AM TRIALS - at Maili Point on the West Side of Oahu. The ROXY JAM trials event, held on Oct. 29th in perfect 4-5 foot conditions thanks to a late season south swell, determined 2 winners that will advance to a trials heat at Haleiwa prior to the Roxy Pro Hawaii start. TORY TITCOMB (Honolulu - O'ahu) who took first place and CHASTITY BALTAZAR (Makaha - O'ahu) in second at the ROXY JAM will face Roxy's Carissa Moore and Rip Curl sponsored Bethany Hamilton in a trials heat at Haleiwa to compete for the one wildcard into Round One of the Roxy Pro Hawaii.

For full information click on TripleCrownofSurfing.com

Previous reports:
# 1 : Vans Triple Crown of Surfing to top off an exciting year
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

     
Op Pro Hawaii                       Vans Triple Crown of Surfing                  Roxy Pro Hawaii

About Vans
Vans, Inc., a subsidiary of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), is a leading lifestyle brand for the youth market. Vans® collections, which include active and performance footwear, apparel and accessories, snowboard boots and bindings and the Pro-tec® line of protective gear, are sold in the United States through 150 company owned stores and factory outlets as well as independent retailers. Internationally, Vans sells its goods in approximately 50 countries through a network of distributors, sales agents and foreign offices. Vans supports and promotes the action sports lifestyle through such events as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing™, the Vans Warped Tour™, and the Vans Cup at Tahoe™.

For more information on Vans, please visit www.vans.com.

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Jodi Young

Triple Crown Series - Surfersvillage