Vans Women’s Triple Crown of Surfing
O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge
Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
25 November - 7 December 2005

Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
O’Neill World Cup of Surfing 
Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
25 November - 6 December 2005

O’NEILL PUTS THE TRIPLE BACK IN THE WOMEN’S CROWN

The O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge brings women back to compete at Sunset Beach after six years of waiting

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 16 November, 2005 : - - Irvine and Santa Cruz, CA - O'Neill inks the deal for a $10,000 women’s event for the second jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing at Sunset Beach, located on the renowned North Shore of Oahu.  The second stop of the Triple Crown of Surfing promises to deliver luster as a women’s championship surfing event has not been held at Sunset Beach for six years. The O'Neill Sunset Challenge follows the WCT (World Championship Tour) event at Haleiwa and precedes the final event for both the Triple Crown and the Women's WCT tour at Honolua Bay, Maui. The O'Neill Sunset Challenge waiting period is from Nov.25 to Dec. 6th, 2005. 
 
The O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge is open to the world’s top 17 ranked women surfers from the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) WCT, along with six wildcards, yet to be announced. A seventh wildcard invite will go to O’Neill’s Junior Pro Island Girl event winner, Bethany Hamilton, who dominated the Junior Pro event in four to six foot waves last month on the South Shore of Kauai.
 
“We are proud to be keeping the Triple Crown title alive for the women and having them surfing Sunset Beach,” said O’Neill’s Director of Brand Marketing, Bret Muhlitner. “This specialty event is a really good opportunity for the Women WCT surfers to charge Sunset, as well as some of the local Hawaiian talent to prove themselves in one of the most challenging waves in the world,” adds Muhlitner.
 
Sunset Beach is located in perhaps the most infamous stretch of beach in the world and has become the epicenter for high profile surf events. The size of winter waves on Oahu's North Shore plus the level of talented female athletes equals a chance for excellence for this World Cup event.
 
"Six years is a long time to wait for a place like Sunset, so the anticipation should make for a pretty epic event," said CEO and President of O'Neill Clothing, Kelly Gibson
 
Executive Director of the Triple Crown, Randy Rarick said, “It’s been my goal to get the women back to Sunset for the last few years. I’m really happy to see the women in a big wave arena once again. This event solidifies a very strong stop for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.”

Success at Sunset Beach requires extreme physical strength with mental stamina being equally as important. The challenge that lies ahead for the women happens almost 1/2 mile out in the ocean where it is not an uncommon occurrence for 15 to 20 foot waves to roll though this break. The wave thickness adds to the uniqueness and intimidation factor of Sunset Beach.
 
“I am looking forward to surfing Sunset in an event again,” said O’Neill teamrider and WCT title contender Rochelle Ballard. “It's been a while. Sunset is one of the most challenging waves in the world and it's great to see my sponsors bring it back into the Triple Crown,” adds Ballard.
 
All WCT competitors including Rochelle Ballard, Chelsea Georgeson, Sofia Mulanovich, Melanie Bartels, along with Bethany Hamilton and six other wildcards including local Sunset standouts are invited to the Challenge. Although this is one of the last events for the WCT athletes, points for the Sunset Challenge affect only the Triple Crown standings, which makes the second stop in the race to win the crown all the more exciting.
 
O’Neill is the world’s original surf brand. The family-owned and operated company distributes its products to 85 countries, including more than 2,000 specialty wetsuit and clothing retailers in the U.S. O’Neill Clothing USA is a licensee of O’Neill International. For more information log on to oneill.com.

www.oneill.com

To learn more about the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, please visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Coming soon
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# 4 : Coming soon  

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Jodi Young
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Vans Triple Crown of Surfing - Surfersvillage