Mick Fanning congratulates Pancho Sullivan on the Op Pro Hawaii winners podium
Photo Carol Cunningham : Cunninghamphotos.com

2005 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing 

Mens events:    
Op Pro Hawaii* ASP 6 star WQS
O'Neill World Cup of Surfing
Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters

Womens events:

Roxy Pro ASP WCT #8/2005
O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge
Billabong Pro

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

Op Pro Hawaii:- Scores/Results/Photos/Videos etc

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, Haleiwa, HAWAII - (Wednesday, November 23, 2005) - The Op Pro had the honor of awarding Hawaii's Pancho Sullivan, 32, his first Vans Triple Crown of Surfing victory after 15 years of trying. His win today all but guarantees him a place on next year's elite Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT), which will make him the oldest first-time WCT qualifier. He earned $15,000 for first place today and takes an early lead on the 2005 Vans Triple Crown Series ratings.

For years, Sullivan has been touted as one of the North Shore's greatest surfers and those in the know have considered a Triple Crown victory to be inevitable... but no-one guessed it would be this long coming. Today, a combination of highly contestable six- to eight-foot waves and a year of determination to compete well came together for success.

"I can't even believe this has finally happened," said Sullivan. "I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal: to win the Triple Crown. I surfed my first Triple Crown event at Sunset when I was 18.... I've always viewed Hawaii as the proving ground for surfers and to me, the Triple Crown has always been my chance to win a world title, because that's how much it means to us here."

As for qualifying for the WCT: "That's something completely different! I kind of let that part of my year go. When I got home from traveling all year, my focus was back on the Triple Crown, so I'm pretty psyched about it." Sullivan is now rated 11th on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings.

Mick Fanning powered to second place : photo Karen Tostee.com

The 35-minute, four-man final was action-packed. The most heated exchange was that between Sullivan and world No.4-ranked WCT surfer Mick Fanning. Fanning with his accelerated bottom-turn into top-turn slashes, and Sullivan with his trademark power gouges and strategic tube rides. Fanning never lost his composure, despite a snapped surfboard leash on his first ride.

After swimming to the beach, he proceeded to catch more waves than any other surfer in the final - nine, even holding down the lead at one point. Fanning finished second, earning $8,000. Third place and $6,000 went to Brazil's Raoni Monteiro, and fourth was 20-year-old Huntington Beach, Ca., surfer Brett Simpson. Simpson, who had never made it to a final before today, earned $4,000.

"I wanted to get a few waves under my belt just to settle down a bit," said Fanning, 24. "But I was just pushing it too hard at the start. The waves towards the end got me some good scores, but they unfortunately weren't enough. But I'm really stoked for Pancho to have a win and push his ratings up. I've been following his ratings the whole year. He's a legend.

"Now I'm pumped to get another result at Sunset and keep my Triple Crown ratings alive and hopefully push for the win coming into Pipe."

Raoni Monteiro finsihed in third place : photo Karen Tostee.com

For Brazil's Monteiro, this was his first Hawaiian final in his seven-year career. He finished the day at 9th on the WQS rankings. "I'm just completely stoked. For me, this is my first final in Hawaii. This is my seventh year on the tour. This year has been very hard for me. I haven't had too many good results, so to be close to requalifying for the WCT is great."

Huntington Beach's Brett Simpson was the mystery man of the final, slipping under the radar as he systematically accounted for some serious talent: Australians Joel Parkinson and Luke Munro in the semi-finals, as well as local surfers Roy Powers and Ian Walsh earlier in the day. Simpson has jumped from relative obscurity to 20th on the WQS.

"It's my first year at this event, so this is a dream come true," said Simpson. "I never thought I'd be in the final, but I just stayed confident and did what I could do. Surfing with those guys, I knew I'd have to surf to the best of my abilities, so I just went for broke."

Surprise eliminations today largely came at the hands of the ocean, which occasionally bankrupted heats. Three-time world champion Andy Irons was one, losing in the round before the quarters. Jamie O'Brien was another, posting a paltry heat total of 0.37 of a point in the quarter finals, finding no good scoring ride in 25 minutes of waiting.

Brett Simpson finsihed in fourth place : photo Karen Tostee.com

Defending event champion Sunny Garcia lost in the semi-finals today, placing equal seventh overall. It is still enough to keep him in Triple Crown contention. Garcia, 35, will be retiring from the pro tour at the end of this winter.

"To get into the quarter finals, the semi-finals, you keep yourself in contention," said Garcia "I've won the Triple Crown without winning an event before - it's about the most consistent surfer... and my track record at Sunset at Pipeline are pretty damm good. So there's next week. I'm back to the drawing board."

The Vans Triple Crown was ecstatic to welcome Op back into the Series this year, having been an event sponsor back in the mid-'90s. This is the first of a three-year commitment by Op, who plan to develop this competition into a major community event in the coming years.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing now moves seven miles along the North Shore for stop number two at Sunset Beach, which has a holding period from this Friday, November 25, through December 6. Men's and women's competition will be held on the best four days of surf during that period. Plenty of swell is forecast for the coming days, so competition could start as early as Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Four to six foot surf rolled into Haleiwa's Ali'i Beach park for the final day of the OP Pro
Photo : Kistin/Tostee.com

Op Pro Hawaii - Results:

Final
1 Pancho Sullivan,Haw 9.33 7.9O -> 17.23pts
2 Mick Fanning,Aus 8.O7 7.83  -> 15.90pts
3 Raoni Monteiro,Bra 8.OO 5.43  -> 13.43pts
4 Brett Simpson,USA 7.27 5.33 -> 12.60pts

Semi Final Heat # 1
1  17.24 Raoni Monteiro  Bra 
2  16.03 Mick Fanning  Aus 
3  15.97 Adrian Buchan  Aus 
4  13.64 Sunny Garcia  Haw 

Semi Final Heat # 2 
1  12.50 Pancho Sullivan  Haw 
2  11.16 Brett Simpson  USA
3  9.04 Luke Munro  Aus
4  5.83 Joel Parkinson  Aus

Quarter Finals Heat # 1
1  16.16 Raoni Monteiro  Bra
2  13.37 Sunny Garcia  Haw
3  13.07 Luke Stedman  Aus  
4  9.94 Yuri Sodre  Bra 

Quarter Finals Heat # 2
1  16.33 Mick Fanning  Aus
2  15.17 Adrian Buchan  Aus 
3  12.87 Kaipo Jaquias  Haw 
4  12.44 Tom Whitaker  Aus 

Quarter Finals Heat # 3
1  12.27 Joel Parkinson  Aus
2  11.50 Pancho Sullivan  Haw 
3  10.60 Maz Quinn  NZ 
4  0.37 Jamie O'Brien  Haw 

Quarter Finals Heat # 4
1  16.84 Luke Munro  Aus 
2  14.50 Brett Simpson  USA   
3  10.10 Roy Powers  Haw 
4  7.57 Jarrad Howse  Aus


The complete list of results is available here ....(Not on menu bar, but at lower left below "Contest Status")

More todays photos available here 

Men's WQS Ratings After Evt#40 Op Pro Hawaii,Haleiwa, Oahu-Hawaii

Name                                           Country       Rating                Points

Souza,Adriano de	BRA	1	13128
Martinez,Bobby	USA	2	10570
Buchan,Adrian	AUS	3	10553
Cansdell,Shaun	AUS	4	10515
Henrique,Pedro	BRA	5	10353
Powers,Roy	HAW	6	9640
Moura,Paulo	BRA	7	9540
Emslie,Greg	ZAF	8	9439
Monteiro,Raoni	BRA	9	9281
Weare,David	ZAF	10	9250
Sullivan,Pancho	HAW	11	9065
Sodre,Yuri	BRA	12	9053
Picon,Mikael	FRA	13	9045
Stedman,Luke	AUS	14	8870
Khodr,Jihad	BRA	15	8849
Reyes,Tim	USA	16	8669
Pires,Tiago	PRT	17	8618
Hall,Glenn	AUS	18	8418
Logie,Travis	ZAF	19	8172
Simpson,Brett	USA	20	8168
Munro,Luke	AUS	21	8163
Brooks,Troy	AUS	22	8130
Howse,Jarrad	AUS	23	8036
Bourgeois,Ben	USA	24	7950
Dornelles,Rodrigo	BRA	25	7888
Kling,Gabe	USA	26	7848
Rocha,Marcondes	BRA	27	7772
Ross,Daniel	AUS	28	7771
Redman,Daniel	ZAF	29	7655
Trekinho,Marcelo	BRA	30	7544
Coutinho,Odirlei	BRA	31	7490
Costa,Danilo	BRA	32	7451
Acero,Eneko	ESP	33	7413
Hitchings,Luke	AUS	34	7391
Winter,Russell	GBR	35	7311
Neto,Dunga	BRA	36	7257
Neves,Leonardo	BRA	37	7189
Mitchell,Beau	AUS	38	7177
Curran,Nathaniel	USA	39	7168
Thompson,Jay	AUS	40	7115
Bryson,Royden	ZAF	41	7109
Flintoff,Kirk	AUS	42	7077
Quinn,Maz	NZL	43	6923
Daltro,Armando	BRA	44	6906
Nunes,Marcelo	BRA	45	6808
Beven,Patrick	FRA	46	6778
O'Rafferty,Darren	AUS	47	6776
Riou,Alain	PYF	48	6670
Kerr,Josh	AUS	49	6651
Toth,Brian	PRI	50	6612
Gouveia,Fabio	BRA	51	6591
Rosa,Peterson	BRA	52	6574
Muscroft,Nic	AUS	53	6561
Rebiere,Eric	FRA	54	6519
Otton,Kai	AUS	55	6512
Pigmeu,Bernardo	BRA	56	6474
Polo,Marco	BRA	57	6453
Centeio,Joel	HAW	58	6400
Davidson,Chris	AUS	59	6391
Lipke,Marlon	DEU	60	6361
Sedley,Leigh	AUS	61	6345
Durbidge,Bede	AUS	62	6344
Alves,Heitor	BRA	63	6321
Robertson,Adam (Vic)	AUS	64	6289
Dunn,Ben	AUS	65	6179
Wright,Warwick	ZAF	66	6157
Bortoletto,Antonio	ZAF	67	6156
Santos,Bruno	BRA	68	6070
Webster,Nathan	AUS	69	6063
Courtney,Drew	AUS	70	6028
Mujica,Justin	PRT	71	5948
Cuizon,Dustin	HAW	72	5745
Herdy,Guilherme	BRA	73	5732
Martin,Toby	AUS	74	5727
Moody,Sean	HAW	75	5699
Galvao,Renato	BRA	76	5650
Merle-Jones,Jesse	HAW	77	5647
Mann,Samba	AUS	78	5552
Nora,Wilson	BRA	79	5540
Aranburu,Aritz	ESP	80	5526
Boal,Tim	FRA	81	5457
Flores,Jeremy	REU	82	5420
Perrow,Kieren	AUS	83	5386
Whitaker,Tom	AUS	84	5180
Curren,Tom	USA	85	5149
Thomson,Jamie	AUS	86	5148
Eleogram,Ola	HAW	87	5105
Gudauskas,Patrick	USA	88	5104
Todd,Mike	USA	89	5074
Ziems,Corey	AUS	90	5070
Neve,Dayyan	AUS	91	5034
Rocha,Renan	BRA	92	5003
Lopez,Cory	USA	93	4975
Barreto,Tanio	BRA	94	4972
Walsh,Ian	HAW	95	4950
Gonzalez,Jonathan	CNY	96	4919
Gossmann,Shaun	AUS	97	4891
Gray,Alex	USA	98	4874
Romao,Simao	BRA	99	4850
Belo,Jano	BRA	100	4830

With the worlds best surfers competing in the Triple Crown of Surfing series, the competitors area
showcases a fine selection of surfboards from the worlds foremost shapers : Kistin/Tostee.com

Surfing events will be covered live on:
www.op.com
www.triplecrownofsurfing.com
www.aspworldtour.com
www.roxy.com/roxypro

Photos  www.cunninghamphotos.com & www.tostee.com

Previous reports: - Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
# 1 : Vans Triple Crown of Surfing to top off an exciting year
# 2 : Vans Triple Crown of Surfing set to start this Saturday
# 3 : Op Pro Hawaii & Roxy Pro on hold -- opening ceremomy
# 4 : Triple Crown/Roxy Pro event produces new tour leader  
# 5 : Pancho Sullivan wins Op Pro Hawaii and Fanning second
# 6 : Coming soon
# 7 : Coming soon
# 8 : Coming soon  

Previous reports: - Op Pro Hawaii, Haleiwa.
# 1 : Op Pro Hawaii 1st event at Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
# 2 : Op Pro Hawaii & Roxy Pro on hold - opening ceremomy
# 3 : Teenage rookie debuts in huge waves at Op Pro Hawaii
# 4 : Sunny Garcia off to a perfect start at the Op Pro Hawaii    
# 5 : Op Pro Hawaii final day action set for Wednesday 23rd 
# 6 : Pancho Sullivan wins Op Pro Hawaii & Fanning second

Previous reports: - Roxy Pro, Haleiwa.
# 1 : Roxy Pro Hawaii celebrates 50 yrs of womens contests
# 2 : Mulanovich/Georgeson battle for world title this w/end
# 3 : Roxy Pro Hawaii will begin minus Beachley and Woods  
# 4 : Lay Day for Roxy Pro Hawaii Day One, swell on horizon  
# 5 : Roxy Pro Hawaii expecting a sizeable swell Wednesday
# 6 : Chelsea Georgeson wins Roxy Pro Hawaii & leads tour 

Previous reports: - O’Neill World Cup of Surfing Sunset Challenge
# 1 : O'Neill announces Sunset Beach Challenge for Women
# 2 : O'Neill puts Triple back in Womens Crown at Sunset...
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon

            
                      Op Pro Hawaii                       Vans Triple Crown of Surfing                   Roxy Pro Hawaii                       

The men's Op Pro Hawaii and women's Roxy Pro Hawaii are the first of three events in the 2005 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series. The complete holding dates for this for stop extend to November 24. Following that, the Series moves north to Sunset Beach for the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing men's and women's - Nove,ber 26 - December 6, followed by the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters and women's Billabong Pro Maui, December 8-20.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is made possible through the support of Op, Roxy, O’Neill, Rip Curl, Billabong, Surfing, Oahu’s Turtle Bay Beach Resort, Hawaiian Airlines, G-Shock, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Fox Sports Net and Road Runner High Speed Online. 

About Ocean Pacific (Op)
Founded more than three decades ago, Op was the first surfboard manufacturer to offer a full range of products for surfers both in and out of the water. Today, through sponsorship of world-class sporting events, athletes, artists and musicians, and manufacture of goods ranging from apparel and footwear to fragrances and accessories, Op, a division of The Warnaco Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WRNC), caters to an ever-growing worldwide youth culture by remaining true to its mission: to create quality products with authenticity and style. For more information, log-on at www.op.com.

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.

Check the latest Hawaii Surf Reports and Forecasts
More Hawaiian & USA Surfing News available here

Jodi Young

Triple Crown Series - Surfersvillage