RECORD HAWAIIAN SURF SEASON WRAPS UP TOMORROW AT BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS

Comment Share Posted on Tuesday December 15th 2009 at 8:48 p.m. Tweet

PIPELINE, Oahu/Hawaii (Monday, December 14, 2009) - Four weeks of firing winter surf along Oahu's North Shore will all come to a head tomorrow at the Billabong Pipe Masters - the final jewel of the record-setting $1,000,000 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The final eight surfers will hit the water early tomorrow, with the Pipe Masters champion to be crowned around midday Hawaii time. Prior to the final, former Pipe Masters champions Gerry Lopez, Derek Ho, Rob Machado, and Bruce and Andy Irons will put on a nostalgic surfing exhibition at the venerated surf venue.

This winter has been a god-send for Hawaii; huge waves and world class surfing action has drawn massive worldwide attention, placing the stunning scenery and natural power of Oahu's North Shore front and center from Asia to Africa, London, Italy, Scotland, New York and Sydney, Australia. International media monitoring services and reports from news bureaus like Associated Press put the reach of the past month's surf action at around a half-billion households worldwide.

Headliners of tomorrow's action include the greatest surfer of all time: Kelly Slater, California's Dane Reynolds, former Vans Triple Crown champion Bede Durbidge of Australia, and Hawaii's lone hope of Flynn Novak.

While eliminated from the competition, Australia's Joel Parkinson will still be a feature of the day. He maintains the lead on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series ratings and, along with his millions of supporters back home, will be hoping that CJ Hobgood goes down before the final so that the $50,000 Vans Triple Crown bonus purse is his. It would be a positive end to a solid Hawaiian season and a decent consolation prize after losing the world title battle to good friend Mick Fanning (Australia) on Saturday.

In addition to the Vans Triple Crown bonus, Vans will be presenting the Billabong Pipe Masters champion with an extra $50,000, bringing the first place award to an unprecedented $90,000.

The action of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing will be broadcast live in HD on the web with the support of our HD partner FUEL TV at triplecrownofsurfing.com, as well as on Hawaii television on Oceanic channel 250.

For Billabong Pipe Masters highlights, videos, photos and more log on to:
www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

Making the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink possible: Reef, O'Neill, Billabong, Gidget Worldwide, Nixon, Turtle Bay Resort, Hawaiian Airlines, JN Automotive Group, Surfing Magazine, Surfline.com, FUEL TV, The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaiian Springs Water, Road Runner, Climb On! chemical-free skincare, and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The Series is proud to announce that it is working with local company Tr3ees to embark upon a greener, more sustainable future.

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com

QUARTER FINAL MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Dean Morrison (AUS) v Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 2: Flynn Novak (HAW) v Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) v Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 4: CJ Hobgood (USA) v Dane Reynolds (USA)