Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is a Hawaiian specialty series of professional surfing events, offering three events to men and three events to women. For the men, those events are the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park; the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach; and the Billabong Pipeline Masters at the Banzai Pipeline. The women's events are the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park; the Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach; and the Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay, Maui.

All events, with the exception of the women's Billabong Pro Maui, are staged on the North Shore of Oahu - a coastline world famous in surfing terms for its clockwork winter swells that reach 50 feet in height.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is second only to surfing's world title as it is considered to be the ultimate test of a surfer's ability to master the big waves at three unique venues - each with its own set of challenges for the surfer.

In addition to individual event champions, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing crowns an overall men's and women's champion each year. This goes to the surfer who has performed best across all three competitions, making them the most proficient big-wave rider in the world.

Winner (men): Joel Parkinson (Aus)

Winner (women): Stephanie Gilmore (Aus)

The final day of the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park took place on 20 November. Surfers experienced good clean four to five foot waves and a powerful display of Hawaiian teamwork secured a win for youngest ever champ,'super-stoked' 16-year-old Carissa Moore. The event was particularly competitive due to the wide open WQS situation this year and when north shore local Coco Ho saw her chances of winning dashed she ensured Moore victory in the final minute by popping an air over Australian Layne Beachley to deny her the wave and the points she needed. This took nothing away from Moore who qualified via a wild card and surfed consistently throughout.

...
Wikipedia