12.11.01
Press Release

The third and final jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing - the Xbox Pipeline Masters is on hold due to inconsistent swells. The contest was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday, December 11, 2001. The official holding period for the event is from December 8 to 17, however, the past three days of small surf and a forecast for the arrival of a new swell on Wednesday encouraged competitors and officials to wait.

A North-West swell is expected to build and fill in on Tuesday. Officials are prepared to wait upon the swell until the early afternoon, otherwise they are confident of a Wednesday morning start at the latest.

With its unique invitation-only format, the Xbox Pipeline Masters will see the best of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour take on Hawaii's best Pipeline tube riders. An internationally acclaimed surf spot, famous for its perfect, tubular waves that peel both right and left, Pipeline requires a highly specialized skill to ride it well. Because of this, it is the only event in the world where local surfers who don't travel and compete on the ASP World Tour have as good a chance as the world's top ranked surfers at winning.

The Xbox Pipeline Masters invitational list is comprised of 48 surfers and is made up of previous Pipeline Masters champions, 2001 ASP World Championship Tour event winners, local Pipeline specialists, international Pipeline specialists, up-and-coming local youth specialists and sponsor wildcards.

Last week's Rip Curl Cup champion, local surfer Myles Padaca, is a perfect example of the invited surfer into this year's Xbox Pipeline Masters. An excellent local performer who is not a part of the ASP World Championship Tour, Padaca can ride the large winter waves of Oahu's North Shore as well as anyone on the planet. He has already proven this twice during the 2001 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, reaching the final of the first event at Haleiwa - the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro, and winning the Rip Curl Cup.

On the basis of his results in the first two events, Padaca is now in strong contention for the prestigious Vans Triple Crown title that is bestowed annually upon the strongest performer throughout the Series. Amongst members of the surfing world, the Vans Triple Crown title is considered a 'world title' of sorts. Its 18-year history of winners reads as a who's who of surfing. To enter this list is one of surfing's most prestigious accomplishments.

The Vans Triple Crown Series features the world's top athletes competing in three championship events in each of the following sports: Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, Surfing, Snowboarding, BMX, Freestyle Motocross and Supercross. The Series is made possible through proud sponsors Xbox, Mountain Dew, Ford Ranger, Right Guard Xtreme Sport, G-Shock, Transworld Media, Fox Sports Net and NBC Sports. The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is made possible by the additional support of Rip Curl, Quiksilver Roxy, Billabong, Surfrider Foundation, the Association of Surfing Professionals and the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau.

For updated daily event status, visit: www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

For more information on Vans and the Vans Triple Crown Series, please visit www.vans.com

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