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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, December 21, 2007

Plenty of contests on tap for North Shore

 •  Outside the box

Advertiser Staff

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing may be completed, but the winter surfing season is far from over on O'ahu's North Shore.

Contests are scheduled to continue through March.

The Hale'iwa International Open — a contest for amateur surfers — is scheduled to start this weekend at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

The next professional contest on the schedule is Da Hui's Backdoor Shootout at the Banzai Pipeline, Jan. 2 to 13.

Other events coming up:

  • The Hard Rock Junior Pro, a contest for the state's top surfers age 21 and younger, is scheduled for Jan. 14 to 25.

  • The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic, which offers bodysurfers a rare chance to compete in the famous waves of the Banzai Pipeline, is scheduled for Jan. 27 to Feb. 6.

  • The Monster Energy Pro, a men's professional surfing contest, is scheduled to run in the same time frame as the bodysurfing contest at the Banzai Pipeline.

  • The IBA Pipeline Pro will be the first contest of the 2008 world tour for professional bodyboarders. It is scheduled to run Feb. 17 to 24 at the Banzai Pipeline.

    Of course, the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational In Memory Of Eddie Aikau is already in its holding period.

    The contest can run only on a day when the wave-face heights are at least in the 30 - to 40-foot range, and rideable, at Waimea Bay. If the conditions reach those standards before the end of February, the contest will run. The last time the event was completed was in December of 2004, when Kaua'i's Bruce Irons won it.

    BODYBOARDING EVENT ON MAUI SET TO START

    The Scion Hawai'i Ledges Pro bodyboarding contest is scheduled to run this weekend on Maui.

    The women's pro, drop-knee and amateur divisions will be run at Pa'ia Bay. The men's pro division will run at either Pa'ia Bay or Kahului Harbor.

    The event is the final stop on the United States Bodyboarding Association's 2007 National Championship Tour.

    Kaua'i's Jeff Hubbard is the current leader in the men's professional division, followed by Spencer Skipper of the Big Island.

    David Hubbard, Jeff's younger brother, is the leader in the drop-knee division and No. 3 in the men's pro division.

    Roberta Bitzer, who is originally from Brazil but now resides in Kailua, is the leader in the women's pro division.

    FREEWAVE CHALLENGE STILL ACCEPTING VOTES

    Surfing fans can vote via the Internet for the best rides of the season on O'ahu's North Shore.

    The voting is based on video clips on the www.freewavechallenge.com Website.

    Categories are Best Performance and Best Tube Ride.

    More than 80 video clips are already on the site, including Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, T.J. Barron and Sunny Garcia.

    Voting will continue through Dec. 31.

    Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.