Two pivotal reasons why you won't be seeing a Pipe Master crowned at the tour's opening event…
You win a Grand Slam event at Pipe, you’re a Pipe Master, a crown almost as gilded as a world title, yeah?
Couple of reasons why you ain’t gonna see a Pipe Master crowned at the opening event, even if it is at Pipe.
The contest is called the Billabong Pro Pipeline.
There’s no mention of the Pipe Masters, the longest running professional event in surfing (Bells didn’t go pro until 1973), ‘cause Billabong’s contract as the title sponsor of the Pipe Masters ran out in 2021
Wanna know why?
The WSL, and Vans who own the intellectual property rights to the Pipe Masters, couldn’t swing a mutually satisfying agreement with Billabong for ‘em to continue as naming sponsor of the event.
So the name reverts to Vans.
Thus, we have the Billabong Pro Pipeline.
If you’ve been kicking around for long enough you’ll remember the Billabong Pro events, which were pivotal events in the Hawaiian Triple Crown in the eighties and nineties.
In an ironic turn since he just got dumped from the Pipe broadcasting team, BL won the Billabong Pro in 88, held at Pipeline, and his world crown, a champ but no Pipe Master; in 1986, the Billabong Pro ran one of its days at Waimea and was so big two Australian pro’s, Bryce Ellis and Gary Green, refused to paddle out.
Changing the tour climax from the North Shore to Sam Clemente played hell with the Hawaiian schedule, too.
See, because the WSL’s wanted to start the 2022 season in Hawaii and end it at Trestles in September, they had to run the 2021 Pipe Masters in January. Therefore there couldn’t be two events in the same year so the usual December slot wasn’t used.
This meant that for 2022, the WSL had to juggle the events and come up with new dates and names.
The Volcom Pipe Pro got dropped in favour of Billabong taking over that slot.
Still, the Pipe Masters is gonna be on, usual dates, December 8-20, 2022
The WSL and Vans are still negotiating over what status Pipe is gonna be although the prizemoney is rumoured to be off the charts (Squid Games filled Vans’ already considerable coffers) and with the WSL taking the Triple Crown off the contest surfing table, Vans are psyching to run a big and heavily promoted event.
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Think Gary Green was a grommet at that contest
WeaSeL’s ……… It’s as bad as the 2014 giveaway where everyone got a prize and a whole bunch of us stop following the whole circus it was one last straw that broke the camel’s back leading to this kind of buffoonery.
The volcom event next to or I should say tide with the Da Hui have always had better waves and better talent especially Hawaiian talent then the circus could provide with their small window waiting period.
All of it should be put on the line and end in Hawaii and the Hawaiiansshould be able to wreck or dethrone or Steal whatever would be champ and their Glory legitimately in the heaviest waves heaviest playground heaviest aloha in the world!
Keep it up WeaSeL’s and you will lose all legitimacy trying to crown a champ at lower trestles or Huntington Beach or any soft wave venue in the world.
Stop trying to reinvent the wheel because of sponsorship money and special interests!
If you guys keep stealing Hawaiians bread and butter none of you may end up welcome on the North shore any longer if you play your cards wrong……. But what do I know I’m just a nothing and a nobody an old Kook.
Aloha
It’s gonna go flat, just in time
If I remember correctly, and Tired of Winning will correct me, the tour in Barton’s era finished at the Coke in Sydney. This is long before Billafuck named every contest after Andy Irons.
Dunno why I mention this, hoping someone corrects me or figures out why I mentioned it.
The tour had so many events in those days it had to be exhausting and we never heard results for months when the magazines, ran by notorious commenter, posted the results. Wanna say TCarroll won in ’82 with 33 events scheduled.
Tired of Winning needs to do a historical piece on this shit. He doesn’t need to consult MattW. DUde is a historian.
Tour was changed by Rabbit, I believe, to end in December at the Masters.
I have smoked a lot of herb, so my dates could be off, but that’s how it went although none of you prolly care.
Is there anything more boring than the ownership of corporate naming rights? I mean besides Jonah Hill, Ben Marcus, Whoop, Sharks, real estate sales….
No
I bet those cucumbers are pissed that we named them after a vegetable , when clearly they are not . I read that the Bob Sponge Square Pants can be separated by being put through a sieve , and then the component parts then act like a zombie marching band and put themselves back together as if nothing had happened .
Given the choice I choose the Halo of Dough ( and the Holey Queen ), over the Crown of Thorns , Rusty nails and a cross .
The Pipe Masters is now digital and requires nose mounted gopro footage on the nose of a softtop.
Ubatuba Brazilian Air Bazooka
I am confused. does this mean goodbye “in memory of AI” and hello “in memory of PVD?
Maybe Bruce can get a wildcard for Van(s) Life ?
I was quite confident that this was going to be Chris Ward. Oh well, next time.
It’s a shame the surf journalists did not provide us with the name of the Kolohe incident. He will never be a Pipe Master anyway.
His Oniell intro short film that is floating around shows some maturity in his rail game shining through. But with young men like Crosby taking honors at Backdoor, it does make you think twice.
I’m just checking I understand this?
The WSL has wiped the Hawaiian triple crown because a focus group of VALs suggested that they would be likely to buy new shoes from sponsorship of a Vans contest?
Really, just drop the hardest part of the tour and it’s traditionally as important place beside the world championship and
Sell more shoes?
Ffs
The Miracle mile where careers used to be made. With the defunding of sponsorship dollars, social media, online media houses, and loss of print magazines. Hawaii may not be the same anchor to professional surfing it once was. In some respect the state of Hawaii has some skin to loose as well in this process or may have?
I have the opposite opinion.
I think Hawaii’s significance has grown especially with Jaws being THE big proving ground.
Also the fact that almost all of the big names camped out on Oahu last year during the “lockout” still shows that The Miracle is highly relevant.
If i understand correctly, the wsl wants to own all the comps because otherwise a rival tour could just take over.
Thats how they strong armed surfing vic into giving them bells.
But vans owns pipe and/or the triple crown and wont let it go.
Vans own the Triple Crown. When Covid happened, they realised they could fill the void with a “digital” event that costs them fuck all to run but gets them plenty of attention.
It was successful, so they refused to let the WSL license the Triple Crown again and instead kept running their own thing.
Sarges dreams even filthier I reckon
Hard to believe but
Back in the day a lot of Pipe Masters walked out of the Bong house and they’d never won a surf contest
Is that supposed to be homophobic or misogynistic?
So hard to tell these days…
When raising the subject of gender , like at Pipe, should one wear a Helmet , on the end of the genderless stick ?
You know….some of us gentile are “hoodless.”
Yep I am old enough to be an ex Christian Circumcised Surfer ….
Didn’t hurt a bit ….and I want my cheese from the cow , sheep or goat !
1000% an asterisk for this years champ. Pretty much meaningless really. Not worth even paddling out really. Just Gabby it.
Ok shoot me, I gotta say it, competition in Surfing is absolute meaningless–it proves nothing and accomplishes nothing.
(Well, it keeps the groupies happy I guess).
“The rider of waves must be a humble man–to maximize the forces–he must minimize himself.”
DK
Well, you said it. And I must say you did well to keep it to yourself all this time. I’m staggered, really. I’ve always had you pegged as a major pro surfing fan! Incredible turn of events.
This has made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about surfing
So comp surfing is a metaphor for our very existence.
What a drag, man.
Only if you LOSE ?
One could argue commenting about competitive surfing on a surfing website proves and accomplishes even less.
I just sent myself two texts saying the same only nastier
But this isn’t a ‘Wsl’ website is it?
All pro surfing, all the time?
There’s still some soul surfers out there I think.
Competition in surfing is only necessary when deciding a pecking order in overcrowded lineups and to push comrades into heavier situations as well as more powerful and technical maneuvers. I say I don’t like it but I’ve definitely tried to one up. Pro contests do push the bar for performance and equipment. Although they kinda suck materialism pole.
The girls will still be
Pipeline Mistress tho, right?
Tube dodging shoulder hopers more likely
They surf better than you.
Pipe isn’t a turns contest.
They’ve been getting shacked. Take a look.
Bethany Hamilton (to her credit) took off on the biggest Pipe wave of the women’s Shootout.
She didn’t make it out.
That same wave would have been an easy make for any of the Pipe regulars.
Yes, we will see Carissa get a barrel or two but there won’t be any Kala Grace, Balaram Stack, Jackie waves that make you go WOW!
They are developing a culture, they are pioneering women’s sport. It will happen quickly.
If Caroline Marks gets a legitimate 10 on a Pipe or Backdoor wave then I would say there is a chance of real change.
The women are supposed to really compete at Jaws and that hasn’t produced anything memorable.
Not for a lack of effort, of course, but at some point you have to acknowledge that genetics are what they are.
I will also point out that a woman like Coco Ho isn’t even in the lineup on the same day that her 60 year old father is crushing waves at Backdoor.
She, of all people, should have the pedigree to be out there changing things but has not.
Coco has been shacked at Backdoor.
I’ve never seen her in the water at Pipe.
This winter I have been watching dodgy do it yourself videos of Snapper and DBah on You Lube and the chicks are killing it , and make all the waves of the male flotsam and jetsam doing horrible things with there arms legs hips look like fools
Much nicer to watch. Dudes need to be filmed.
9 points
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
So Felipe, who will never be a Pipe Master, DOES have a shot at being a Pipe Mistress?
My God…did you just assume their genders, you bigot?
Im everything that’s wrong in the world.
And loving it!!
“If loving you is wrong them I don’t wanna be right!”
Nothin wrong with love!!
Love is love, right?
Miss Pipe, 2022.
For those with a Uterus and MISSED PIPE for those without ?
anyhow… two words, backdoor shootout (actually four? i’m confused…)
I’m certainly a master at shooting out my backdoor pipe. OATBRAN FOR THE WIN.
ART WITH A CAPITOL F !
This one is for you MASTER C BOTTOM
https://youtu.be/U6AMDEMXlco
Gosh!