"The problem with Hawaii is..."
Surfing’s Triple Crown, which took place in November – December, was once a grand and glorious test of skill and will. Kicking off at Haleiwa before moving to Sunset and ending at Pipeline, the series was as oft as thrilling as the entirety of the Championship Tour. Alas what the World Surf League has wrought.
Long bent on degrading the Hawaiian islands, the Santa Monica-based governing body has allowed the Triple Crown to be turned into a TikTok contest, given away the prestigious Pipeline Masters, moved the season’s ender from Oahu’s North Shore to Southern California’s Lower Trestles, cancelled Maui’s Honolua Bay, introduced Covid and has now downgraded the aforementioned first jewel from Challenger Series event to the Qualifying Series.
World Surf League Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer defended the action in a wide-ranging interview with artificially flavored outdoor website The Inertia, declaring the intended slap was meant to help Hawaii “The main piece of feedback I’ve received from the surfers is around making the whole qualification pathway really strong – including at the regional level. It’s important to us that we also ensure (the surfers from the Hawaii/Tahiti Nui region) have a strong regional pathway and some really good opportunities to compete on the championship tour.”
There was more talk on the “product” of surfing and “synergies” etc. along with a refutation that Haleiwa has been vulgarized due Vans pulling out as sponsor.
“I can’t speak to what has been reported on (some other) website, but we’ve had great partners and continue to do so for 2023.”
Surfing on the new-look Challenger and Qualifying series can be buoyed by the fact that their numbers have been slashed, there are less events and the finals will take place in Brazil.
Product and synergy.
The wave of the future.