Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 11/21/07 Section: Mixed Plate

Media Credit: Colin McGillivray The second event: The Reef Hawaiian Pro at Ali‘i Beach park in Hale‘iwa

Media Credit: Colin McGillivray A child found more interesting things to play with on the beach at Ali‘i Beach while the competition was at a standstill last weekend.

Get ready, groms and gromettes, the Vans Triple Crown circus is in town!

Lineups received a booster shot of surfers over the last few weeks, and the pressure of professional surfing has finally arrived on the North Shore. For the next two months, Country will be a spectacle of star-studded contests and parties, and, of course, an entourage of fans, photographers and beloved media.

The first major event was the Xcel Pro at Sunset Beach. It finished up with playful conditions compared to the first day of competition, which saw double-overhead sets. Congratulations to local boy Joel Centeio for claiming the first podium for Hawai‘i surfers.

Crown in waiting

The Reef Hawaiian Pro competition was on hold last weekend and the early part of this week, keeping the men's division dry while waiting for the stormy surf to clean up. The men's contest completed the first two rounds and half of the third and left the rest up to the girls. Big-name surfers such as Andy Irons and Mick Fanning have yet to compete due to the fact that they are seeded in the later rounds. The holding period for the men's event ends Thanksgiving Day.

But the action has just begun. Some of the big guns from the World Championship Tour, like French prodigy Jeremy Flores and Australian phenom Josh Kerr, have just taken their privileged start in Round 3. However, the contest is far from over, with five rounds to go until a winner is announced. So pray for macking waves as the spectator side of surfing is treated to a combo of contests nobody will want to miss.

The women's competition wrapped up last week with Hale‘iwa's own Megan Abubo taking home first place, proving unstoppable in the 4- to 6-foot (Hawaiian style) waves. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals for the women's competition were all held last week Wednesday during a 3- to 4-foot slight onshore day. Abubo dominated, coming in first from Round 2 all the way through the finals.

If some can't make it to the contest, fret not, for technology brought the contest to the Internet at http://www.triplecrownofsurfing.com/. Otherwise, see you on the beach.

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