To be honest I didn’t take a whole lot of notice of the Vans Pipe Masters, what with eight straight lay days, weird weather on the North Shore of Oahu and the swell forecast from hell, not to mention a thrilling soccer World Cup and cricket all over the dial, oh and Christmas upon us.
And after 50 years of being the most consistently interesting event on the world tour, the confusion surrounding the new format, sanctioned by the World Surf League but not counting for rankings and not televised on the usual networks, it was all enough to make you go yeah, nah. But my resolve weakened and I did flick around and catch a bit of finals’ day.
It was all very weird with everyone rugged up for a snowboard event as a cold wind whipped across Ehukai Park, but the waves did show up, particularly for the first day of the two-day invitational, as reported by Vans: “Day one of competition at the reimagined Vans Pipe Masters is officially in the books, and it didn’t disappoint. With a number of expertly navigated tubes, some big air attempts, and a handful of stylish manoeuvres, we saw a glimpse of the diverse range of talent that the heat draw has to offer.
“Though it wasn’t quite the picture-perfect Pipeline that we all envision, there were still some gems on offer due to the large north-west swell pushing in. Competition got off to a slow start, with men’s round one taking to the water first. After a slow first couple of heats, Hawaiian local knowledge soon began to prevail in challenging conditions, with Mason Ho and Ivan Florence putting on a tube riding masterclass in heat three. Mason locked away the highest single wave score of the day with a 26.6, while Ivan earned himself a total heat score of 29.2, taking him to third overall on the leader board. Also noteworthy in heat three was Mikey February’s silky-smooth style as he threaded his way through one of the longest barrels of the day and claimed a spot in the top four.
“The day continued to progress as a mixed bag, as Pipeline favoured some and evaded others. Heats were interspersed with flurries of action and sleepy periods of prolonged inactivity, resulting in some event favourites struggling to put a decent score on the board. Heat seven began to shape up as another standout, with Hawaiian heavyweight Billy Kemper posting a big number and former tour surfer Mikey Wright almost ticking all of the boxes of the judging criteria on one wave with an attempt at a turn, barrel, air combo.
“Sitting comfortably atop the leader board, Balaram Stack stole the show with the most critical wave of the day, knifing the drop and navigating multiple sections to take the lead and set himself up with a good chance of making the final.”
And indeed Balaram not only made the final, he stole the show and the handy $US100,000 men’s winner purse, with a well-rounded performance in tricky conditions to beat a late charge from California’s Griffin Colapinto.
The women’s final was a stacked affair, with Australia’s Molly Picklum up against her qualifying series rival Caitlin Simmers and Hawaii’s multiple world champion Carissa Moore and new sensation Bettylou Sakura Johnson.
If you were having a punt, you really couldn’t back our Molly against those girls, but Pickles is a fearless fighter and she took it to them with gusto, taking the trophy and the fat purse from Bettylou.
I can’t wait to see her back at Pipe at the end of next month to start her rookie season on the big tour.
Longboard tour confirmed
Meanwhile, back in sunny Queensland, the Asia Pacific office of the World Surf League in Coolangatta last week confirmed the two-event Australia/Oceania Longboard Qualifying Series for 2023, kicking off at the Noosa Festival of Surfing in March, then heading down to Manly in May.
The Australia/Oceania LQS is expected to see over 60 of the region’s best up-and-comers battle it out for qualification points, with 1000 points on offer for the winners of each event. After the two LQS events, the top male and top female on the rankings will be awarded a spot on the 2023 WSL Longboard Tour, which will feature four events including the Bells Beach Longboard Classic. The tour will conclude at the Malibu Longboard Championships where the world champions will be crowned.
Reigning world champion Noosa’s Harrison Roach doesn’t need to qualify through the regionals, but having shared a few fun little peelers with the champ last week, I can confirm that he looks totally relaxed and positively dangerous, and hopefully on his way to another title.
With a bunch of money events scheduled for the surf festival in March, we’re sure to see him in action as he prepares for the longboard world tour later in the year.
