\nPhoto courtesy of www.aspworldtour.com\n<\/p>\n
[i]Wednesday 30 November, 2005
\nPipeline, Ehukai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii<\/p>\n
RIP CURL PRO PIPELINE MASTERS
\n(8-20 December)<\/p>\n
\nPhoto courtesy of www.aspworldtour.com\n<\/p>\n
Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.ripcurlpro.com<\/p>\n
Pipeline Hawaii, the world\u0092s most photographed and most famous (or infamous) wave, will play host to the penultimate event on the 2005 Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour next week \u0096 the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters. <\/p>\n
In its 35th year the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters is the11th and final contest on the Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour calendar and has been appropriately tagged \u0093the greatest show on surf\u0094.[\/i]Such is the nature of surfing, and the beast that is Banzai Pipeline, competitors can go home from a heat here with the buzz of a lifetime after surviving some of the best barrels on the planet. Or alternatively they could leave the beach in an ambulance. The atmosphere at the location throughout the Masters is spurred on by 35 years of tradition, bravado and showmanship from Mother Nature. It is therefore one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world.<\/p>\n
\u0093As an event, the Masters is in its own orbit,\u0094 said Association Of Surfing Professionals President, Wayne \u0093Rabbit\u0094 Bartholomew. \u0093Nowhere on earth can spectators experience such an up-close viewing of Mother Nature\u0092s intimate interaction with the raw elements. Banzai Pipeline is an icon. It\u0092s the first Wonder of the Surfing World. There are so many great stories from the last 35 years. The Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters is steeped in legend. It\u0092s all about anticipation. This is the big one. Pipe!\u0094<\/p>\n
The event is also the third in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series (which also comprises of two second tier WQS events at Haleiwa and Sunset) and will showcase not only the elite from the top 45 but will also highlight a host of local chargers who will be selected to compete in the main rounds via the Rip Curl Code STL Trials event. (At time of going to press trialists have yet to be confirmed.)<\/p>\n
Leading the charge from the locals will be defending Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters champion and wildcard Jamie O\u0092Brien (who receives a wildcard from Rip Curl as defending champ). <\/p>\n
Despite not being a permanent member of the touring top 45, he was granted entry as a wildcard last year and turned every head in the surfing world when he completely dominated his foes. <\/p>\n
Such is the grandeur associated with a win at Pipe, even 12 months after his victory people are still patting him on the back. <\/p>\n
\u0093It\u0092s been weird actually, almost a year after my win people are continuing to congratulate me all over the world,\u0094 said 21-year-old O\u0092Brien. \u0093You\u0092d think people would have forgotten about it by now, but they\u0092re still really supportive. It\u0092s a good feeling and it makes me stoked to come back and compete for the title again this year.\u0094<\/p>\n
O\u0092Brien, who\u0092s backyard is the North Shore of Oahu, where Pipeline and other world famous waves such as Sunset, Waimea Bay and Rocky Point are located, never looked in doubt of winning last year and in 2005 he is eager to further his fledging reputation for being today\u0092s true Pipe Master. O\u0092Brien notes, however, that he is always fully in awe of the power of the break and that every time he paddles out he must have ultimate respect.<\/p>\n
\u0093It\u0092s beyond its power,\u0094 said O\u0092Brien. \u0093If you win a contest out at Pipe, you\u0092re just the master of a few waves that day. Once you think you\u0092ve mastered the wave that\u0092s when you get hurt. Pipe can hand you a severe pounding. Bouncing off the reef, holding you under, thrashing you around \u0096 it\u0092ll mess you up.\u0094<\/p>\n
Coming off the back of his unprecedented seventh Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour crowning last month in Brazil, Kelly Slater assured his fans that he also would love dearly to be the man at Pipe in 2005. <\/p>\n
With the pressure now lifted from his shoulders in the ratings race Slater was looking at a victory at Pipe to top off an excellent year, one that he called \u0093perhaps the best year of my life\u0094. <\/p>\n
Slater has won the event a phenomenal five times yet has been in a drought at Pipe in recent years with his last win being in 1999. In Brazil he indicated he was hungry.<\/p>\n
\u0093To win at Pipe would just be such a great cap off to the year,\u0094 said Slater. \u0093It\u0092s over as far as the race is concerned but I won\u0092t be holding back. It would really nice to finish of with another win. Five of the six world titles I\u0092ve won previously I\u0092ve won at Pipe also. Pipeline has been really good to me and it\u0092s been a while since I have won out there. I\u0092ve been close in the finals over the last few years but it really would be awesome to hold aloft that trophy again.\u0094 <\/p>\n
Rip Curl and ASP will be hosting a live webcast of the entire event. Stay tuned to www.ripcurlpro.com and www.aspworldtour.com for all the details.<\/p>\n
For further information about the Vans Triple Crown Of Surfing go to www.triplecrownofsurfing.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[i]Wednesday 30 November, 2005 Pipeline, Ehukai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii RIP CURL PRO PIPELINE MASTERS (8-20 December) Photo courtesy of www.aspworldtour.com Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.ripcurlpro.com Pipeline Hawaii, the world\u0092s most photographed and most famous (or infamous) wave, will play host to the penultimate event on the 2005 Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour next week \u0096 … Continue reading “STARTING GUNS AT THE READY FOR 35TH ANNIVERSARY RIP CURL PRO PIPELINE MASTERS”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}