![](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/imagesnews\/pipeline_2006_poster.jpg\")
\nSee the event LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com or www.ripcurl.com<\/p>\n
Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters
\n(December 8-20)<\/p>\n
\nSee the event LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com or www.ripcurl.com<\/p>\n
PIPELINE, Hawaii (Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006) \u0096 With the surfing world now firmly focused on the infamous North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the excitement is expected to peak when the first round of the Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour\u0092s penultimate event \u0096 the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters \u0096 kicks off on December 8. <\/p>\n
The event, which is held at the notoriously dangerous yet incredibly perfect wave known as the Banzai Pipeline, is arguably the most watched on the 11-event tour.And despite Kelly Slater (USA) having wrapped up his eighth world crown two events previous in Spain, the \u0093Showdown For The Crown\u0094, as it has been dubbed, is expected as always to serve up a smattering of only the most spectacular surfing action.<\/p>\n
The Banzai Pipeline is an incredibly hollow wave, which breaks when deep-water swell converges with deadly shallow coral reefs. And for the surfer the experience is a complete rush as while they avoid being slammed into oblivion by pure Hawaiian power, they can ride deep inside some prolific barrels. <\/p>\n
And while the focus will be on the best of the best on the Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour much attention will be directed to the vast number of locals who will be taking part in the event with the draw being adjusted to accommodate 16 Pipe chargers \u0096 thus taking the standard 48 man lineup to a total of 64. <\/p>\n
\u0093This year the 45 surfers on the Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour will be joined by three Rip Curl wildcards and 16 Pipeline specialists in the Pipe Masters hunt,\u0094 said Rip Curl International\u0092s Head Of Marketing Neil Ridgway. \u0093The changing format in 2006 guarantees that the locals who surf the world\u0092s deadliest wave day in day out [some of Hawaii\u0092s finest] will be on show in the main event hoping to fulfill the dream of a life time \u0096 to become a Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Master! <\/p>\n
\u0093Only Pipeline offers such a unique scenario,\u0094 Ridgway continued. \u0093You may be fighting for a world title or for points for requalification and not only do you need to beat the guys you surf against all year, but you now have the best Pipeline locals to contend with! It adds to the pressure, adds to the excitement and adds to the \u0091Showdown for the Crown\u0092.\u0094<\/p>\n
With the world crown already in the bag the race to claim the remaining four slots in surfing\u0092s coveted Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour top five is still raging and going into the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters Australian hot shot Mick Fanning is edging just in front of former three-time world champion and defending event champion Andy Irons (HAW). <\/p>\n
Fanning, who was a finalist in last year\u0092s event, has been in tremendous form during the latter stages of the 2006 season and has claimed two event wins \u0096 one in South Africa and the most recent in Brazil less than four weeks ago. <\/p>\n
Knowing that competition will be fierce Fanning is eager for to take the challenge head on. <\/p>\n
\u0093I wish the world title was still up for grabs!\u0094 said Fanning. \u0093It\u0092s still going to be a good battle going into Pipe though with second spot up for grabs and I know the guys under me are going to be gunning for a top result. It\u0092s always a big event, so hopefully I can get a result there.\u0094<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092ve made two finals at Pipe now and have a fourth and a second, so hopefully the next one for me is that Pipe championship,\u0094 said Fanning. \u0093It\u0092s a huge contest that everyone wants to win, so hopefully I can get it.\u0094<\/p>\n
The immediate forecast for the North Shore of Oahu looks very promising indeed with a huge swell expected within the next 24 hours \u0096 just in time for the completion of the second of the three Vans Triple Crown Of Surfing events being staged at Sunset Beach tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Rip Curl and ASP will be hosting a live webcast of the entire event, which will include action replays and commentary from some of the sports most notable characters. <\/p>\n
Stay tuned to www.ripcurl.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
Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Master\u0092s Past Champions<\/p>\n
Year\t\tChampion\t\tHome Country<\/p>\n
2005\tAndy Irons\tHawaii
\n2004\t\tJamie O\u0092Brien\tHawaii
\n2003\t\tAndy Irons\tHawaii
\n2002\t\tAndy Irons\tHawaii
\n2001\tBruce Irons\tHawaii
\n2000\t\tRob Machado\tCalifornia
\n1999\t Kelly Slater\tFlorida
\n1998\t\tJake Paterson\tAustralia
\n1997\tJohn Gomes\tHawaii
\n1996\t\tKelly Slater\tFlorida
\n1995\t Kelly Slater\tFlorida
\n1994\t\tKelly Slater\tFlorida
\n1993\t\tDerek Ho\t\tHawaii
\n1992\tKelly Slater\tFlorida
\n1991\t\tTom Carroll\tAustralia
\n1990\t\tTom Carroll\tAustralia
\n1989\t\tGary Elkerton\tAustralia
\n1988\t\tRobby Page\tAustralia
\n1987\t\tTom Carroll\tAustralia
\n1986\t\tDerek Ho\t\tHawaii
\n1985\t\tMark Occhilupo\t Australia
\n1984\tJoey Buran\tUSA
\n1983\tDane Kealoha\tHawaii
\n1982\t\tMichael Ho\tHawaii
\n1981\t\tSimon Anderson\tAustralia
\n1980\t\tMark Richards\tAustralia
\n1979\tLarry Blair\tAustralia
\n1978\tLarry Blair\tAustralia
\n1977\t\tRory Russel\tHawaii
\n1976\tRory Russel\tHawaii
\n1975\tShaun Tomson\tSouth Africa
\n1974\t\tJeff Crawford\tUSA
\n1973\tGerry Lopez\tHawaii
\n1972\t\tGerry Lopez\tHawaii
\n1971\tJeff Hakman\tHawaii<\/p>\n
Current Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour Top 10 Ratings After Event #10 The Nova Schin Festival Brazil<\/p>\n
1. Kelly Slater (USA)\t\t 7824
\n2. Mick Fanning (AUS)\t 6638
\n3. Taj Burrow (AUS)\t\t 6480
\n4 Bobby Martinez (USA) \t 6350
\n5. Andy Irons (HAW)\t\t 6348
\n6. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6240
\n7. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5774
\n8. Tom Whitaker (AUS)\t 5138
\n9. Taylor Knox (USA)\t\t 4880
\n10. Dean Morrison (AUS) \t 4856<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters (December 8-20) See the event LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com or www.ripcurl.com PIPELINE, Hawaii (Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006) \u0096 With the surfing world now firmly focused on the infamous North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the excitement is expected to peak when the first round of … Continue reading “NEW FORMAT ADDS EXTRA SPICE TO THE 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":[],"class_list":["post-13541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13541","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=13541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17790,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13541\/revisions\/17790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}