By Jim Kempton

Billabong TeamRiders Win at Huge Waimea, Solid Sunset Pumping Pipe, and
Take the Van's Triple Crown of Surfing as Well

When it comes to drama, Hawaii never fails. In a North Shore season for the record books the 2009 ASP World Tour came to a close with as much excitement as any in recent memory. And it wasn't a bad couple of weeks for the Billabong team either: Taj Burrow won Billabong Pipe Masters, Greg Long win the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau and Joel Parkinson took the O'Neill Pro at Sunset as well as capturing his 2nd Van's Triple Crown of Surfing title.

Here's the great thing though, something that is fitting for a win in Hawaii: all three of these guys are as well-respected as they are well-loved by the surfing community - and each in their own way. For all their abilities and success none of these three surfers show any signs of brashness or ego.

Friendly, gregarious yet humble and low-key they are aloha spirit from other lands.

"I can't believe I'm standing here," said a beaming Taj Burrow on the podium, after beating 9-time Champion Kelly Slater. "This is the contest any surfer wants to win and the feeling is as good as it gets."

Taj echoed Greg Long who just last week won the Eddie in some of the most massive surf ever for a competition. Long who was also required to beat super-surfer Salter, had to earn every point to slip ahead of the most dominant surfer of all time.

"I am humbled by being here, said Long, in his acceptance speech as northern power swells continued to pour through Waimea. "This contest represents everything big wave surfing is about - the camaraderie, the friendship the respect and the aloha spirit."

Joel Parkinson claimed his second Triple Crown Title when Dane Reynolds defeated CJ Hobgood in the Quarterfinals of the Billabong Pipe Masters contest in medium sized hollow surf. It was the first time an Australian has won two back-to-back Triple Crown's in 18 years, and only the 3rd time ever for an Australian to take two in a row.

"I'm pretty stoked to have this win," said a beaming Joel. "Aside from the World Title this is the most prestigious win to have."

Within minutes after the announcement the surfers in houses along the Billabong row were covered in "Yeah Parko!" tee-shirts, reflecting the huge support he had held during the title run. In a season that had seen Parko take a huge early lead and come within a hair's breadth of winning the ASP World title, the $50,000 Triple Crown purse was a sweet consolation for a surfer many thought would be this year's Champ.

The ASP World Tour race had been a dramatic build up to the Billabong Pipe Masters, with Mick Fanning ending in a virtual dead heat with Parkinson coming into the Billabong event. Parko needed to get a 3rd place result at Pipe to beat his long time childhood friend from Coolangatta, Australia. But with a lull and a closeout, Joel Parkinson's race for his first world title came to an abrupt end earlier this week.

Although surfing in stellar form throughout the event, in his Round Three heat against local Pipe specialist Gavin Gillette, Parko couldn't find the scores he needed to advance and secure his first World Championship. The Title would go to his long time surfing mate Mick Fanning. With the unique duel heat format used during the contest, both Joel and Mick were in the water together when the title race was secured.

It was a bittersweet moment for both competitors, as Parko and Fanning clasped each other in an emotional display of mutual admiration - Parko gracious in disheartening defeat, and Fanning respectful of his best friend - even intriumphant victory.

When Fanning's heat ended, Parko was the first person to meet and carry him up the beach, a tradition started by the Aussies that no winner's feet should touch the sand in their victory heat. For many of the millions of Parko fans around the world it was just another example of why he is their hero in and out of the water.

By Jim Kempton

When Everything is on the Line at the Most Hollow Wave on the
WCT Circuit, the Boards Behind the Curtain Make all the Difference

In 2008 Kelly Slater may have dominated the Pipeline Masters on a supremely unorthodox sled--a ride he and shaper Al Merrick dubbed "The Deep Six"--but it was hardly the first time (and certainly won't be the last time) that somebody took a slightly different tack and introduced the world to something out of the norm.

Over the years the famed Banzai reef has played a vital roll in the progressive development of everything from 7'6" pintail stilettos to 5'6" plugs. In the early 1960s when Butch Van Artsdalen and John Peck were first penetrating the lineup, their boards were the biggest barrier to entry. Eventually, board sizes started to creep down as surfers demanded more performance possibilities.

Mike Hynson and Dick Brewer explored the down rail concept; Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell were quick to adopt the new shift in design, and tube riding changed seemingly overnight.

The early 1980's saw another revolution when Simon Anderson introduced his (then) radical 3-fin Thruster concept - and proceeded to prove its merits by winning the 1981 Pipeline Masters.

This year the 8 finalists in the Billabong Pipe Masters are as motley a crew as you could have ever predicted: ASP veteran brothers CJ and Damien Hobgood, Coolangatta tube terror Dean Morrison, local Pipe specialist Flynn Novak, consummate competitor Bede Durbidge, Backdoor dynamo Taj Burrow, power prodigy Dane Reynolds, and super-freak Kelly Slater. And their surfboards are as varied as their unique talents.

Taj Burrow makes no secret of his love affair with Backdoor - especially when he can get it with only one other guy in the line-up. His quiver starts with a 6'1" Firewire but if it gets bigger (as expected for Tuesday) he may opt for 6'5 or 6'7" All his shapes are 18 1/8 X2 1/8 rounded pins with fixed fins.

Dane Reynolds has been riding a 6-6 proton step up, round pin (his model just made for a little bigger stuff, like Pipe.) The board is single concave and has a lot of curve - kind of an old faithful one from last year.

On Saturday Kelly was surfing this year's version of his "Deep Six" model. It's a design from the board he rode at Pipe last year which by the way was his back up board. In short the board is sort of 2 boards stuck together: a gun tail and a short board nose - 5'11" in length and just normal dimensions for the rest , He creased the new one pretty good in his last heat so it's on the shed getting fixed. The big difference with the newer version: 4 fins as to the 3 fins from last years.

When the comp starts back up however, anything could be pulled out of the bag.

It remains to be seen if Slater's new-age alternative equipment will have nearly the impact, but it's a safe bet that as long as people are trying to get deeper in the tube at Pipe they'll continue to push the limits of the boards they ride.
Watch the action as it resumes Tuesday at the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Van's Triple Crown has all the action and FuelTV will broadcast the finals LIVE on television.

There's been much ado about Mick and Joel this year with the whole race thingy they had going on. But while Coolangatta's two front man were battling in the bright lights, their good mate Dean "Dingo" Morrison, who's essentially the third Bee Gee in this little merry band of Cooly Cat brothers, has been doing a good job getting his own groove back.

Dingo might even creep into the spotlight at Pipeline. He's already in the quarterfinals, matching his best result of the year at J-Bay. He stands a good chance now of making the Top 16, which will earn him a much better seed in 2010.

And on Saturday, in case you forgot, he actually beat Mick in Round Four, just after Mick officially became world champion. While Fanning wasn't exactly trying to grind out a win, had he been, he still would have had his hands full with Dingo, who's been looking very solid at Backdoor Pipeline. There's a reason for that.

"I usually spend about six weeks a year here after everyone goes home," says Morrison. "I feel pretty comfortable with most of Pipeline's moods."

Dean's got an uphill road to make the final. He's up against Damien Hobgood when competition resumes, and will likely have to face Slater in the semis if he can get past that hurdle (though we shouldn't count Flynn Novak out--after all Slater loses to wild cards more than his fellow tour contemporaries.) But there will be two guys on the beach cheering pretty damn loud for old Dingo, and a proud city back home hoping he puts the icing in their cake.

Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson will begin their ASP World Title showdown Saturday in what's expected to be epic conditions at Pipeline. But it's obvious they've got a lot more to worry about than each other, because the threat from this year's trialists and wild card entries is more lethal than ever.

Andy and Bruce Irons, John John Florence and Shane Dorian will be relishing their spoiler roles. And they're just the tip of a long Hawaiian spear that has already impaled a number of ASP stars struggling to survive. Torrey Meister, Hank Gaskell, Liam McNamara, Flynn Novak and Gavin Gillette have crushed more than a few dreams already. And the casualties are likely to keep mounting.

Yesterday, Bruce Irons closed the door on Timmy Reyes, who is now headed back to the minor leagues after a lackluster season.

Today, Andy Irons dealt Australia's Drew Courtney a similar fate. Both Reyes and Courtney needed only to advance out of one heat to stay above the line and make next year's tour.

Hawaiians Flynn Novak and Hank Gaskel, who qualified via the WQS contest at Pipe last winter, knocked out Tahiti's Michel Bourez and Australia's Ben Dunn, who, coming into the final event of the season, were sitting 21st and 22nd respectively. Luckily for both, almost everyone in their vicinity was knocked out too, so they stand a good chance of survival. But Roy Powers and Ace Buchan are hoping to pounce.

And one of the most talked about threats now is 16-year-old grom, John John Florence, who, while playing in his back yard out at Pipe, held a clinic today at Backdoor---undoubtedly stoked to be sharing the lineup with only three other surfers. "There are so many perfect waves coming in it was just crazy," he said, "It was really fun out there." Of course, his fun was somebody else's pain. Heitor Alvez's 2010 tour chances were ended by Florence.

With new ASP seeding rules going into effect in 2010, there's much more at stake at Pipeline. Making the Top 10 will earn surfers a late round seed all year. Making the Top 16 will earn a late round seed through the first half of the season. But everyone who qualifies will be instantly put on notice, since the field of 48 will be reduced to 32 by mid-season. The better your seed now, the better the your chances of survival.

Oh yeah, then there's that little title race thing. Mick Fanning has a clear advantage over Parko at this point. At last check Parko has to make it to the semifinals even if Fanning bombs. Both will have tough draws; Fannign will face Meister while Parko is up against Gavin Gillete, so anything is possible.

Stay tuned...This is going to get good.

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Torrey Meister (HAW)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 4: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Flynn Novak (HAW)
Heat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Michael Picon (FRA)
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Hank Gaskell (HAW)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Liam McNamara (HAW)
Heat 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 11: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 14: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Shane Dorian (HAW)
Heat 15: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Gavin Gillette (HAW)
Heat 16: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)