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Pipeline
Contests showcase top high school surfers
by Mike Purpus
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Pipeline knocks Mike Purpus back on his heels. |
The South Bay High School Surf League got under way Saturday morning at Torrance Beach with a contest designed to give coaches a chance to look at their prospects for the coming season. League meets begin in two weeks.
South High coach John Joseph organized the contest to gave every student a chance to make his school team. Saturday’s contest was for bodyboarders and women. This Saturday’s contest will be for shortboarders and longboarders.
South High’s John Joseph Jr. was the over-all standout. He dropped in on one set wave standing up, like he riding a surfboard rather than a body board. He also caught the wave of the day, got tubed instantly, came out and barrel-rolled all the way to the beach.
South's Tyler Maxey was right on Joseph’s tail throughout the contest. Bishop Montgomerey's John Scully just floated aimlessly for the first
ten minutes of his heat. After I couldn't take it anymore, I screamed "John, get a wave". He caught four outstanding waves in the next five minutes to advance to the finals.
The finals were so tight that there was a three way tie for first. The tabulator had to go way beyond the top three rides to break the tie.
The women’s heats became a showdown between Redondo's Elin Sielicki and South's Kelly Moore. Sielicki showed good judgement in surfing her longboard and got some good noserides. Moore got a big set wave and hung five down the face, then scampered back in time to ride the wave all the way in.
This Saturday’s shortboard and longboard contest should feature some equally stand-out surfing.
North Shore beckons
The North Shore of Oahu is the port of entry for the largest waves of the year. Its beautiful beaches start feeling the full force of God the first week of November. Since the mid-fifties top surfers from around the world have come the North Shore to see if they have what it takes to be a great surfer.
The South Bay has traditionally made a strong showing on the North Shore. In the sixties it was Greg Noll, Mike Doyle and Dewey Weber. In the seventies I was joined by Tiger Makin and Dru Harrison. In the eighties Chris Barrela, Chris Frohoff, Ted Robinson, Scott Daley and Reese Patterson all had good showings in The Pipeline Masters.
But there has been a drought since then. South Bay surfers were not a presence in nineties North Shore contests.
For the new millennium, The South Bay is loaded with promising talent. Mike Siordia, Jamie Meistrell, Alex Grey and Tony Adams are just a few of many now asking themselves if they can conquer North Shore's beast and make the right of passage from a good surfer to a great surfer.
The winter has a few thousand surfers on the North Shore. To earn a spot in the line-up, have to take off further back than anyone else and make it in radical form. You have to do this everyday for two to three seasons. You take a lot of wipeouts and get dropped in on a lot by the same surf stars you hope to sit next to in the line-up.
The full wrath of the Pacific Ocean will cover you up like an avalanche. You will beg Gods forgiveness in exchange for mercy and a breath of air.
This all starts about a week before the first pro contest at Halaeiwa on November 12th. The Halaeiwa G-Shock $100,000 Pro is the only contest that has trials the week before. You can earn a spot in the contest by finishing at the top of the trials. Then you go against the seeded surfers in the largest hot dog wave on the island. Even at 15 feet Halaeiwa can be surfed like a six-foot wave at Malibu. The wipeouts hurt a lot more. The current is very strong pulling you into the line-up. The last section is over dry reef.
The Sunset $250,000 Rip Curl Cup starts November 26. It's a showdown for the World Crown. The big guns will be surfing a half mile out. The monster peaks will shift toward the point and wall up down the line before you get halfway down the face. You have to take big chances if you want to win. Sunset is the most challenging wave on the North Shore.
The $150,000 XBOX Pipeline Masters is the final contest. This year’s eight contest winners along with the eight previous Pipeline Masters champions go up against Pipelines best locals.
You don't even remember the take-off. The full force of the ocean is thrown over your head with lightning speed on your escape attempt. The reef is only five feet below.
In the sixties you had the Makaha Contest and the Duke. In the seventies you had the Smirnoff Pro, the Duke Kahanamoku Classic, the Pipeline Masters, the Hang Ten, the Lightning Bolt, and The Expression Session. In the eighties they cut back to only three contests.
The Duke Kahanamoko Classic was and always will be the most prestigious surf contest. The surf had to be 15 feet. The Duke is always held at Sunset or Waimea Bay. You are voted into the contest by the top surfers in the world. Only the top 20 vote getters got to surf. If you are in the Duke Kahanamoku Classic you are a great surfer.
Hopefully, it won’t be too long before a South Bay surfer is voted into the Duke. ER