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Saturday, December 9, 2000
Pipeline contest Do you remember the eighties?
will feature
’80s flashback
Ten masters gather for
the event's 30th anniversaryBy Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-BulletinNo, not the big hair and the glam rock 'n' rollers that have long since fallen by the wayside -- but when the North Shore of Oahu was the unquestioned and ultimate proving ground for any professional surfer, with the Pipeline break at Ehukai Beach as its most spectacular arena.
The Pipe Masters contest held at Pipeline for the past 30 years is the longest running professional surfing competition in the world. It is also one of the most awesome and dangerous, with massive waves heaving in shallow water over a treacherous reef just a short distance off the shoreline for all to see.
This year, for its 30th anniversary, contest organizers have gathered all 10 of the former Pipe Masters champions from the '80s for a one-hour "expression session" set to go off between the semifinal and final heats of competition.
"I'm really looking forward to it," said two-time former world champion and 1987 Pipe Masters winner Tom Carroll of Australia. "It will be like getting reacquainted with an old friend. I hope it's big enough that everyone gets a little scared."
Though a prestigious event since its inception, the Pipe Masters competitions and its champions of that era were particularly significant to the development of the sport and the Association of Surfing Professionals' World Championship Tour.
The eighties Pipe Masters champions are: 1980 winner and four-time world champion Mark Richards of Australia; Simon Anderson (1981, Australia); Michael Ho (1982, Hawaii); Dane Kealoha (1983, Hawaii); Joey Buran (1984, California); Mark Occhilupo (1985, Australia); Derek Ho (1986, Hawaii); Carroll, Rob Page (1988, Australia); and Gary Elkerton (1989, Australia).
"I've always really looked up to these guys," said Occhilupo, who won the event when he was 19 years old and last year, at 33, became the oldest ever to capture the world title. "I was really young winning the Pipe when I did with all of these guys, and I respect all of them and the wave so much."
Anderson, who invented the three-fin thruster and rode it to victory in the Pipe Masters despite having many skeptics at the time, added: "Back when I surfed, if you were any good, you had to come and prove yourself in Hawaii, in particular at Pipeline.
"Pipe was the last proving ground, the last big test for my new design. It was always part of my plan to have it be successful here, and winning that event kind of established the thruster and it's gone from there."
Despite the tradition and history of the event and its past champions, the Pipe Masters ironically will not be part of the WCT circuit next season.
It still will be part of the Triple Crown series of Hawaii contests that represent the year's end, but it no longer will be the crucial season-ender in the world championship race. Starting next year, the contest will be a "Champion of Champions" invite-only specialty event.
"I think it's a shame," said Derek Ho, who was Hawaii's only men's world champion before this season (Sunny Garcia's point total as of late October won him this year's title with the Pipe Masters yet to go). "Pipe is the ultimate proving ground, and many world championships have been won or lost there. I don't think it's right that next year's champ will not have to surf there."
The holding period for the 30th Mountain Dew Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters officially began today and runs through Dec. 21.