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Kelly Slater and a bunch of young pups are out for the Hawaiian Pro championship that will be decided today at Haleiwa’s Alii Beach.
It’s the last day of the holding period for the first contest of the Vans Triple Crown that doubles as a World Surf League qualifying series contest. A large north-northwest swell is expected to greet the competitors.
The 47-year-old Slater, an 11-time world champion and a two-time Triple Crown champion, has never won the Hawaiian Pro.
There’s some long-time WSL veterans among the 16 surfers remaining who will compete in four-man quarterfinals before the four-man semifinals and the four-man final heat. Among the bigger WSL names going for it are Australia’s Adrian Buchan and Wade Carmichael and Tahiti’s Michel Bourez.
Only one surfer from Hawaii — Haleiwa’s own Barron Mamiya — still has a shot at the Hawaiian Pro trophy.
After today’s Hawaiian Pro titlist is crowned, the Triple Crown continues with the Vans World Cup of Surfing (Monday through Dec. 7) at Sunset Beach and then the Billabong Pipe Masters (Dec. 8-20) at Pipeline.
The Oahu North Shore winter will get champions of those two events as well as an overall Triple Crown champion.
In addition, the Pipeline contest will decide the 2019 world champion, where five surfers still have a shot — top-ranked Italo Ferreira, No. 2 Gabriel Medina and No. 4 Filipe Toledo — all of Brazil — No. 3 Jordy Smith of South Africa, and No. 5 Kolohe Andino of San Clemente, Calif.