Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time.
The Triple Crown of Surfing is a Hawaii a specialty series of professional surfing events that have been held annually since 1983 on the North Shore of Oahu, a coastline whose winter swells can reach 50 feet (15 m) in height.
The Banzai Pipeline, or simply Pipeline or Pipe, is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a reef. Pipeline is known for huge waves that break in shallow water just above a sharp and cavernous reef, forming large, hollow, thick curls of water that surfers can tube ride. There are three reefs at Pipeline in progressively deeper water farther out to sea that activate according to the increasing size of approaching ocean swells.
The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional Surfing founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick in 1976. IPS created the first world circuit of pro surfing events. In 1983 the Association of Surfing Pros took over management of the world circuit. In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League. Sophie Goldschmidt was appointed as WSL CEO on 19 July 2017. Paul Speaker had stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2017, and Dirk Ziff acted as the interim WSL CEO until Goldschmidt's appointment.
The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic (PBC) is a bodysurfing competition held annually during the winter season at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Taj Burrow is an Australian retired professional surfer. Taj retired from the WSL World Tour in June 2016.
Michael Eugene Fanning is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark attack by what is suspected to be a great white shark during the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay.
The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is a prestigious event in professional surfing held annually at Pūpūkea on Oahu in Hawaii.
The Billabong Pipeline Masters is an event in surfing held annually at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1971, and has been sponsored by Billabong since 2007.
John "John John" Alexander Florence is an American professional surfer. He is known as "one of the most dominant pipe surfers of his era" and won back-to-back world titles on the 2016 World Surf League and 2017 World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. He is the first Hawaii-born surfer to win back-to-back world titles since the late Andy Irons and one of five to ever achieve the feat. In 2019, Florence qualified to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in surfing.
Joel Parkinson is an Australian surfer who used to compete on the WSL. After twelve years competing at the elite level on the ASP World Championship Tour, a stretch that saw him win eleven elite ASP World Title Events, plus nine additional ASP tour events, and achieve runner-up second place to the ASP World Title four times, Parkinson won the ASP World Championship Tour Surfing Title on 14 December 2012 in Hawaii at the Banzai Pipeline during the ASP World Tours' final event for 2012–the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Parkinson hung on in a back and forth battle with eleven-time ASP World Title holder, Kelly Slater, to get his first World Title, as well as go on to win the Pipeline Masters, only after Slater lost his semi-final heat to Josh Kerr, of Queensland, Australia. Parkinson beat Kerr in the finals of the event, which was his seventh top-five placing for the year, and his first event title win for 2012.
James Duncan O'Brien was born on June 9, 1983. He is a professional surfer from the North Shore, Hawaii.
The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oʻahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oʻahu between Kaʻena Point and Kahuku. The largest settlement is Haleʻiwa.
Adriano "Mineirinho" de Souza is a Brazilian professional surfer and also the 2015 WSL World Champion. He has been competing on the World Surf League Men's World Tour since 2005.
Evan Geiselman has been a competing surfer since the age of seven. He has won 12 East Coast Championship titles. He is the younger brother of professional surfer Eric Geiselman. He has been trying to be part of the ASP World Championship Tour for three years now, but the Qualification Series are competitive. He didn't get the results he was hoping for on the 2014 WQS. At the beginning of 2014, he moved from San Clemente, California back home, to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Owen Wright is an Australian professional surfer on the World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. His sister, Tyler Wright, is also a competitor on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer who won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. With 16 WSL Championship Tour (CT) event wins and 29 Final appearances under his belt, Medina is one of the most experienced surfers when it comes to producing the best surfing under pressure. Medina is 2nd only to Kelly Slater for the most World Titles among surfers currently on the CT.
The Billabong Pipeline Masters 2015 is an event of the Association of Surfing Professionals for 2015 ASP World Tour.
Michel Bourez is a French professional surfer.
The Billabong Pipe Masters 2019 was the 11th and final event of the Men's Championship Tour in the 2019 World Surf League. It took place from 9 to 19 December at the Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, and was contested by 36 surfers.
