Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Explained
Feature image: ©Tony Heff / WSL
There are a few Triple Crowns in the world. There's a horse one, a motorsport one, but by far the most entertaining is the surf one. This North Shore-based surf competition is one of the most prestigious in the world and hosts all the best surfers each year. Here is everything you need to know about how the Vans Triple Crown started and how it works today.
Beginning
In 1983 the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) decided to remove all North Shore competitions from their world tour after conflict with local organizers. In response, former world champion Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick created their own competition with the goal of testing surfers' abilities on the high-performance North Shore breaks; Haleiwa, Sunset, and Pipeline. Their Triple Crown grouped three existing events, the Duke Kahanamoku Classic (now the Hawaiian Pro), World Cup of Surfing, and Pipeline Masters, and judged the performance of surfers at each location. The best-performing surfer across all events won the championship. 
Six Time Triple Crown Winner, Sunny Garcia
At the time, the ASP was not happy about Fred and Randy's new competition and prohibited their surfers from competing. Despite the ASP's best efforts, many surfers decided to partake anyways, and the new contest quickly gained prestige and fame. The Triple Crown has run every year since 1983, and in 1997 the organization added a women’s division. In 2010, however, the women's division was discontinued due to a lack of funding. It wouldn't return again until 2021 when the competition went digital. In 1998 the competition was taken over by Vans, and its new title became Van’s Triple Crown of Surfing. The last event of the Triple Crown, the Pipeline Masters, is also the final event of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour and Qualifying Series, bringing high stakes, big energy, and the best surfers in the world.
Today
In 2020, when COVID –19 rocked our world, Vans decided to move the competition to a digital video submission format. The Director of Global Sports Marketing at Vans, Scott Sisamis, states, “Vans looks ahead to challenge conventional competition in order to progress surf even criteria and inspire the next generation of surfers.” He also says that with this evolution of the Triple Crown, “[Vans] want to celebrate the creative expression, inclusivity, and freedom that surfing offers by continuing to elevate opportunities that empower surfing's premier talent both in Hawaii and from around the world.”
So How Does it Work?
The new competition takes place for a 4-week period, this year from December 21, 2021 – January 21, 2022. During this time, the eligible and registered competitors will submit two videos from each location, Haleiwa, Sunset, and Pipeline. The total combined prize purse is US $217,000, and split equally among men and women.
There are 5 prize categories:
The Overall Vans Triple Crown Champions
This award goes to the single highest scoring male and female surfers and is based on the combined 6 ride total from the three locations (The two highest scoring waves from the three locations).
The men’s and women’s champion each receive $50,000 and an invitation to the 2022 Vans Pipe Masters.
Top 5 Placing at Each Location, Men and Women
The top 5 scoring competitors, male and female, at each individual location will receive a reward based on the combined 2 ride total for the individual location. The highest point total wins
The total purse for 1st - 5th place for both men and women at each location is US $30,000 and allocated as follows;
1st - $5,000
2nd - $4,000
3rd - $3,000
4th - $2,000
5th - $1,000
Vans Crown Clips Winners, Men and Women:
Each week, for the four week long competition period, one man and one woman will be awarded a prize of a $500 gift voucher to a local restaurant on the North Shore.
Vans Triple Crown Fan Vote Winners, Men and Women:
The one male and one female competitor who receive the highest amount of votes will receive $1,500 each.
Vans Triple Crown Videography Award, Men and Women:
The videographers of the overall men’s and women’s champions will each win $10,000.
Also, a New Pipe Masters
For 2022, Van’s was awarded the Pipe Masters permit over the WSL. So, what this means is that the two are working together to put on the event, however, the event will no longer help surfers earn Qualifying Series Points. Vans also decided to restructure the contest to be a global invitational event.
Here is a list of the Triple Crown winners from the beginning:
Did reading about the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing get you frothing? Remember to check out he Jamie O’Brien Surf App here for surf coaching anytime, anywhere.
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