Gary Elkerton is the only professional surfer to win two out of three contests. Collins predicts that ocean swells blown south by giant storms in the Gulf of Alaska will join together with remnants of Japanese Typhoons for a winter of epic swells. A consultant to magazines and professional surfer alike, Collins is able to track ocean swells as far as 10,000 miles away and pinpoint the arrival time within six hours. No other sport on the planet boasts a playing surface that is as ever-changing as the ocean on Hawaii's North Shore. Massive volumes of water are hurled shore ward with tremendous force.
Pipeline features huge, death-defying barrels breaking over a shallow reef.
ESPN will carry the shows in the U.S., while the ESPN International Network will air the contests in Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The events will also air on Eurosport in Europe and on TSN in Canada. Earlier this year Vans announced that it had secured year-round worldwide ESPN television coverage of the entire Vans Triple Crown Series. With a dozen specials slated for broadcast, this is the largest-ever television distribution package for this type of board sport series that includes skate boarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding and surfing. With the legendary North Shore as a backdrop, only eight surfers have won the prestigious Triple Crown title, determined by the number of points accumulated throughout the series.