To many surfers on the North Shore, not being able to surf in the Pipe Masters or even the Triple Crown is no big deal. To them, there’s a title that is much, much more important than earning a good result in any contest: the lucrative Wave of the Winter award. Just think about those words for a moment. Out of all the amazing barrels that are ridden at Pipe each winter, the judging panel, consisting of Gerry Lopez, Ross Williams, Pancho Sullivan, and Shawn Briley, pick one and only one wave that stands out in their minds as the best wave of the entire winter. And it’s no wonder why claiming this award is a huge honor. The money would undoubtedly be nice to win, but the title of earning single best wave of the entire winter far exceeds that handsome check.
“Remember, there are big bucks on the line for this one: O’Neill is offering a $25,000 prize for the winning surfer and $5,000 for the accompanying filmer, while Clif Bar will once again put up $20,000 for the Overall Performance Award ($10,000 to the surfer with an additional $10,000 donation in the surfer’s name going to a nonprofit benefiting the local community and/or environment.) And the all-new Breakthrough Performer Award will give $5000 to the surfer, 19 years old or younger, who turns in the strongest performance along the Seven Mile Miracle.
The event dates are the same as last year: November 1 through February 28. After each month, the field of entrants will be narrowed and the top rides highlighted in an editorial feature on Surfline that will allow users to vote for a monthly winner. Each monthly winner wins a $1000 cash prize.”
