Right now, there are plenty of Challenger Series surfers thinking day and night about how to surf Haleiwa, one of the jewels in the North Shore of Oahu's crown.
The Haleiwa Challenger is the final event of this year's Challenger Series season, and once it's all said and done, 12 men and six women will be graduating to the Championship Tour -- likely making a long-held dream finally come true.
But between them and that dream is a unique challenge that will likely require bigger boards, and a finely tuned understanding of the lineup at this notoriously shifty right-hand reef break.
There are serious diamonds in the rough at Haleiwa -- it is, on its days, a world-class wave -- but there are also powerful closeouts and a dynamic, ever-changing lineup to take into account.
This recent footage from one of the first swells of the winter season provides some insight into how to thread the needle out there. Jack Freestone is one of the surfers who seem to have it dialed -- knowing when to trim through a section and when to lay the hammer down is a big part of surfing well out there, with powerful sections that can sneak up on you if you're not careful.
It's a wave that suits four-time World Champion Carissa Moore perfectly, as you can see at around the 3 minute mark. It's little wonder she took out the first Digital Vans Triple Crown, in no small part thanks to her mastery of the wave.
It's an interesting challenge for many on the Challenger Series, who may not have a whole lot of time on the North Shore under their belts. Of course, the waves can get big and hard to read in France or Portugal -- two of the other Challenger Series stops this season -- but it's nothing like the raw power and unpredictability of Halewia.
Kaipo Guerrero, WSL Commentator, breaks down Haleiwa - the second to last men's QS 10,000 event.
As we've seen throughout the season, athletes can shoot up and down the rankings each event, so while we are getting a clearer picture of who will be graduating to the Championship Tour soon, there could be some last-minute changes to the picture as surfers with experience on the North Shore set themselves apart.
Though it's an perfect place to round out the Challenger Series season -- whoever makes it onto the Championship Tour is going to have to step up to waves such as G-Land, Sunset, Pipeline and Teahupoo, a world away from some of the Qualifying Series venues they may be used to.
The Haleiwa Challenger runs between November 26 and December 7.
Why Haleiwa Could Seriously Spoil Some Challenger Series Dreams
Ben Collins
Right now, there are plenty of Challenger Series surfers thinking day and night about how to surf Haleiwa, one of the jewels in the North Shore of Oahu's crown.
The Haleiwa Challenger is the final event of this year's Challenger Series season, and once it's all said and done, 12 men and six women will be graduating to the Championship Tour -- likely making a long-held dream finally come true.
But between them and that dream is a unique challenge that will likely require bigger boards, and a finely tuned understanding of the lineup at this notoriously shifty right-hand reef break.
There are serious diamonds in the rough at Haleiwa -- it is, on its days, a world-class wave -- but there are also powerful closeouts and a dynamic, ever-changing lineup to take into account.
This recent footage from one of the first swells of the winter season provides some insight into how to thread the needle out there. Jack Freestone is one of the surfers who seem to have it dialed -- knowing when to trim through a section and when to lay the hammer down is a big part of surfing well out there, with powerful sections that can sneak up on you if you're not careful.
It's a wave that suits four-time World Champion Carissa Moore perfectly, as you can see at around the 3 minute mark. It's little wonder she took out the first Digital Vans Triple Crown, in no small part thanks to her mastery of the wave.
It's an interesting challenge for many on the Challenger Series, who may not have a whole lot of time on the North Shore under their belts. Of course, the waves can get big and hard to read in France or Portugal -- two of the other Challenger Series stops this season -- but it's nothing like the raw power and unpredictability of Halewia.
As we've seen throughout the season, athletes can shoot up and down the rankings each event, so while we are getting a clearer picture of who will be graduating to the Championship Tour soon, there could be some last-minute changes to the picture as surfers with experience on the North Shore set themselves apart.
Though it's an perfect place to round out the Challenger Series season -- whoever makes it onto the Championship Tour is going to have to step up to waves such as G-Land, Sunset, Pipeline and Teahupoo, a world away from some of the Qualifying Series venues they may be used to.
The Haleiwa Challenger runs between November 26 and December 7.
Jack Freestone
Season 3, Episode 1
Go behind the scenes with Jack Freestone as he starts his road to the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
WSL Leaderboard frontrunners Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore set the pace at Strickland Bay, but there are more high-powered heats on tap.
With more east in the swell, Narrabeen came alive as World Title contenders made their presence felt with some nail-biting heat wins.
Jack Freestone recently said he's a World Title threat this year, and then backed that up with one of the waves of the day at Backdoor.
The Gold Coast switched on just after the Australian leg was switched off, but an all-star cast still made the most of the swell.
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa Challenger
There are plenty of new faces from the proud surfing nation of Australia about to make their Championship Tour debut.
With the next generation announcing their arrival, Carissa Moore and Lakey Peterson got a taste of what it's like to compete on the CT in
Bettylou Sakura Johnson upsets 5x World Champ Carissa Moore at Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa Challenger, while three more surfers
John John Florence drops Perfect 10 in the Final, 16-year-old local Bettylou Sakura Johnson leads the charge heading into finals day.
Florence, Lau, Coffin, O'Leary among other CS standouts drop serious hammers as waves turn on at the Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa