COORDINATES: 21º 39' N 158º 03' W
ATTITUDE: The second event in Vans' notorious Triple Crown of Surf, this is the only women's ASP Women's World Tour event held among the madness that is the North Shore come December. The boys are out there, the girls are out there and there's a lot on the line. This place always sees some heavy waves and the gives the girls a chance to step it up.
THE WAVE: Swells come steaming out of the northwest and wrap along Sunset Point creating fast, ledgey, powerful waves. On a swell with a bit more west in it, the infamous West Peak at Sunset comes alive catching the uninformed out of position and in big trouble. Starts working at three feet and holds as big as you'd want.
PERKS: The ledgey and speedy peaks offer an excellent canvas for high-performance surfing. Body-torqueing carves, death-defying wipeouts, and heroic tube-riding are the norm at this spot.
PERILS: Surfing Sunset has been described as an experience in schizophrenia. The spontaneous West Peak keeps surfers on their toes on even the smallest days. Larger days offer intense hold-downs, free tours of the reef and kamikaze surfers flailing in every direction. If that doesn't sound like enough fun for you, there're always the sharks to play with. Oh and don't snake anyone. Hawaii is not the place to do so.
APRES SURF: Crawl up the sand, spit the residual water out of your lungs, retrieve the other half of your board, and thank Huey for showing mercy on you.
ASP WOMEN'S WORLD TOUR HISTORY: 2006 was the first year that the Roxy Pro was be set at the infamous Sunset Beach since 2000. An ASP Women's World Tour staple from 1996-2000, Sunset lent the ladies to Haleiwa from 2001-2005 (though it was an ASP WQS event from 2001-2003), but will re-host the world's best again this year in 2009.
NOTABLE: The girls have got their competition on at Sunset as an ASP WQS 6-Star event for several years. They're stoked that the sometimes feared but always revered wave now hosts an ASP Women's World Tour event.
PAST EVENT CHAMPIONS:
2008: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2007: Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
2006: Melanie Bartels (HAW)
2005: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) *Event at Haleiwa
2004: Layne Beachley (AUS) *Event at Haleiwa
2000: Layne Beachley (AUS)
1999: Layne Beachley (AUS)
1998: Sandie Ryan (AUS)
1997: Layne Beachley (AUS)
1996: Layne Beachley (AUS)
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WORLD CUP OF SURFING