Celebrating more than 36 years on the fabled North Shore, Vans is proud to close out the 2020 winter season to declare undisputed surf icons John John Florence and Carissa Moore as the new 2020 Vans Triple Crown Digital Champions. World-renown for multiple World Surf League (WSL) Championship titles and serving as an enduring inspiration for surfers and sports fans everywhere, Florence and Moore honor this historic win in a personal homage to the hometown surf breaks that started it all.
"This was one of my favorite formats to surf in competition. It allowed for so much more freedom, and you're really going for broke on every single wave," said two-time WSL Champion John John Florence, who claimed his fourth Vans Triple Crown championship title of his career with this win. "The digital format pushed the level of surfing a lot, and to see all these surfers pushing at that kind of level at Haleiwa, Sunset & Pipe-it was really fun."
"Being a Hawaiian surfer, especially a female Hawaiian surfer, it's always been a dream of mine to compete in the Vans Triple Crown," said four-time reigning WSL Champion Carissa Moore. "It's a coveted title being a Hawaiian and to showcase your skill on some of the most powerful waves in all of the world, especially in our backyard. I really enjoyed the challenge."
A significant evolution of the iconic Vans Triple Crown of Surfing event this year saw a new, innovative approach to the North Shore competition through hosting the entire event online, and by expanding the field to men and women. Sanctioned by the World Surf League as a specialty digital event, the new Vans Triple Crown format welcomed more than 100 competitors, from ranking pros to local heroes, in an open, submission-based contest over a 4-week contest period. Each competitor's ability was uniquely challenged to demonstrate creativity, skill, and determination without the traditional time constraints and equipment restrictions of a normal contest.
DIGITAL VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING - EVENT RESULTS
2020 VTCS Men's Champion: John Florence
2020 VTCS Women's Champion: Carissa Moore
Hawaiian Pro, Haleiwa Men's Winner: John Florence
Hawaiian Pro, Haleiwa Women's Winner: Carissa Moore
World Cup, Sunset Men's Winner: John Florence
World Cup, Sunset Women's Winner: Bronte Macaulay
Pipe Men's Winner: John Florence
Pipe Women's Winner: Moana Jones Wong
Fan Voting Men's Winner: Jack Robinson
Fan Voting Women's Winner: Tatiana Weston-Webb
In another historic first, the digital Vans Triple Crown event welcomed women competitors for the first time in over a decade at Pipe, ultimately crowning 21-year old Hawaiian Moana Jones Wong as the victor amongst a fiercely competitive women's field. Wong's win reflected yet another silver lining of the women's emergence at Pipe this past season, and the exciting new potential the digital competition format can expose.
"It really means a lot to me to win this award! It was really competitive every single session. I put in all my time at Pipe and it's my favorite wave in the world," said Moana Jones Wong, women's winner of the Pipe event. "I [also] grew up surfing Alii's [Haleiwa] and spent so much time when I was younger at Sunset, so it was really cool to surf all three venues."
Awarding a total prize purse of $200,000, Vans announced the six winners during the official awards ceremony event, which aired yesterday evening. Winners for each event location and fan favorite voting honors were revealed, along with commentary from special guests and live music by Kimie Miner & Na Kama Kai, and headliner, Mexican Summer recording artist, PAINT. Re-live the awards ceremony on www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com.
The inaugural digital edition of the Vans Triple Crown series allowed devoted surfing fans to witness the phenomenal progression of the Hawaiian surf community from a safe distance at home. The Vans Triple Crown legacy remains uninterrupted, cementing the North Shore's reputation as the ultimate proving grounds for future champions and honoring the decades long traditions of Hawaii's storied surfing heritage.
Congratulations to all the winners! Watch video highlights and re-live the action on www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com.