The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic (PBC) is a

bodysurfing Bodysurfing is the art and sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Bodysurfers often equip themselves with a pair of swimfins that aid propulsion and help the bodysurfer catch, ride an ...

competition held annually during the winter season at the

Banzai Pipeline The Banzai Pipeline, or simply Pipeline or Pipe, is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a r ...

on the North Shore of the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The goals (and historical precedent) for the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic are based on the original concept of the North Shore Expressive / Paipo bodysurfing event. The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic first ran in February 1971 (which preceded the

Pipe Masters The Billabong Pipeline Masters is an event in surfing held annually at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1971, and has been sponsored by Billabong since 2007. The event attracts the top 34 surfers from The World Surf Lea ...

, which ran in December 1971). Therefore, the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic was the first surfing event at Pipeline (Ehukai Beach Park) on the North Shore of Oahu. The event was originally hosted by the Honolulu City Parks Department to promote water safety and wave consciousness, as a multi-division bodysurfing, handboard and skegless paipo board competition open to both men and women. Eventually, the event was adopted by the North Shore Bodysurfing Club in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Currently, the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic, started in February 1971; and the Oceanside World Bodysurfing Championship, started in 1977, are the two biggest bodysurfing competitions in the world. The PBC is an event open to all bodysurfers. It is a judged competition specific to Bodysurfing and uses established judging standards. The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic was denied contest permitshttp://www.pipebodysurf.com/12_19_06_release/ PBC 2007 was not held for the surf calendar seasons 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2009–2010 (run on World Bodyboarding Championships Permit 1/2 day event), and 2010-2011 (run on IBA Bodyboarding Championships Permit 1/3 day event). Exclusive access to Pipeline and other surf breaks is a very scarce resource. The City and County of Honolulu decides which contests will receive permits. In 2010, a half day contest was held on February 24. It was won by Mike Stewart for the 12th time. Mark Cunningham who had won 6th times came in third place. In 2011, a third of a day contest was completed on February 19, 2011. It was won by Mike Stewart for the 13th time. Since 2011, the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks & Recreation has only offered a permit for this event in a time frame which conflicts another event. During 2016 the North Shore Bodysurfing Club attempted mediation with other event applicants to allow the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic to co-exist on the 2017-2018 North Shore surf events calendar. The outcome was a contested case hearing set for October 2017 to determine a January 4 2018 event. The North Shore Bodysurfing Club had submitted a request for mayor action through the Mayor's information officer to resolve the scheduling conflict. In the end the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks & Recreation would not allow the information officer to attempt a resolution. This prevented the opportunity for both the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic (one day event) and World Bodyboarding Championship (two day event) to be included on the 2017-2018 North Shore surf events calendar.

References

External links

Event websiteSurfline web article about 2008 eventPipeline Tide Calendar
{{Surfing Surfing competitions Surfing in Hawaii 1971 establishments in Hawaii