Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 1993 — Fred Williamson: Ringmaster of waveriding's three-ring contest, the Triple Crown of Surfing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Fred Williamson: Ringmaster of waveriding's three-ring contest, the Triple Crown of Surfing

by Jeff Clark Surfing, the "sport of kings," has eome a long way since Hawaiians rode the breakers on immense koa planks. While "soul surfing," riding waves for pure enjoyment, still reigns supreme, these days there is a stable of professional athletes who scour the planet in search of hollow swells and big-time prize money. This wave-struck

globetrotting eulminates here at the meeea of surfing, Hawai'i nei. The pros eome for the huge swells, the laid-back lifestyle and the grand-daddy of competition surfing, the Triple Crown of Surfing. The Triple Crown is nart of the world

tour of contests sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals. While the circuit hits every continent (and this year included a meet in Vietnam), 0'ahu's North Shore with its big. consistent, wellformed waves is the arena where the real glory is seized. The Triple Crown consists of the Wvland Galleries Hawaiian Pro, held at Ali'i Beach Park, Hale'iwa during November; the World Cup of Surfing, held at Sunset Beach from late November through Dec. 6; and the Masters at Banzai Pipeline, held at 'Ehukai Beach Park on the four or ftve best surftng days from Dec. 7-16. The Masters, founded in 1971, is the longestrunning professional surftng eontest in the U.S. The owner of the contest series and president of Triple Crown, ine. is Fred Williamson, a Hawaiian who grew up in Kailua. After graduating from

Kamehameha as valedictorian in 1966, Williamson attended Brown University and then earned his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania. He later spent 16 years as an employee of Bishop Estate, where he left his job as finance director in 1989. "It was a privilege and very rewarding working with such a great organization," Williamson remem-

bers. He's proud of the Triple Crown's status in the surfing world. "This is really where all the surfers in the world have to eome to prove themselves. This is it. They really earn the respect of their peers by winning at Banzai."

It's a point of pride for Hawaiians and Hawai'i residents in general that seven of the 10 Triple Crowns held thus far have been won by Hawaiians: Derek Ho won four times, Miehael Ho twice, and Sunny Garcia took it last year. Describing them with words like "steady," "strong," and "fearless," Williamson makes no attempt to eoneeal his admiration for the pro surfers. "They wear helmets these days, they don't party, they train; ... this is serious." Serious indeed: these waves ean kill. Twenty boards were broken in Triple Crown events last year, and at Pipeline the jagged reef has been known to scalp its share of competitors. Williamson bought the contest series in 1988 from surf ehamp-turned-politician Fred Hemmings. "What a fun kind of business to get into," Williamson beams, before adding somewhat gravely, "It's been more difficult

than I expected." He spends countless hours coordinating the activities of sponsors, contest officials, journalists, video producers, poster artists, and others. The state of Hawai'i benefits greatly from Williamson's work. He estimates some 150 million

people see Triple Crown action on TV and in print. In addition to coverage in surfing rags, in-flight magazines and newspaper travel supplements, the contests are featured on national and international television, including five presentations on ESPN, the allsports cable network. Shots of sparkling blue waves and bikini-lined beaches go far in enticing snowbound residents of Minnesota and other cold climes to journey here. The benefits to the tourism industry do not go unnoticed by state government: the Depart-ment of Business,

Eeonomie Development and Tourism helps the cause by kicking in sponsorship money. It costs at least $60,000 to pull off a world-class professional s u r f i n g meet, Williamson says, citing such o p e r a t i n g expenses as promotion, judges' lodging, a fully automated media van and other support for the more than

200 journalists on the scene, and at-the-ready medical services. Above and beyond operating expenses are prize money and sanctioning fees. The state's involvement is welcomed by Williamson because sponsorship money is the stuff

pro surfing events are made of (spectators aren't charged admission), and this year has been rough going. The Hard Rock Cafe restaurant ehain has decided to pull its sponsorship of the World Cup, and sportswear manufacturer Marui has bailed out of the Masters. As a result, Williamson expects the Triple Crown to lose money this year, "but it's important for the continuity of the sport and for Hawaiian pride to hold it," he says. Besides, he adds, "It looks very promising for '94; we have all kinds of people bidding for

next year." (Editor's note: Just before Ka Wai Ola O OHA went to press, Williamson found a firm to sponsor the Masters, Chiemsee Clothing of Germany.) With an akamai businessman like Williamson at the helm, it's no wonder the Triple Crown name is growing to encompass more than surf contests: he's trying to build a clothing company around the name. "Right now we're too small for the big eompanies to worry about, but we're trying to sneak up on 'em," he says. Williamson started testing the idea in 1989, utilizing designs from the contest posters. "Our challenge is to get the buying public to realize that Triple Crown of Surfing is not just a seasonal, event-oriented eompany, but a year-round clothing manufacturer with 40 or 50 products." The company will eventually offer T-shirts, shorts, sweats, and caps, and Williamson

expects to do $2 million worth of business in the coming year. Williamson says the Triple Crown would be nowhere without longtime contest director Randy Rarick. "He is the Triple Crown of Surfing," Williamson attests. "I basically fill the

holes." Rarick runs the show while Williamson concentrates on "expanding our reach, expanding our market, public relations, negotiations ..." Williamson makes sure Triple Crown, ine. is a good corporate neighbor. On the clothing side, all of its designs are printed here in Hawai'i. On the contest side, Triple Crown and gives money to schools, anti-drug organizations and other charities. In addition, Williamson doesn't forget his heritage. "We try to push Hawaiian culture as part of the events whenever we ean," he

said, adding that hālau perform at awards banquets and create original music and dance for the oeeasions. The international nature of the field is what enticed Williamson to get involved in surfing eompetition, that and his previous interest in sports: at Kamehameha he lettered in basketball, football, baseball and track. Although Triple Crown keeps Williamson busy year-round, he's got his fingers in a number of other pies, as well. For one, he's helping to establish a venture capital fund in Hawai'i, and he's a board member of more than one corporation. But pro surfing competition is where his heart is. "I'm having a good time. It's a lot of headaches working with sponsors and coordinating the intemational aspects, but ... there are so many worse things I could be doing."

Fred Williamson

"The Men Who Ride Mountains" ean reap big-time prize money by winning the Masters at Banzai Pipeline, the third and final jewel in the Triple Crown of Surfing. Photo by Darrell Wong

Every winter the Triple Crown of Surfing attracts professional waveriders and their fans to 0'ahu's North Shore. Photo by Darrell Wong