The bodyboarding Gods have been called and the show is about to kick off.
The 2011 IBA Pipeline Pro opening ceremony has gathered athletes from the past, present and future of the wave sport.
Former IBA World Champions Uri Valadao, Jeff Hubbard, Ben Player and Damien King linked hands with greats such as Mike Stewart, Steve ‘Bullet’ MacKenzie and Ben Severson.
Dennis Sallas, the local Kahu priest, called higher souls for the safety, honor and integrity of all pro bodyboarders.
The IBA Pipeline Pro is the Holy Grail of bodyboarding and the most prestigious event on the IBA tour. If the Hawaiian Gods are the riders, all we need is to wait for a historic swell.
All the action will be available via the live webcast. It will be the most ambitious ever undertaken by the IBA, with multi-camera angles and replays just some of the improved features. Hawaiian Manny Vargas will anchor.
The forecast for Tuesday, February 15, day 1 of the 11-day waiting period is for continuing North swell, in the three-to-five foot range. Just four days of competition are required to complete the event.
The Sandy Beach Trials have already decided the remaining Pipeline Pro competitors.
Matt Holzman, Nick Shand, Kainoa French, Kingsley Uaiwa, Mark Klein, Keanu Cazimero, Harley Ward, Keoni Haina, Babby Quinones, Travis Smith, Brian Wise, Alex Halsey, Elliott Morales, Charles Ward, Gregory Wouters and Scott Rigby will defy the world's best bodyboarders in the main event.