Although the 2008 Pipeline Masters ended up looking like a Backdoor Shootout with all of the rights that were taken, the official Backdoor Shootout is just a couple of days away from unleashing it’s magic on the world of surfing. The holding period for the 2009 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout opens this Monday and will run through Jan. 15. The opening ceremony for the seventh annual Shootout will be held Sunday morning at Ehukai Beach Park for anyone one interested in attending.

The Backdoor Shootout is doing a solid job at setting itself up as one of the premier independent surf competitions in the world. Any competition at Backdoor Pipeline is obviously going to generate all kinds of hype and excitement. Mixing in a world class line-up of surfers such as 2008 winner Jaime O’Brien, Makua Rothman, Mark Healey, Danny Fuller, Bruce Irons and many more only adds to that. On top of it all, Da Hui offers up a very healthy prize purse, as Jamie O’Brien took home $50,000 for his efforts last year. Bruce Irons, the ‘08 Shootout runner-up, pulled in $25,000 for his efforts. That 2nd place total stands just a few G’s short of the typical amount seen by winners of ASP World Tour events.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the event will be webcast, which is kind of a downer. There was a staggering amount of web traffic for the Pipe Masters and I’m sure many of those same fans would love to get another Pipeline fix. Hopefully this is something we can look forward to for future Backdoor Shootouts. For those who live on the islands and those visiting over the next 10 or so days, catching a glimpse of this classic event is something that will definitely be worth your time, so be sure to check it out.

Tags: Bruce Irons, Jaime O'Brien, pipeline

Posted by Shaun on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 in Surfing.

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