Eddie Aikau big-wave event announces competitors, contest window
Will this become the winter somebody unseats Bruce Irons as champion of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave contest at Waimea Bay?
The Kauai surfer pictured above has reigned as champion since 2004, but that's largely because the contest has not been held since 2004. In each successive winter, organizers determined the waves were not big enough.
And that's a shame because this is a thrilling and prestigious event when it is held, and the surfing media and perhaps even the surfers have grown weary of all the false alarms.
However, in reverence to the spirit of Aikau, the famous lifeguard who was presumed drowned after he disappeared during a daring rescue attempt in 1978, standards were set dauntingly high.
Waves must measure at least 20 feet from the backs -- that's 40-foot faces -- before "The Eddie" is given a green light, and surfers must be able to arrive within a 24-hour call.
That's asking a lot of Mother Nature, as there have been only seven contests since the first in 1984. Here's hoping there will be an eighth this winter, not next, or the winter after that.
The competition window opens Dec. 1 and closes Feb. 28. Read on for a list of invitees:
INVITEES
1. Andy Irons (Hawaii)
2. Brian Keaulana (Hawaii)
3. Brock Little (Hawaii)
4. Bruce Irons (Hawaii)
5. Carlos Burle (Brazil)
6. Clyde Aikau (Hawaii)
7. Darryl Virostko (California)
8. Grant “Twiggy” Baker (South Africa)
9. Greg Long (California)
10. Ian Walsh (Hawaii)
11. Ibon Amatriain (Spain)
12. Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii)
13. Jamie Sterling (Hawaii)
14. Kelly Slater (Florida)
15. Keone Downing (Hawaii)
16. Makua Rothman (Hawaii)
17. Mark Healey (Hawaii)
18. Michael Ho (Hawaii)
19. Noah Johnson (Hawaii)
20. Peter Mel (California)
21. Ramon Navarro (Chili)
22. Ross Clarke-Jones (Australia)
23. Rusty Keaulana (Hawaii)
24. Shane Dorian (Hawaii)
25. Sunny Garcia (Hawaii)
26. Takayuki Wakita (Japan)
27. Tom Carroll (Australia)
28. Titus Kinimaka (Hawaii)
-- Pete Thomas
Photo by Joli
Great to see a South African on that list. And as for Tom Carroll...what a legend.
Posted by: KT | December 06, 2008 at 06:49 AM