Mark Healey and Shane Dorian share a monster at Waimea Bay one day before the Eddie in 2009. Photo: Brad Masters
The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big-Wave Invitational is perhaps the most prestigious event in surfing. It also hasn’t ran since 2009, and the looming end of the contest window (February 29) has many worried we will have to wait until next winter before the event has another shot. But for those feeling apprehensive, there is hope on the horizon. Today we received encouraging news of a possible start of The Eddie next week.
“There’s a good possibility of running #eddiewouldgo this coming Wednesday/Thursday, February 10/11,” Quiksilver wrote on their Facebook. “Organizers have officially issued a YELLOW ALERT. We’ll post more information as it becomes available.”
But it’s only a possibility, why should we care, right? Well, for starters, there have been at least two swells within the contest window that looked about as good as it gets. Kelly Slater himself said that it was “as big as you can surf it.” (Read why it didn’t run here). However, the simple fact that those swells weren’t issued a yellow alert is promising because it can only mean organizers are following something very special and very big on the horizon. Still, we remain at the mercy of the often unpredictable character of Mother Nature. Perhaps all we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best.
The 2015/2016 invitees:
Aaron Gold, Albee Layer, Bruce Irons, Clyde Aikau, Dave Wassel, Garrett McNamara, Grant Baker, Greg Long, Ian Walsh, Jamie Mitchell, Jamie O’Brien, Jeremy Flores, John John Florence, Kala Alexander, Kelly Slater, Kohl Christensen, Makua Rothman, Mark Healey, Nathan Fletcher, Noah Johnson, Peter Mel, Ramon Navarro, Reef McIntosh, Ross Clarke-Jones, Shane Dorian, Sunny Garcia and Takayuki Wakita
Official alternates:
Mason Ho (Aikau Pick), Danilo Couto, Mark Matthews, Koa Rothman, Ben Wilkinson, Jamie Sterling, Billy Kemper, Shawn Dollar, Carlos Burle, Kealii Mamala, Gabriel Villaran, Michael Ho, Kai Lenny, Kahea Hart, Nathan Florence, Damien Hobgood, Kalani Chapman, Ryan Hipwood, Danny Fuller, Nic Lamb, Anthony Tashnick, Rusty Long, Derek Dunfee and Brock Little,
Event past winners:
1985/1986 : Denton Miyamura (Haw), 1986/1987 : Clyde Aikau (Haw), 1989/1990 : Keone Downing (Haw), 1998/1999 : Noah Johnson (Haw), 2000/2001 : Ross Clarke-Jones (Aus), 2004/2005 : Bruce Irons (Haw), 2001/2002 : Kelly Slater (USA) and 2009/2010 : Greg Long (USA)
