Big news for going big. Photo: Billabong XXL
“Big” news we suppose — supersized even: earlier this week, ASP announced the acquisition of the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards, mere days before the event. Following this year’s show, held Friday, May 2, the entire program, from nominations to the actual awards, will be transferred to the control of the association.
The acquisition represents an increased emphasis on big wave surfing by the now all-encompassing organization. Last year, the ASP brought the Big Wave World Tour into its ranks, an inaugural year that saw an unprecedented popularity — peaking at Mavericks — along with its first champion under the new guise, South African Grant “Twiggy” Baker.
Whereas the ASP was able to provide a platform for growth and ensure financial stability as well as a the long-term future for the BWWT, the XXL Big Wave awards were already on seemingly stable grounds with its previous arrangement having a huge sponsor behind it. That being said, there have been the well documented financial woes of certain brands in the space, and there is no doubt that the outsized growth of the brand and whether or not it would be able to maintain it without the helping hand of a larger governing body affected the decision. Historically, XXL entries have come from Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Canary Islands, Azores — and even international waters at the Cortes Bank. That global reach is only furthering. And this move makes sense with regard to establishing a level of consistency and continuity in the big wave space.
XXL Big Wave Awards Founder and event Director Bill Sharp appears to be stoked: “When I created the XXL concept in the 1990s, big wave surfing did not seem to get the respect it deserved. That was when action sports on TV was the new big thing. But I feel like the XXL Big Wave Awards, working so closely with the surfers and the photographers for the last 15 years, have helped to show the world how incredible the sport truly is and now a huge swell hitting anywhere in the world will routinely make global headlines. We have achieved a lot so far, but I think there is more work to do and I look forward to pushing hard to expand the opportunities for the sport and for all the top surfers and photographers involved.”
What’s this mean for you? Well, probably very little. Possibly nothing, aside from a handful of additional co-sponsors slapped onto the promos.
The Billabong XXL ASP BWWT Awards (that’s a mouthful) will be webcast live via aspworldtour.com beginning at 7:45 p.m. PST.
