Photo: Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational
The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational has a green light for Sunday, December 22, 2024. The call was confirmed on Friday morning on social media.
Wave faces between 30 and 40-foot are expected throughout the entire day. Meanwhile, winds are expected to be offshore in the morning with the shift to light onshore flow just after midday. Those onshore winds will pick up somewhere in the ballpark of 10 knots by about 3 p.m. Sunday and holding into the evening. So hopefully most of the contest is complete by then.
The Eddie famously only runs when wave face heights at Waimea Bay reach 40-feet throughout a full day within the contest’s 90-day waiting period. This year’s contest window opened on December 14 and extends through March 13, 2025. With such a rare threshold for wave conditions and size, the event has only run 10 times since it first began in 1984.
This year’s event was put on a yellow alert Wednesday (December 18), but there has been a strong sense ever since that the green light would be coming. Now that the call has been made, Eddie invitees will scramble to the North Shore, hopefully in time for Sunday morning’s first heat.
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Men:
Aaron Gold (HI)
Billy Kemper (HI)
Bruce Irons (HI – 2004 Winner)
Chad Keaulana (HI)
Eli Olson (HI)
Ezekiel Lau (HI)
Francisco Porcella (Italy)
Greg Long (CA – 2009 Winner)
Ian Walsh (HI)
Jake Maki (HI)
Jamie Mitchell (HI)
Jamie O’Brien (HI)
John John Florence (HI – 2016 Winner)
Jojo Roper (CA)
Kai Lenny (HI)
Kauli Vaast (TAHITI – 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist)
Kealii Mamala (HI)
Kelly Slater (CA – 2002 Winner)
Koa Rothman (HI)
Kohl Christensen (HI)
Landon McNamara (HI)
Lucas Chianca (BRAZIL)
Luke Shepardson (HI – 2023 Winner)
Makuakai Rothman (HI)
Mark Healey (HI)
Mason Ho (HI)
Matt Bromley (South Africa)
Nathan Florence (HI)
Nic Lamb (CA)
Peter Mel (CA)
Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS – 2001 Winner)
Russell Bierke (AUS)
Taio Shipman (HI)
Torrey Meister (HI)
Tyler Larronde (HI)
Alternates:
Ha‘a Aikau (HI)
Joey Cadiz (HI)
Eala Stewart (HI)
Ben Wilkinson (AUS)
Grant Twiggy Baker (South Africa)
Koa Smith (HI)
Tiger Doerner (HI)
Michael Sanborn (HI)
Ivan Florence (HI)
Mikey O’Shaughnessy (HI)
Kala Grace (HI)
Barron Mamiya (HI)
Tom Robert Lowe (UK)
Alonso Correa (PERU)
Othmane Choufani (Morocco)
Natxo Gonzalez (Spain)
Isamu Sumi (Japan)
Cristian Merello (Chile)
Manny Resano (Nicaragua)
Conor Maguire (Ireland)
Women:
Annie Reichert (HI)
Bianca Valenti (CA)
Emily Erickson (HI)
Felicity Palmateer (Australia)
Justine Dupont (France)
Keala Kennelly (HI)
Laura Enever (AUS)
Makani Adric (HI)
Moana Jones Wong (HI)
Paige Alms (HI)
Alternates:
Izzi Gomez (HI)
Skylar Lickle (HI)
Tiare Lawrence (HI)
Andrea Moller (HI)
