Wrenna Delgado, Remi Nealon, Raquel Heckert, Sheila Lee, and Siri Masterson. Photo: Alana Spencer/Red Bull Content Pool
Yesterday, Red Bull announced the first-ever, women’s-only big-wave content contest. That’s certainly a mouthful, but what does it mean? A lot actually. The contest is a content contest, meaning competitors will be submitting clips throughout the 20/21 big wave season and across the Hawaiian Islands, instead of competing in heats. Competition will still be fierce, with $40,000 in prize money on the line, $25,000 going to first place. To level the playing field, filmers will be provided on location at the three main big-wave breaks on the islands during significant swells – Waimea Bay, Jaws, and Phantoms. Surfers can film wherever and whenever they want across the islands with their own filmers, but all clips submitted must be of waves over 12-foot Hawaiian (24 feet to us mortals).
“Running a traditional, in-person big-wave contest has always been difficult under the best circumstances, that has only been made more difficult by current conditions,” said ‘Banzai’ Betty Depolito, one of the event judges. “By creating a decentralized contest held across the state for a three-month period, we’re not only ensuring the safety of all of our competitors, but truly allowing a new level of opportunity to all who enter the contest. It doesn’t matter if you’re the most well-known big-wave surfer on Earth or a local ripper that not many people have heard about, you have the same chance to take home $25,000 and make a name for yourself. There are young girls charging right now who have a tremendous opportunity to win this event.”
The event will be run from December 1- to February 28, at which point the panel of judges will convene to decide the winners for Overall Champion, Runner Up, Best Ride, and Biggest Wave. That panel of judges includes Rochelle Ballard, a veteran WCT surfer and three-time Surfer Poll winner; Betty DePolito, the first woman to surf Pipeline; Kai Lenny, the reigning XXL Overall Performance Champion; and esteemed waterman and big wave surfer Mark Healey. The contestants list includes both world-renown waterwomen such as Keala Kennelly, Justine Dupont, and Izzi Gomez; as well as local chargers such as Skylar Lickle, Moana Jones, and Brittany Gomulka.
The Overall Champion award will carry a winner’s purse of $25,000, and winners of the other three awards and the People’s Choice award will each bring home $5,000. The People’s Choice award will be voted on by the likes of you and me, here. A closing ceremony on March 6 will announce the awards.
