Here’s hoping Mavericks gets swell like this. Photo: Rusty Long
One of the coolest things happening in all of surfing right now is big wave riding. The amount of guys pushing their limits and the level of the sport is just getting out of hand! It is amazing.
Since day one, I’ve dreamed of riding big waves. God knows if it will ever happen for me, but a good deal of the surfers I respect the most are big wave riders. Seeing the amount of guys in the water grow is actually pretty rad for once. I know that the surfers themselves may disagree with me, and I know that there are some guys who don’t deserve to be there–who aren’t prepared mentally or physically.
Unfortunately, at the Mavericks Invitational, you just can’t invite every worthy charger to these events. There’s too damn many!
When I saw the invite list for the Mavericks Invitational presented by GoPro, I was almost a little bummed at the omissions.
The 24 men, and I mean manly men, that were invited to compete this year is a veritable collection of big-water heavyweights that are sure to put on a show like no other. Then there are six alternates in the form of Shane Desmond, Danilo Couto, Derek Dunfee, Kelly Slater, Tyler Smith and Frank Solomon. Those are the alternates! Danilo Couto, the guy who has been paddling Jaws as long as any and Derek Dunfee who surfed massive waves through a broken leg. Plus Kelly Slater, whose absences in the past year I assume have shot him down the list. But with the ASP’s sanctioned surfers allowed to compete in BWWT events now, it would be crazy to see the top 34 compete with these guys.
Beyond the six alternates, the contest directors have created a list of 19 surfers (listed at the bottom of this page) who in their words, “are pushing their skill level at Mavericks and in hot pursuit of an invitation to the contest. These surfers are highly respected and will be eligible for consideration for the next contest season.”
Jeff Clark, the Godfather of Mavs himself says, “We’re all stoked to be back for another year. The 2013-14 season looks promising with a lot of positive changes made for the competitors and fans. The perfect contest day we’re looking for is typically a northwest groundswell between 18 and 20 feet translating into wave faces of 30 to 40 feet.”
Let’s hope Clark’s words ring true, and that come contest day, we see beautiful, massive, glassy walls pouring onto Mavs’ famed reef. But with the list of guys we’ve been given and the surfing we’ve seen, there is little chance in this writer’s mind that we will see anything less than a top-flight performance.
The 24 Competitors: 2013-14 Mavericks Invitational:
Ryan Augenstein (Santa Cruz, CA) Nic Lamb (Santa Cruz, CA)
Grant Baker (South Africa) Greg Long (San Clemente, CA)
Chris Bertish (South Africa) Rusty Long (San Clemente, CA)
Carlos Burle (Brazil) Alex Martins (Brazil)
Kohl Christensen (Hawaii) Peter Mel (Santa Cruz, CA)
Ken Collins (Santa Cruz, CA) Ryan Seelbach (San Francisco, CA)
Shawn Dollar (Santa Cruz, CA) Jamie Sterling (Hawaii)
Shane Dorian (Hawaii) Anthony Tashnick (Santa Cruz, CA)
Colin Dwyer (Pacifica, CA) Grant Washburn (San Francisco, CA)
Nathan Fletcher (San Clemente, CA) Dave Wassell (Hawaii)
Tyler Fox (Aptos, CA) Ben Wilkinson (Australia)
Mark Healey (Hawaii) Zach Wormhoudt (Santa Cruz, CA)
The ALTERNATES: 2013-14 Mavericks Invitational:
1. Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz, CA) 4. Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, FL)
2. Danilo Couto (Brazil) 5. Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz, CA)
3. Derek Dunfee (San Diego, CA) 6. Frank Solomon (South Africa)
Up and Comers:
Mark Alfaro Wyatt Fields Andrew Marr Shawn Rhodes
Ben Andrews Mike Gerhardt Garrett McNamara Mike Schlebach
Ion Banner Alex Gray Jamie Mitchell Russell Smith
Shawn Barron Lance Harriman Travis Payne Tim West, Jr.
João deMacedo Josh Loya Josh Redmond
