Keala Kennelly is on the alternate list for The Eddie. But is it just to appease the masses? Photo: ESPN
A few weeks ago, news broke that the famed Eddie Aikau invitational at Waimea Bay was no longer. According to reports, issues between Quik and the Aikau family led to a breakdown in negotiations. Yesterday, though, all that changed. Like Eddie himself, The Eddie will go.
“The family is proud of the event and appreciated the role Quiksilver played,” said Seth Reiss, the attorney for the Aikau family. “That relationship ended earlier this year. There were substantial discussions between the family and Quiksilver about how the relationship could be continued, but in the end, no agreement was reached.”
Rumors flew about who might be the next Eddie backer–Red Bull was leading the rumor-race, although that would potentially mean that no surfers on the WSL would be allowed to compete–but now it looks as though Quik and the Aikau family managed to find a way to make both sides happy.
“We are proud to see the tradition of The Eddie continue without interruption—a testament to our respect for Eddie Aikau, the Aikau family, the Hawaiian people, and the community at large,” said Pierre Agnes, Quiksilver’s CEO. “We are very grateful for the efforts and support of the Aikau family and the World Surf League under the leadership of Paul Speaker who have all worked very hard with our team over the past few weeks to come up with a solution.”
Not only is the event back on, but there’s a big change to the alternate list, as well. Keala Kennelly is on the list of alternates. Kennelly, though, is famously outspoken about women’s role in big wave surfing. She’s not asking to be included in men’s events, though–instead, she’s pushing for a whole women’s circuit, just like in nearly every other sport.
“I cannot see why big wave surfing should compromise these centuries-long standards of competition,” she wrote after Savannah Shaughnessy‘s inclusion as an alternate at Titans of Mavericks. “Do men compete against women in boxing, golf, tennis, or basketball? Do they add one woman alternate to somehow appease the masses? The answer is no.”
While Keala is undoubtedly honored to be added to the list, she’d probably much rather see a woman’s event, just like in every other sport. Below is an excerpt from her thoughtful piece calling out inequality in women’s big wave surfing.
“It’s 2016. Why subjugate a person due to the reality of their chromosomes?
When you surf big waves, you are dealing with life and death. To simplify things, either you will outrun the wave and live, or you will not, and you could potentially die.
With this gladiator sport, big wave surfing, why would we only provide venues for Savannah Shaughnessy for the first time to compete in a contest against men when her life is at stake? To me, it’s like putting a man against a lion. Why?
Inherently, men and woman are significantly different. Men have 20% more red blood cells. This enables them to paddle faster, catch waves more quickly, and innately have a better chance at success. More red blood cells means more O2 in their veins. Also, they have more bone mass and muscle density.
I am not saying I would not compete against men. I have. I am simply saying that men have physical advantages over women when it comes to sports.”
Despite the shakeup between the Aikau family and Quiksilver, the Eddie will go on, just as it has for the last three decades. “Consistent with Quiksilver and the Aikau family’s wishes,” Agnes continued, “we are pleased to confirm that the same stringent condition requirements we instituted when we inaugurated The Eddie 31 years ago will continue this year.”
It’s strange, this call for men to compete against women in big wave surfing. No other professional sport–not even CT surfing–has a league where men and women compete. So while it is a good thing that Keala found herself on the invite list (and she surely deserves to be there), is it, like she said, a move simply to “appease the masses”?
