"The Eddie"
is a
big wave surfing
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully su ...
tournament held at
Waimea Bay on the north shore of
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. The tournament is named for
native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawa ...
, champion big wave surfer, and life-saving Waimea Bay lifeguard,
Eddie Aikau
Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau (Kahului, Hawaii, May 5, 1946 – March 17, 1978) was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaii ...
.
[ Created in 1984 at nearby Sunset Beach, the invitational tournament moved to the notoriously big waved Waimea Bay, where Aikau's family maintains an ancestral tradition as caretakers of the Waimea Valley. It was formerly known as the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau after its sponsor Quiksilver, but the company and the Aikau family could not agree to terms for a new contract after the previous one expired in 2016.
]
Tournament format
The tournament is known for a unique requirement that open-ocean swells reach a minimum height of before the competition can be held. Open-ocean swells of this height generally translate to wave faces in the bay of to . As a result of this requirement, the tournament has only been held nine times during the history of the event, most recently on February 25, 2016.
The competition window is between December 1 and the last day of February annually, when winter storms in the North Pacific provide the energy for big waves on Oahu's North Shore. Each day, surf conditions, ocean swells, and weather forecasts are monitored by oceanographers, meteorologists and big wave surfing experts, providing input to the Tournament Director —who is responsible for making the Official Call to run the tournament. If the minimum conditions are not met during the competition window, the event is not held that year, and the process repeats itself the following December.
Each year, 28 surfers, chosen by polling among their peers, are invited to Waimea Bay to participate in the opening ceremony "Blessing of Eddie Aikau" on the first Thursday of December. These surfers then await an Official Call during the competition window, at which point they have 12 hours to arrive at Waimea Bay to check in the morning of the competition. Participants will compete in two rounds of about three or four waves each during the competition day, which is generally from 08:00 to 17:00. Their four best scoring waves over two rounds will make up their total score.
Participants are not allowed to use personal watercraft to tow themselves into the waves; they must paddle out into the waves entirely under their own power.
Eddie Aikau's brother, Clyde Aikau, won the second "Eddie" in 1986.
Tournament winners
*winter of 1985/86 - Contest Date
missing
- Denton Miyamura (at age ?)
*winter of 1986/87 - Contest Date
21 DEC 1986
- Clyde Aikau Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
(at age 30)
*winter of 1989/90 - Contest Date
LATE JAN 1990
- Keone Downing (at age 36)
*winter of 1998/99 - Contest Date
1 JAN 1999
- Noah Johnson
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
(at age 25)
*winter of 2000/01 - Contest Date
12 JAN 2001
- Ross Clarke-Jones
Ross Clarke-Jones (6 June 1966) is an Australian big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for ...
(at age 34)
*winter of 2001/02 - Contest Date
8 JAN 2002
- Kelly Slater (at age 29)
*winter of 2004/05 - Contest Date: 15 DEC 2004 - Bruce Irons (at age 25)
*winter of 2009/10 - Contest Date: 8 DEC 2009 - Greg Long (at age 25)
*winter of 2015/16 - Contest Date: 25 FEB 2016 - John John Florence (at age 23)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddie, The
Big wave surfing
Surfing competitions in Hawaii
Surfing in Hawaii
Annual events in Hawaii
Recurring sporting events established in 1984
1984 establishments in Hawaii