The sun shined through an opening in the clouds as Billy Mitchell offered a blessing and honorable words about the meaning behind the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave event. Friends and family gathered at Waimea Bay for the opening ceremony and the introduction of the international field of surfers who were invited to compete in this year’s event.
The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau is the most venerated big wave
surfing event on Earth, held at Waimea Bay, Oahu, on a single day during the Hawaiian winter when, and if, waves exceed the 20-foot Hawaiian style minimum requirement. The official holding period for this year, the 27th annual, is December 1, 2011 through February 29,
2012.
The Eddie is a special event and in the past 26 years, there has only been eight days where the Eddie “Went.” The stringent guidelines are what guarantees an ultimate display of big wave surfing when Eddie is
a “GO.”
INVITEES:
Brock Little – HAW
Bruce Irons – HAW
Clyde Aikau – HAW
Dave Wassel – HAW
Greg Long – USA
Jamie O’Brien – HAW
Jamie Sterling – HAW
Kala Alexander – HAW
Kelly Slater – USA
Keone Downing – HAW
Kohl Christensen – HAW
Makua Rothman – HAW
Mark Healey – HAW
Michael Ho – HAW
Nathan Fletcher – USA
Noah Johnson – HAW
Peter Mel – USA
Ramon Navarro – CHL
Reef McIntosh – HAW
Ross Clarke – Jones – AUS
Rusty Keaulana – HAW
Shane Dorian – HAW
Sunny Garcia – HAW
Tom Carroll – HAW
INT’L INVITEES:
Carlos Burle – BRZ
Grant Baker – ZAF
Jeremy Flores – EUR
Takayuki Wakita – JPN
ALTERNATES:
Kalani Chapman – HAW
Garrett McNamara – HAW
Ian Walsh – HAW
Kahea Hart – HAW
Alex Gray – USA
Chris Bertish – ZAF
Mark Mathews – AUS
Shawn Dollar – USA
John John Florence – HAW
Danilo Couto – BRZ
Jamie Mitchell – AUS
Evan Valiere – HAW
Gabriel Villaran – PER
Danny Fuller – HAW
Keoni Watson – HAW
Ben Wilkinson – AUS
Diego Medina – CHL
Rusty Long – USA
Derek Dunfee – USA
Anthony Tashnick – USA
Ken Collins – USA
Kealii Mamala – HAW
Ross Williams – HAW
Tav Hannemann – HAW
Tags: Eddie, John John Florence, Kelly Slater
