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15 April 2008
Billabong Presents The Oscars of Big Wave Surfing
The 2007/2008 surf season was a season of new records and giant, giant waves, a season which was immortalised on the 14th April by Billabong’s XXL Big Wave awards, held in Anaheim. 2008’s Billabong XXL awards have been held annually for eight years now, and thanks to the glitz and glamour of the award ceremony it’s now one of the most prestigious events in the busy calendar of any committed surfer – in fact, any committed water sports fan.
Happily, glitz, glamour and surfers don’t necessarily mix well – most of the pro surfers on the tour are more about having a good time and they take the opportunity to act like ‘celebrities’ with a sense of humour. And quite a lot of alcohol. They don’t like to admit it, and generally there’s plenty of chest-beating and ego-stroking at these events, but most of the guys and girls on the tour are actually quiet modest, introverted, and outright shy people. Combined with the anti-mainstream personality of surfing as a sport, the big, loud events like Billabong’s XXL lend a sense of absurdity to these quiet individuals, and the events are often extremely entertaining as a result.
This year was certainly no exception. There are six main award categories, with a combined total prize of over $120,000, not including the jet skis that Honda give out. What makes the Billabong XXL Big Wave awards a little bit special is the fact that they rely purely on video evidence – and as such, in an unusual stroke of fairness, Billabong rewards the videographers and cameramen as well as the surfers. Here’s a list of the categories and how the prizes break down in each one.
- Billabong XXL Ride of the Year
This is the big one; the main event. There were over 500 video contributions this year, coming in from all over the world – including several worthy nominations for British riders on our own windswept coasts. The award is given to the surfer who performed best on any single wave. It’s just a prize for the most awesome ride of the season. There’s no science behind measuring the waves or deciding which is the best run; it’s a highly subjective award of course, but that doesn’t detract from its validity. The winning surfer receives a staggering $50,000 check courtesy of Billabong, the runner up will get $5000, and third, fourth and fifth place surfers each receive $1,500. The cameraman of the winning run will get $5,000.
- Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award
$15,000 goes to the surfer of the biggest wave on film over the season. For this event, the surfer must be towed in (which is why a Honda Aquatrax is included in the prize) to the wave, and if the wave can’t be measured accurately from the footage or images then it’s simply up to the large jury to decide. The winning cameraman will be given $4,000.
This is the award for the biggest wave surfed by paddling out to it – without help from jet skis. The prize money is the same as above, $15,000 for the winning surfer and $4,000 for the cameraman.
Based on the votes cast by a large judging academy, this award is given to the rider of the season’s biggest tube based on the available footage and images. The surfer wins $5,000, and the cameraman gets $2,000.
- Surfline Men’s Best Overall Performance Award
This is given to the surfer who has proven himself to be the most consistent at a variety of top surfing locations throughout the season. The winner is selected by a large panel of experts, and he’ll receive $5,000 for his efforts.
- Billabong Girl’s Best Overall Performance Award
Just as above, Billabong rewards the most impressive female surfer with $5,000 based on the decision of a large academy of judges.
Billabong really put together an event this year, including footage of a record-breaking 70 foot wave. It was truly an international affair, with contributions and nominees from Chile, Europe, South Africa, Australia, Hawaii, Mexico, North America, Brazil and French Polynesia. And the winners are…
Billabong Ride of The Year: Shane Dorian, surfing at Teahupoo. Dorian, 35, was ecstatic at the accolade; and grateful too. He said that he was “really psyched that Billabong throw a big deal and support all the guys who go out there and ride these waves”. He was given the award due to the high degree of skill it had taken to get into the difficult position he had done on the wave after a tricky start. He said that throughout the run he was constantly almost ‘eating it’.
Billabong Biggest Wave: Mike Parsons, at Cortes Bank, California. The wave surfed by the 43 year old has been judged to be at least 70 feet, and was almost certainly more since the images used to measure didn’t include the bottom of the wave. This is historic – it’s the biggest wave ever known to be surfed. It’s also the second time Mike Parsons has won this award (thereby confirming he must be completely insane), the first time was in 2001 also at Cortes Bank.
Monster Paddle: Greg Long, in California. Greg Long is unsponsored, funding his own way round the globe with his winnings from various competitions.
Monster Tube: Manoa Drollet, at Teahupoo. He was nominated for the ride of the year category for the same wave; and it really was a stunner. So it’s completely appropriate that he won this category, beating some very close competition.
Men’s Best Overall Performance Award: This went again to the unsigned independent surfer, Greg Long. He’d surfed spectacularly well throughout the season, racking up some exceptional footage and becoming a genuine crowd favourite, consistently beating sponsored pros.
Billabong Girl’s Best Overall Performance: Maya Gabeira. The 21 year old Brazilian has won this category two years in a row now, securing her position as the world’s premier female surfer. She hit all the biggest surf brilliantly well this year, and her title is thoroughly deserved.
So to sum up, this year’s Billabong XXL Big Wave awards were an awesome show, with the entire surfing community satisfied with the prizes. Records were broken, and the season was one of the best ever, as proved by the sheer volume of entrants and footage. But no one could put it better than Shane Dorian, winner of the night when, after thanking Billabong for their support, he said “the ride itself is the biggest reward, and it’s one I’ll remember forever.”