The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational held at Waimea Bay on the North Shore, famously known around the surfing world as “The Eddie,” is far from an annual event.
Denton Miyamura won the first edition of The Eddie in Jan. 3, 1985, while a 23-year-old John John Florence won the event when it was last held on Feb. 25, 2016.
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Sunday’s edition of The Eddie, which was confirmed by the Aikau family on Thursday, will be the 10th iteration of the event. With 10 events held in the 38 years since 1985, the competition is held once every 3.8 years on average. However, Sunday’s will serve as only the sixth since the turn of the millennium.
The prerequisite that makes The Eddie rare is the set of conditions surrounding the surf, as surf height must consistently reach at least 20 feet from typically around the beginning of December to the end of February. The 2022-2023 determination period ran was set to run between Dec. 14, 2022 to March 23, 2023, before deciding on Thursday that Sunday’s date would be greenlit.
An ever-popular event, the most recent Eddie ran on Feb. 25, 2016 and drew over a million streams. This year’s Eddie will be streamed on the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational website. Forty surfers have been invited.
The Eddie is named in honor of Hawaii icon and surfing pioneer Eddie Aikau, who died at 31 in 1978. He was a champion surfer, lifeguard, waterman and Waimea Bay lifeguard, where his deftness and skill in the water preserved hundreds of lives.
Below are the 2023 invitees:
Aaron Gold
Andrea Moller
Billy Kemper
Eli Olson
Emily Erickson
Ezekiel Lau
Grant Baker
Greg Long
Ian Walsh
Jake Maki
Jamie O’Brien
Jamie Mitchell
John John Florence
Josh Moniz
Justine Dupont
Kai Lenny
Keala Kennelly
Keali’i Mamala
Kelly Slater
Koa Rothman
Kohl Christensen
Landon McNamara
Lucas Chianca
Luke Shepardson
Makani Adric
Makuakai Rothman
Mark Healey
Mason Ho
Michael Ho
Nathan Florence
Nathan Fletcher
Nic von Rupp
Paige Alms
Peter Mel
Ramon Navarro
Ross Clarke-Jones
Shane Dorian
Taio Shipman
Tikanui Smith
Tyler Larronde
Past winners of The Eddie are below:
Jan. 3, 1985: Denton Miyamura
Dec. 21, 1986: Clyde Aikau (Eddie’s brother)
Jan 1990: Keone Downing
Jan. 1, 1999: Noah Johnson
Jan. 12, 2001: Ross Clarke-Jones
Jan 8, 2002: Kelly Slater
Dec. 15, 2004: Bruce Irons
Dec. 8, 2009: Greg Long
Feb. 25, 2016: John John Florence
