The 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on Sunday Dec 22nd, 2024

 

This year Christmas came a little early on December 22 when the Eddie Aikau big wave invitational ran on the north shore of Oahu. I invested the whole day watching it live on Youtube. I'd love to see it in person one day. So here you go, you can choose from watching the whole thing, or pick out some highlights from your favorites. Oh, and be sure to check the other spots that were going off that day in the bonus videos at the bottom. 

The 2024 Rip Curl Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational X STAB

Stab: We like to surf

Welcome to the livestream of the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational: 35 men, 10 women, five heats with nine surfers each, each competitor surfs twice. Heats are 50 minutes long, with a maximum of four waves per surfer per heat. The top three waves count toward the final score. Each heat includes two women competing alongside seven men. Since the Eddie Aikau Invitational’s inception in 1985, the event has run only 10 times, and been won by 10 different surfers. The last time the mythical event ran, on January 22, 2023, the spectacle garnered an estimated 60,000 spectators and upwards of 2 million livestream views.  Previous winners include the likes of Denton Miyamura, Clyde Aikau, Keone Downing, Noah Johnson, Ross Clarke-Jones, Kelly Slater, Bruce Irons, Greg Long and John John Florence. The last time the Eddie ran, it was taken out by on-duty lifeguard Luke Shepardson, who used his shift breaks to muscle 40-ft peaks with aplomb.  “All active past winners were invited,” Eddie Aikau Contest Director Liam McNamara told Stab, “that includes Greg Long, who announced it will be his last Eddie, Kelly Slater, and Bruce Irons.” We'll be down on the sand all day, and you can follow along via @stab on Instagram. And, we'll have a full contest report live on stabmag.com tonight.

THE EDDIE AIKAU 2024 THE INSANE RIDES, RESCUES AND SHOREBREAK BARRELS!

Nathan Florence

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CARNAGE at The 2024 Eddie Aikau!

Mark Healey

Mark Healey's experience after a massive wipeout eliminates him from competition at XXL Waimea Bay at The 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational on December 22, 2024! Filmed & Edited by Jesse Yonover (jesseyonover.com) Additional Film: Zoard Janko (@zoard)

SURFING "THE EDDIE" WITH 60ft CLOSEOUT SET'S AT WAIMEA BAY

Koa Rothman

LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos! This is Livin' merch! https://thisislivinstore.com The Eddie went! What an absolutely crazy day down at Waimea Bay, it was over 50ft with some waves closing out the whole bay! #darcsport #darcsporthawaii Koa's Social -   / koarothman     / koarothman  

THE EDDIE GOES XXL PSYCHO! THE SUPERBOWL OF SURFING! 2024

Jamie O'Brien

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Bonus... Here's something worth seeing.. Jaws and other spots were going off when nearly everyone was at the Eddie! Check these out:

JAWS "EDDIE AIKAU SWELL" ALL TIME!!! BIGGEST XXL SURF SESSION OF THE YEAR!!!

MROD MAUI

The "Eddie Aikau Swell" at Jaws was all time! It was an out of control crazy and scary XXL surf session. While the whole surfing world had their eyes and attention set on Waimea Bay for the "Eddie Aikau Swell" event. Jaws also know as "Pe'ahi turned on and went all-time on Maui it was one of the biggest days in a long time. The morning started off slow with no signs of the new anticipated swell, by 9:00 a.m. the new swell started showing up. Albee Layer started off the day with a massive paddle in wave while a few other hard core dedicated big wave surfers attempted to push themselves over the ledge at Jaws. The paddle session only lasted a few hours before it started getting out of control with XXL waves getting bigger and bigger every hour. Around mid day the swell had picked up a lot and it was getting really big. The tow in session started at the perfect time when some of the biggest waves of the day started coming through. One jet ski was unfortunately lost, alongside multiple tow in surf boards on the extremely dangerous rocky shoreline of Jaws. The swell was 25ft solid with bigger sets and no wind. It was all time barreling top to bottom from the north peak all the way through the west bowl. Around 3pm the peak of the swell arrived Shaun Walsh, Dk Walsh, and Luke Walsh were charging some of the biggest waves of the day alongside local stand out Ty Simpson Kane and many other big wave chargers. It was really mesmerizing watching these gigantic waves surfed with so much skill. Everyone was on Oahu at Waimea bay so the line up was empty with only the local crew out. The safety team did amazing keeping everyone safe while making rescue after rescue during this XXL swell. Definitely one of the biggest swells we have documented from the cliff. It was another historical day in big wave surfing history at Pe'ahi, also knows as "Jaws" with some of the biggest waves waves we have ever seen, it was truly an unforgettable experience. All content shot in High Quality 4K on December 22nd 2024 Enjoy the action and Aloha Nui ! Paradise It ! Filmed & Edited by MROD MAUI © IG :   / mrod_maui   SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE ! MAHALO NUI LOA FOR WATCHING THESE VIDEOS ! Email : mrodmaui@gmail.com

HONOLUA BAY DURING THE EDDIE AIKAU🏄🏻‍♂️🔥 (Sunday Dec 22nd, 2024)

Francisco Campos

During this session The 2024 Eddie Aikau Event was taking place in Oahu. I only had a short window of time to take some clips at Honolua Bay. It was really BIG and A LOT of current in the water. It's hard to see it through the lens, but a totally different experience in person. Please feel free to share if you know any of the surfers in the water.😃🤙🏼

Luke Shepardson - Winner Of The 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

 

The results are in!!! The winner of the 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay is Luke Shepardson... I spent Sunday glued to my tv watching the Eddie live on youtube and I'm stoked I did. Check this out: 

The 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay

Surfline

To celebrate & support The Eddie '23, Surfline will donate $25 to The Eddie Aikau Foundation for every new Surfline Premium annual membership for the next 24 hours. Surfline Premium is also 25% OFF for the duration of the offer. Offer ends on Jan-23 at 2PM PST. Follow the link: https://www.surfline.com/upgrade/?dis...

World's most iconic big-wave event returns to Waimea Bay. WHAT ARE WE WATCHING? The word “unique” is thrown around a lot. In this case, it fits. There is nothing like the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, inside surfing or out. The event has been placed on a three-month hold every Hawaiian winter for the past 34 years, and run only nine times — only when Waimea Bay offers itself up at 20 feet or bigger for a full day of surfing. It is run in the memory of Eddie: fantastic surfer, Hawaiian all the way through, the first lifeguard in North Shore history, who vanished in an impossibly heroic rescue effort off the capsized double hull canoe Hokule’a in March 1978. Surfers attend the event by invitation from the Aikau family, and there’s no greater honor in surfing. This year, a total of 40 surfers have been so honored. (See our list below.) The event format is simple: Two rounds of eight-person heats are held, so everyone gets to surf twice. Each surfer’s top four rides count toward a total score. Those top four rides can come from one or both heats, so a wobbly first heat isn’t the end of the world. But it wouldn’t be anyway. Just paddling out for one of these heats is prized by every surfer who’s ever taken part. There’s been nine winners of the Eddie so far. Nobody has ever won it twice. Former winners: Denton Miyamura (1987), Clyde Aikau (1986), Keone Downing (1990), Noah Johnson (1999), Ross Clarke-Jones (2001), Kelly Slater (2002), Bruce Irons (2004), Greg Long (2009), John Florence (2016)

Luke Shepardson wins The Eddie

KHON2 News

Hawaii News, Hawaii Weather, Hawaii Sports

The 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational - FULL HIGHLIGHTS (Event Recap)

Subala VillaCongratulations to the 2023 Eddie winner, Luke Shepherdson🤙🏽 2nd place - John John Florence 3rd place - Mark Healy 4th place - Billy Kemper 5th place - Kai Lenny 6th place - Ezekiel Lau (Best single wave of the event) 7th place - Landon McNamara 8th place - Keali’i Mamala

Kelly Slater gives up his spot in the Eddie for first-time competitor

KITV

KITV4's Malika Dudley spoke with Kelly Slater - who actually gave up his spot - for a longtime surfer who'd never competed in the Eddie before.

For the first time in history, women compete in the Eddie Big Wave surfing competition

KITV

For the first time ever, women were included in the lineup to catch the monster waves out at Waimea Bay.

The 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

freesurfmag

A historic day for surfing. The best of the best big wave surfers paddled out in giant Waimea to honor our Hawaiian Big Wave Hero, Eddie Aikau. Every single heat had the most amazing rides that had everyone on the edge of their seats. So thankful that everyone is safe and went home to their families. It wasn’t just a day of competition, it was a day of celebration. Another huge congratulations to North Shore lifeguard Luke Shepardson on his victory at the Eddie! Mahalo to the Aikau ohana @theeddieaikau @eddieaikaufoundation for putting on another historic event. 🎥 @aukaing @mikelatronic @brentbielmann 🎼 from our friends @thegreen808