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
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
Hawaii News, Hawaii Weather, Hawaii Sports
The 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational - FULL HIGHLIGHTS (Event Recap)
Kelly Slater gives up his spot in the Eddie for first-time competitor
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
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
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
