The Eddie

The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational (colloquially, "The Eddie"^[1]) is a big wave surfing tournament held at Waimea Bay on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The tournament is named for native Hawaiian, champion big wave surfer, and life-saving Waimea Bay lifeguard, Eddie Aikau.^[1] Created in 1984 at nearby Sunset Beach, the invitational tournament moved to the notoriously big-waved Waimea Bay, where Aikau's family maintains an ancestral tradition as caretakers of Waimea Valley.^[2][3]

Previously, The Eddie was formally the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau until 2016, after which sponsor Quiksilver and the Aikau family could not agree to terms for a new contract;^[4] since 2024 it has been called the Rip Curl Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational after the surfing apparel company Rip Curl took over sponsorship of the event.^[5]

Tournament format

The tournament is known for a unique requirement that open-ocean swells reach a minimum height of 20 feet (6.1 m) before the competition can be held. Open-ocean swells of this height generally translate to wave faces in the bay of 30 feet (9.1 m) to 40 feet (12 m). As a result of this requirement, the tournament has only been held eleven times during the history of the event, most recently on December 22, 2024.^[6]

Each year, 28 to 40 surfers, chosen by polling among their peers, are invited to Waimea Bay to participate in the opening ceremony "Blessing of Eddie Aikau" on the first Thursday of December. These surfers then await an Official Call during the competition window, at which point they have 12 hours to arrive at Waimea Bay to check in the morning of the competition. Participants compete in two rounds of about four or five heats each during the competition day, which is generally from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Each heat in the first round lasts 45 minutes, and 50 minutes in the second round. Surfers' four best-scoring waves over both rounds make up their total score.

Eddie Aikau's brother, Clyde Aikau, won the second "Eddie" in 1986.^[1][7] Before Eddie's death, at 31 in 1978, the two brothers had surfed together and competitively for a number of years. They are the only native Hawaiians to win the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship.

The 2023 event included female surfers for the first time in the history of the contest.^[8][a]

The 2024 event was announced on December 20, and the 11th competition took place on December 22.^[10][11]

Tournament winners

Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational summary

Date	Edition	Winner	Age	Ref.
January 3, 1985	1	Denton Miyamura	24	[12]
December 21, 1986	2	Clyde Aikau	30	[13]
January 21, 1990	3	Keone Downing	36	[14]
January 1, 1999	4	Noah Johnson	25	[15]
January 12, 2001	5	Ross Clarke-Jones	34	[16]
January 8, 2002	6	Kelly Slater	29	[17]
December 15, 2004	7	Bruce Irons	25	[18]
December 8, 2009	8	Greg Long	25	[19]
February 25, 2016	9	John John Florence	23	[20]
January 22, 2023	10	Luke Shepardson	27	[21]
December 22, 2024	11	Landon McNamara	28	[22]

Gallery

Large crowd of spectators on Waimea Beach during The Eddie on February 25, 2016

Notes

1. A woman surfer, Keala Kennelly, was invited to the 2018-2019 tournament which was cancelled when waves that met the tournament criteria failed to arrive.^[9]