The 2004 Quiksilver in Memory
of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Surfing Invitational

Big Wave Surfing World Champions

For any surfing championship especially a world big wave surfing championship contest to be valid it has to be open for all qualified surfing contenders. Limiting a surfing championship to a selected few invited participants turns an other wise valid surfing championship of contenders into a surfing championship of pretenders.

Anyone with enough money can purchase the beach for a day(s), acquire permits, invite their selected minions hold a contest and declare the winner the world champion of surfing. Just because a large organization or surf industry corporate giant holds a contest(s) and declares the winner surfing champion of the world does not necessarily make it so. In fact by limiting contestants to a few, in no way can a private  surfing world championship be valid.

Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surfing invitational

For many years quiksilver has run its Eddie Aikau big wave surfing championship at Waimea bay on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Quiksilver buys up the biggest and best surfing day(s) at Waimea Bay. With their surfers, judges, and people they hold their very own private big wave surfing event. Surfers, many more qualified than the quiksilver invited surfing contestants are denied access to the waves thus eliminating real competition and any chance of a true open contest of big wave surfing skill.

How can a so- called big wave surfing event be real when it eliminates the best big wave surfers beforehand by not allowing them a chance to compete let alone paddle out? The annual quiksilver big wave surfing contest is in reality not a big wave surfing contest at all but rather a staged show similar to professional wrestling. Many believe organizers actually know ahead of time the surfers who will be in the finals, it's a done deal. The fact that that qualified surfers are denied to participate or even paddle out while the contest is going on eliminates many of the best surfers before the contest even begins.

Quiksilver big wave surfing contest Invitee list, Hawaii

If anyone should believe that only the best and most qualified surfers are invited to professional big wave surfing events, a quick lesson in surfing history is necessary. The Quiksilver big wave surfing challenge is named in honor of legendary big wave surfer Eddie Aikau. How ironical Eddie Aikau and Clyde Aikau themselves were once banned from the Invited list of surfers to a closed big wave professional surfing contest in Hawaii. They corrected this great act of disrespect and injustice by breaking into a closed door pre-contest meeting and demanding as native Hawaiians to be allowed to compete. Fortunately for the true surfing world they were permitted to compete after much haggling.

Jaws Big Wave Tow-in Surfing World Championships- Peahi, Maui

Quiksilver is not the only big corporation to artificially create big wave surfing champions. Others seeing quiksilver's success in big business and media manipulation spin doctoring, are now promoting their own big wave surfing events complete with selected surfers, judges, and people. A plethora of privately held big wave surfing events such as the Reef big wave event, XXL Billabong big wave challenge, the Red Bull big wave legends, the Jaws World Championship of extreme tow-in surfing, and more are popping up around the surfing world.

As with the Quiksilver big wave surfing event, the World Championship of extreme tow surfing world is bought, paid for, and limited to a only a few invited surfers. If these great surfers were whom they are promoted as being there would be no need to clear the water they would catch all the waves anyway, the best surfers always do. The fact is Laird Hamilton is considered by many to be the best big wave surfer on the planet, though he did not participate in the Maui Jaws extreme tow surfing world championships. Though some would disagree, many would consider Laird Hamilton the true world champion of professional big wave and tow-in surfing.

The Real Extreme Big Wave Surfing Champion

The surfer who surfs the largest wave does not need to be declared world champion of surfing, they already are the world champion of surfing. Closed contests, hype, and media control do not make a winner, waves and performance do. When the real world champion of big waves extreme surfing takes his prize, it's not money or a trophy he receives but rather a different award. The real award for a big wave surfing championship winner is knowledge, enlightenment, and a feeling that transcends ordinary human understanding that cannot rust or be taken away.

The real world championship of surfing is held in the biggest waves and the whole world one and all are invited to participate. No surfers are excluded all surfers are included. Every great surfer from around the world is invited to compete if they want to, which makes for a true world championship of extreme big wave surfing. No entry fees, biased judges, time limits, or business agendas to promote just raw, pure, unadulterated surfing competition for the biggest wave surfed with the most skill. The only problem in this contest for big business is that every surfer has a chance to become the world champion of big wave surfing. Any surfer with enough ability, courage and skill has a chance to successfully ride the biggest wave(s) thus becoming the undisputed true world champion of extreme big wave surfing. Even you.

Biggest Wednesday swell; the milestone of extreme big wave surfing

When it comes to the real world champion of big wave extreme surfing one name comes to mind- Milton Willis. Undisputedly the largest waves ever surfed were on January 28th 1998 at outside Sunset Beach in Hawaii. To this date no other surfer has exceeded the giant waves, Milton Willis surfed this day making him a true world champion of extreme big wave surfing. Though the majority of the worlds best big wave surfers declined to go out surfing this day, the real big wave world surfing championship took place and was open to all.

As was the previous year and many proceeding ones, 1998 was no different when it came to the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau big wave surfing event invitee list. Milton Willis, one of the most experienced of all Waimea Bay big wave surfers was barred from competing in the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau big wave surfing challenge. But something different was about to come into play this time, changing Milton's fate and the way big wave surfers look at surfing big waves forever.

Milton Willis- World Extreme Tow-in surfing Champion

    
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