Roll out the red carpet put the Champaign on ice and fire up the flood lights because some of the worlds best big wave surfers are in town. Weird how hellmen (and women) now require mad media skills along with the standard thigh chaffing testicles (not sure of the female equivalent). Oh, how times change.
The tenth annual Billabong XXL awards are to be held at the Grove Theatre in Anaheim (about 30 minutes drive from Huntington Beach, California) tomorrow night at 7:30 P.M (world times below) and will be telecast live via webcast on BillabongXXL.com And it’s going to be big and brassy with over $130,000 US in prizes.
No longer content with the glory alone big wave surfers around the world are now looking to cash in on their bravado. But fear not, the quest to paddle into mountains of water is still a noble one and most notable chargers are in it purely for the thrill. There is of course hordes of horsepower clowns puffed up in life vests being whipped onto big waves in the hope of being noted as chivalrous. But on my estimation you’ll only find a few of them in the wipe out section. And lets face it we all grow an extra leg when we have an audience in the surf. One crazy wave at the notorious Teahupoo or Shipsterns Bluff or Mavericks in California can pluck a surfer out of obscurity and onto the world stage in a youtube minute. And with big wave exploits popping up on national news bulletins around the world the established guys know they’re being watched – big time.
Thanks to an extraordinary year of El Nino-fueled swells spanning the Seven Seas 2010 does look to be the most spectacular in the event’s history.
All results here – BOLLOCKS
Catagories are as follows –
Ride of the Year,
Billabong XXL Biggest Wave
Monster Paddle
Monster Tube and Surfline Overall Performance Awards.
Nominees are flying in from all over the world, including Ride of the Year finalists Grant “Twiggy” Baker of South Africa, Shane Dorian and Mark Healey of Hawaii, Ramon Navarro of Chile and Raimana Van Bastolaer of French Polynesia. Contending for biggest wave of the year caught by any means are Ian Walsh and Makua Rothman of Hawaii, Ross Clarke-Jones of Australia, Danilo Couto of Brazil and Sebastian Steudtner of Germany.
BILLABONG XXL GLOBAL BIG WAVE AWARDS WEBCAST INTERNATIONAL START TIMES:
Honolulu 4:30 PM Fri
Los Angeles 7:30 PM Fri
New York 10:30 PM Fri
Rio de Janeiro 11:30 PM Fr
London Sat 3:30 AM
Paris Sat 4:30 AM
Cape Town Sat 4:30 AM
Perth Sat 10:30 AM
Sydney Sat 12:30 PM
