Invitees and alternates for this year’s Rip Curl Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational have been announced.
The waiting period for the historic big wave event will run between 7 December 2025 and 6 March 2026, with the opening ceremony being held on 5 December. This year’s invitee list includes previous winners Landon McNamara (2024) and Luke Shepardson (2023), John John Florence (2016), Kelly Slater (2002) and Ross Clarke-Jones (2001). As well as a host of other big wave lords.
Eddie Aikau’s brother, Clyde Aikau, who won the Eddie in 1986, has always served as an advisor to the Eddie Aikau Foundation for the surfer selection process. However, Clyde sadly passed away earlier this year and leaves behind a family legacy that will forever be etched in big wave surfing history. That legacy continues in the form of the Eddie Aikau Invitational.
“The Eddie Aikau Foundation analyzed the results from the last two Eddie’s that ran in 2023 and 2024. We incorporated additional selection criteria from that data. We conducted a lot of research into the history and experiences of the big wave surfers under consideration. We have a mix of surfers from Hawaii, the mainland and international as well that we feel will represent the spirit and legacy of Eddie Aikau,” said Linda Ipsen, the President of the Eddie Aikau Foundation.
Check out the full list of invitees and alternates below:
