The Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau is no longer a thing, and the last surfer to get his name into the record book as a champion is none other than our current world champion John John Florence. It has been a long run, of more than three decades, but as I once said to my girlfriend in junior high, ‘all good things must come to an end.’
There has been a long history of the discussion between Quiksilver, and the Aikau family, and it does all boil down to money. The Aikau family want a little more of it, and Quiksilver want to give a little less of it. Over the years there has been an impasse over the money situation, and both parties have begrudgingly given more, or accepted less, to keep the party going.
It was about ten years ago, or maybe a little bit longer, that the Aikau family first played their hand, and it was a hand that said something about the fact that Quiksilver was making a really big pile of money off the Aikau name, and very little of that was finding it’s way back into the Aikau family, or even back to Hawaii at all.
Back then Quiksilver marketing came to the party, and things were soon settled and the party continued. The event nearly ran a few times, did get to run a few times, and then ran this year in a tumultuous event that saw web coverage of a big wave event hit new limits. Understandably, as there were some very big waves that were closing out the bay, there were old men in the event like Clyde Aikau, and there were whippersnappers in the event like John John.
Whenever The Eddie goes, the North Shore grinds to an absolute gridlock, and everyone goes down to The Bay. TV stations fly in, videographers, photographers and journalists from all over come in to cover the event, and imagery covers the first page of newspapers and the home page of websites the world over. It really is a big deal, and as a marketing campaign, the Quiksilver corporation do get incredible mileage out of this one-day event.
The conversation right now however, is that the event is most definitely off as the new Aikau family representatives and Quiksilver cannot come to a happy resolution.
So be it. This happens in business, and it happens in our sport. The J-Bay Open still does not have a sponsor, the Brazilian crew sometimes can’t pay the surfers their prize-money after a big QS event, and surfers are losing their sponsorship deals all over the place as the industry contracts, and performs a subsequent correction.
So what’s going to happen if and when the swell starts pumping at Waimea?
Firstly, all the best big wave surfers in town will paddle out to have a go. It makes no difference if there is a contest on or not. Some of them will paddle Waimea, some of them will paddle Jaws.
Secondly, the Aikau family might make a contest out of it, with prestige and heady accolades as first prize. For this to happen, Quiksilver will have to hand over the contest permit, of which they have already agreed to do.
Thirdly, a new sponsor might come to the fore and work out how to get a permit to make a new event work. This might be without official WSL sanctioning and it won’t be easy. But if the Aikau family want this, it is not impossible.
Or the Aikau family might call a stale-mate, and have no contest this upcoming season, leaving the situation open for them to apply for a permit the following season. This will mean no big wave event at Waimea this season.
It’s not a train smash either way. Just a resettlement, and for your average spectator we are still going to be gifted webcast from three or four Hawaiian event including Pipe and Sunset, so it’s not like we’re starving for footage.
The only way that this thing could turn into a literal train-wreck is if anyone decides that they want to fight with the Aikau family, because that family comes with a troop of strong soldiers.
