World's most famous big wave event is shelved due to "disagreement!"
If you have ever personally witnessed The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay then you know that it is truly a wonderful spectacle. Not to sound overly sentimental but being on those cliffs when The Eddie is on changes a man. Everything from the towering waves to the hooting amphitheater to the invite-only surfers practicing their brave dance to the energy hanging all the way to Honolulu like thick vog creeps inside the heart and softens the hardest crust.
I have no doubt that if Kim Jong Un and Donald J. Trump could but stand on those cliffs, shoulder to shoulder, and watch Ross Clarke-Jones make one drop that peace would be established on the Korean peninsula.
And this makes it even sadder that The Eddie is likely shelved for the year and not due lack of giant surf but due… I don’t know. Let’s read Hawaii News Now!
The chances are slim that the iconic big wave surfing competition known as “The Eddie” will run this year after new developments in an ongoing struggle to find a sponsor.
Quicksilver, Red Bull and the Aikau family previously agreed to sponsorship terms for the world-famous event until Saturday, when the Aikau family introduced new terms that the company could not agree to.
In a statement, a Quicksilver representative said:
“Quiksilver has decided that it has run out of time to sponsor the ‘Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau‘ big wave surf event for 2017-2018.
Quiksilver has been honored to celebrate the life of champion big wave surfer and Waimea Bay lifeguard Eddie Aikau. Quiksilver is proud of the tradition of the event which underlines its respect for Eddie Aikau, the Hawaiian people and the community at large, and Quiksilver greatly appreciates more than 30 years of partnership with the Aikau family.”
Earlier this year, the World Surfing League reportedly withdrew financial support of the event. Quicksilver and the Aikau family previously had differences in terms in previous months.
“After a long, hard negotiations with the Aikaus, there just wasn’t enough time to put on a proper contest,” Glen Moncata of Quicksilver said. “There’s a lot of preparations involved, and with the passing of time, we don’t think we can put together a proper contest.”
“Even though the parties were unable to reach an agreement, Quiksilver remains open to continuing discussions for a 2018-2019 event and beyond so that all parties can better prepare for the event,” Quicksilver added.
The Aikau family says status of the contest going forward is unknown. They did not provide any additional details.
I have heard from multiple sources that the Aikau family is notoriously difficult. Maybe notoriously difficult in order to protect the legacy of the great Eddie. Maybe notoriously difficult because enough is never enough. Whatever the case it is a real shame and now we may have nuclear war in the Pacific.
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I wish Rothman had the balls to call out the Aikau family.
Maybe they can re-invent it as the “Quicksilver in memory of Lairds last big wave paddle session”
Well, maybe next year.
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”.
it’s all about the money!
Is it possible to run a memorial contest in memory of a memorial contest that is no longer with us? Like, The Eddie Memorial in Memory of The Quiksilver Memorial of Eddie Aikau.
Einstein described such entanglement as “spooky action at a distance.”
I will always defer to him.
There used to be a memorial surf contest for a guy that was still alive. He was the prototype stoner/surfer, so still appropriate.
Did they call it off when he finally died?
It stalled when sponsors started asking to get involved. It was too hard to keep a straight face when some Oakley Blade™ wearing knob showed up wanting to throw dollars around.
Leave Andy out of this. 😉
They could just surf it, make it super locals only type vibe. No haoles, just Hawaiians. Make it very traditional with a winner gets nothing contest, seeing as they lost out just having their own race at this point.
Yes. Surf needs more racist exclusion!
White imperialism already made that clear in the 1840’s.
that’s one of the problems , when Clyde took over from George Downing ( George very pissed off ) he drew up a list of surfers that excluded ALL Australians , Noah J , former winner , but white was excluded , and sounds like Clyde and some of his family members just want more money , even though the last Eddie opening ceremony was very exclusive to the point where Clyde pissed everybody off , all about the Aikau’s and not about the Spirit of Eddie and Hawaii , ah don’t ya love money power and greeed!!!
Hard to rent scaffolding and megaphones with EBT cards
I’ll give you 50cents on a dollar…
Maikai cards
especially in the foundation/non-profit sphere
When does a haole become Hawaiian? Existential
When a Hawaiian becomes a haole.
That would be badass! Plus Sam George could make a sick 30 for 30’about it!
That’s giving them a little too much credit don’t ya think?
“I have heard from multiple sources that the Aikau family is notoriously difficult.” This is why I read BeachBallsGrit.
“After a long, hard negotiations with the Aikaus, there just wasn’t enough time to put on a proper contest.” Not enough time? C’mon man. It’s October. When this all started, a few colored t-shirts, an over-sized cardboard check and a megaphone was all one needed for a “proper contest.” T-shirts and megaphones are easy. Now the over-sized check, that’s a different issue altogether. Is Quik still in bankruptcy?…
When all this started, the Internet didn’t exist and 30,000 people didn’t show up to watch at 2 in the morning. It’s hard work running that thing. But I guess if it’s not on, you can still go for a surf at the Bay in memory of Eddie. That story isn’t going to go away just because the contest isn’t on.
Thousands of people line up on the Kam anyway during the biggest swell of the season. The contest window is fairly big and folks have to act on relatively short notice anyway once a purple blob is spotted on Surfline. Sounds like less of a running-the-contest problem than a marketing problem. Shame that the noble “Eddie Would Go” sentiment is morphing into “Eddie Might Go if the Money is Right.” Wait, that’s too long for a bumper sticker. Never mind.
time is money…
It’s a freeze out, a negotiation tactic used when one side feels that the other side won’t make a deal. If the Aikau family goes a year without the pile of cash they get from the Eddy, they will be a little hungrier when the negotiations start again next year.
At what point is it not relevant to use the Aikua name? It’s 2017 and when was the first one run 1984? Move on
Just call it the Andy or the Ronnie or the Sion. Just invite all the chargers like normal and send them out if the bay calls the day. Seeing that Sam George movie about Eddie it looks like a huge family and they definitely deserve some cash, but if you can’t afford it make another contest.
Well… There’s a thing called Hawaiian culture. And Eddie is synonymous with Waimea Bay.
Not because of a movie but because of his legacy.
Slaps on the horizon for quik dude??!!!
Need a resume, “i can skin a buck run a trout line,and all my rowdy rowdy friends are coming over tonight” I also need it to fit on a hat.
One guy a made a resume for from Waimea kauai had never had a real job. He is now the manager of a FedEx store and when I asked him for job experience he said I can fish, I can hunt and I can fuck. And now he can make copies and send packages.
I live in Florida with a resume like his i could be the head of the army corp of engineers in this damn state.
I changed a spark plug on my car the other day and mumbled “for Andy”.
As a lasting tribute Kelly should name his wave pool the “Andy Irons memorial wave pool” as a final ironic blow in their great battle. I miss that sh*t.
I wish there was an AI type around
I doubt that many would participate. Maybe there will be an epic freesurf season with big Waimea waves. That would cary the stoke without fucking it up.
Veeco might want the in memory of Sion one
Haiku in Memory of:
The Eddie’s no more
So bring your gun to Lemoore
We’ve also got cows.
I’m already bored by the prospect of a wave pool comp.
Come for the cows then!
Are you fucking mad, man? Cows are the cause of global warming! (and tasty burgers but mostly the melting polar ice caps).
Slater is behind this no doubt. Wave pools gone to his head. He must be stopped.
this is brilliant Git but I feel “we also have cows” would scan better
Dat’s how we’s talk in Lemoore
You are right, of course.
That’s why you’re a writer and I’m a Beach Grit Deputy Assistant Hall Monitor.
The BeachGrit in Memory of Eddie Aikau
10-1 odds I still see at least 20 “Eddie Would Go” stickers on Range Rovers and X5s in Cardiff today…
Shit I saw one in Glenrothes once about 5 years ago. (Not a surfy place)
The 2017-2018 Eddie Eddy
Just keep everyone else out of it, OK? The Cheeto Nation can go this one alone.
Are you saying OK is behind this?
They are the illuminati