BILLABONG XXL BIG WAVE AWARDS LAUNCHES FOR '08 WINTER SEASON WITH NEW WEBSITE
 

The arrival of winter may be two months off, but the eighth-annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards presented by Monster Energy is well underway, with a brand-new event website chock full of photographic evidence of what has already proven to be a remarkable year in the big wave realm.  All the latest entries from around the world may be viewed at the new event website at billabongxxl.com

The twelve-month event period is barely at the halfway point with the prime season in the North Pacific and Atlantic just starting to get rolling, but so far entries have been arriving from the Southern Hemisphere at an unprecedented rate. The current event period continues through the Spring Equinox on March 19, 2008, with the annual gala awards ceremony scheduled to take place in Southern California on April 11, 2008.

The Ride of the Year and the XXL Biggest Wave Award categories have been filling up with video and photos of top surfers on huge waves from an array of locations including a number of surfers and surf breaks that were finalists in last year's event. 

Dungeons, the notoriously sharky break on the Cape Peninsula in South Africa, produced enormous gray walls for Californian Greg Long and locals Grant Baker, Andrew Marr and Mike Schlebach this June.  Long captured the XXL Biggest Wave award last year at the same venue with a 65-footer.

Meanwhile, the Outer Bommie, a break south of Perth in Western Australia, came through with some treacherous wind-bumped faces for Australians like Alfy Cater and visiting Hawaiian Jamie Sterling. Added to the mix this year are the first entries ever from Papatowai on the South Island of New Zealand, along and some spectacular images from Punta de Lobos, south of Santiago, Chile. 

The Chilean walls, ridden by Ramon Navarro and Cristian Merello  just last month, are among the biggest left-breaking waves ever challenged along the entire Pacific coast.

The Monster Tube category is already thick with its own batch of contenders, featuring barrel shots from the famed Mexican Pipeline along with terrifying brand-new spots in Tasmania and West Oz.  Entries in the Monster Paddle division showcase a diverse number of colossal human-powered takeoffs ranging globally from South America to Africa to North America, thanks to some early season bombs at Maverick's in California in the last two weeks.

The format for the 2007/08 Billabong XXL Awards will remain consistent with last year's major revamp, with the top prize going to the XXL Ride of the Year category going to "the individual surfer who -- based on review of available video images by a panel of experts -- demonstrates the most advanced and committed level of big wave surfing performance during a single successful ride during the annual event period." 

The winner is decided by a vote of a large "academy" of experts including top surf magazine editors, photographers, videographers -- and the surfers themselves. Last year, the $50,000 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year Award was captured by Ken "Skindog" Collins of Santa Cruz, California for his stunning tube ride at Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

The popular Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award (with watercraft tow-ins allowed) will remain a key part of the competition, and in addition to $15,000 cash, the winner will receive a new Honda personal watercraft. 

The  Monster Paddle Award will carry $15,000 as well for the surfer who catches and successfully rides the biggest wave of the year caught purely by human power -- which includes the increasingly popular discipline of Stand Up Paddling (SUP) using an oar in the tradition of the Hawaiian beachboys.  Efforts in this direction have already provided some entertaining moments by top big wave riders intent on pushing their personal limits.

In addition to all the latest entries in each category, all event details including formats, rules and archives of past XXL years can be seen at the event website at billabongxxl.com

The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented by Monster Energy Drinks.  Verizon Wireless is the official communications provider and Surfline.com is the official surf forecast of the XXL. Supporting sponsors include Honda watercraft, Hawaiian Airlines and Surfing Magazine.

2007/08 BILLABONG XXL GLOBAL BIG WAVE AWARD CATEGORIES

Billabong XXL Ride of the Year Award
(Greatest big wave performance on a single wave as captured on video and voted by large judging academy)
Surfer Prize: $50,000
Second Place: $5000
Third, Fourth and Fifth Place: $1500
Videographer Prize: $5000

Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award
(Biggest tow-in wave ridden based on available images showing maximum face height)
Surfer Prize: $15,000 plus Honda watercraft
Photo/video prize: $4000

Monster Paddle Award
(Biggest paddle-in wave ridden based on available images showing maximum face height)
Surfer Prize: $15,000
Photo/video prize: $4000
 
Monster Tube Award
(Best big-wave tube based on votes of large judging academy)
Surfer Prize: $5000
Photo Prize: $2000

Surfline Men's Best Overall Performance Award
(Best yearlong big wave performance at a variety of spots as voted by large judging academy)
Surfer Prize: $5000
 
Billabong Girl's Best Overall Performance Award
(Best yearlong big wave performance at a variety of spots as voted by large judging academy)
Surfer Prize: $5000

www.billabongxxl.com