Organizers of the Eddie Aikau Memorial Big Wave Championship yesterday gave the green light for the event to potentially take place early next week.

According to what the maps show, a powerful swell of more than 20 feet is heading to the Hawaiian Islands just in the final days of 2020.

“There is a high probability that the event will take place,” said event director Liam McNamara, as reported by Brazilian website Waves. “We need eight hours to carry out the event, but above all we need to know when the swell will arrive,” he added.

The last time the tournament was held was in 2016, when it was won by two-time world champion John John Florence from Hawaii. That was also the last time the tournament was held under the sponsorship of Quiksilver, which the following year severed its partnership with the Aikau family.

Eddie Aikau was a Hawaiian lifeguard who died in 1978 while trying to save the crew of the Hōkūleʻa, which was planning to travel from Hawaii to Polynesia but crashed shortly after leaving.

Related: There are no Hispanics on Eddie's roster

Eddie attempted to save her by swimming to the nearest island but was never seen again.

The event takes place when the sea is “Eddie-going” – that is, giant – the symbolic mark is 20 Hawaiian feet. It has been held nine times in 30 years.

These are this year's guests:
Headlines
Aaron Gold
Andrea Moller
Ben wilkinson
Billy Kemper
Bruce Irons
Danilo Couto
Dave Wassel
Eli Olson
Emi Erickson
Grant Baker
Greg Long
Ian Walsh
Jamie O'Brien
Jamie Mitchell
John John Florence
Kai Lenny
Keala Kennelly
Keali'i Mamala
Kelly Slater
Koa Rothman
Landon McNamara
Lucas Chianca
luke shepardson
Makuakai Rothman
Mark Healey
Mason Ho
Nathan Florence
Nathan Fletcher
Paige Alms
Ross Clarke-Jones
Shane Dorian
Tikanui Smith
Male substitutes
Tyler Larronde
Kyle Shipman
Kohl Christensen
Chris Bertish
chris owens
Mike Pietsch
Torrey Meister
alex martins
Ryan Seelbach
Matt Bromley
Reef McIntosh
Ezekiel Lau
Jamie Sterling

Female substitutes
Bianca Valenti
Raquel Heckert
Justine Dupont
Silvia Nabuco
Laura Enever

Legends
Derek Ho
Garrett McNamara
Jeff clark
Mike Ho
Mike Parsons
Peter Mel
Tom Carroll

 

 

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The Eddie Aikau 2019 is officially in the ⚠️YELLOW⚠️ as of 12 pm today for the competition to potentially happen early next week. An official call will be made within the next 48 hours by the Contest Director, Liam McNamara. Stay tuned! . . #theeddie19 #eddiewouldgo #theeddie #eddieaikau #eddieaikaufoundation #waimeabay #thebaycallstheday

A publication shared by The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Inv. (@theeddieaikau) the 27 Dic 2019 has 4: 00 PST