Cover photo: Alan by ISA/Ryder

Respect, admiration and recognition from your peers is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest achievements an athlete can aspire to. It is perhaps worth more than winning championships and certainly worth more than the thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers one may have on Instagram.

It's like the saying goes: “The favorite surfer of your favorite surfers” (he's probably the best surfer).

This is why I created the DUKE Awards some time ago, which used to be a survey by OLAS magazine, which I had the great pleasure of editing about 20 years ago. The article was called “The best vote for the best.”

I wanted to reapply it to DUKE because I think it is key that this type of recognition exists in Latin America and Spain. And I get the impression that the reception is very good.

RELATED: Spain results

RELATED: Latin America Results

Those who vote are truly heavyweights and those who win really welcome the news. It is clear that it is a more than welcome treat.

Maybe, since it only exists on the web and there is no cup to raise, there is less of a show; but the idea that it gives me is that they are really welcome and that is why my idea is to continue doing it for as long as I can, hopefully one day with a couple of sponsors involved and if possible a gala or something similar… A cup to raise.

It gives a different feeling about the reality of surfing both in Latin America and Spain.

It is true that the prizes have some flaws, or some things to improve: Ages and regions should be measured properly and there should also be a kind of runoff because there are categories that end up too distributed and the victory is given with two or three votes. If in these cases it is simplified with a multiple choice, the surfers will surely give more answers.

But whatever the case, I think the votes reflect reality and do justice: Alan Cleland and Alonso Correa received the most votes in Latin America and Nadia in Spain, and there is no doubt that these three had a great year. On the other hand, the result was not so clear-cut among Latin American women and Spanish men.

Dylan Donegan, Thiago Passeri, Annette González Etxebarri and Catalina Zariquiey were the youngsters who received the most votes in their respective awards in their respective surveys and it also seems clear that it is a result that does justice to the year they had.

But the small details are what I like to see the most: Makoa Gómez, the young tube rider from the Canary Islands, won in three categories: best tube rider, best video and best free surfer… And it's not that the list was all Canarians, there was everything among the best Spaniards who voted.

This detail to mention one.

On the Latin American side, it was interesting to see how FENTA swept the prize for best federation, with 12 of 22 votes, and not all of those who voted were Peruvian (there were by no means half of them Peruvian).

These are the details, among others, that provide rich information about surfing events in the regions in question.

Below is the detail of who voted and what they voted for, I humbly believe it is worth reviewing.

-These are the winners of the DUKE Hispano-American Surf Awards: https://dukesurf.com/estos-son-los-ganadores-de-los-premios-duke-hispanoamericanos-de-surf/

-These are the winners of the 2024 DUKE Awards of Spain: https://dukesurf.com/estos-son-los-ganadores-de-los-premios-duke-de-espana-2024/

-The most relevant facts of 2024, country by country: The most relevant facts of 2024, country by country: https://dukesurf.com/los-hechos-mas-relevantes-del-2024-pais-por-pais/

-The most relevant events in Brazilian surfing in 2024 according to five specialists: https://dukesurf.com/los-sucesos-mas-relevantes-del-surfing-brasileno-en-2024-segun-cinco-especialistas/

-France round on December 29th: https://dukesurf.com/france-round-on-december-29th/

-The second edition of Quiksilver's Full Moon Sessions is coming: https://dukesurf.com/se-viene-la-segunda-edicion-del-full-moon-sessions-de-quiksilver/

-Tristan Gilbaud in El Salvador, “10 years later”: https://dukesurf.com/tristan-gilbaud-in-el-salvador/

-Kolohe Andino and Red Bull separated after 17 years together: https://dukesurf.com/kolohe-andino-y-red-bull-separados-tras-17-anos-juntos/

-Psycho Momo is coming to the Americas: “The movies I like the most are the short films of pure action”: https://dukesurf.com/se-viene-psycho-momo-por-las-americas-las-peliculas-que-mas-me-gustan-son-los-cortos-de-pura-accion/

-Last winter by John John, Nathan and Ivan: https://dukesurf.com/last-winter-by-john-john-nathan-and-ivan/

-The tube of the month: Cali Muñoz in Roca Bruja too perfect: https://dukesurf.com/the-tube-of-the-month-cali-munoz-in-roca-bruja-too-perfect/

-This is how the selected players for the Rio de la Plata Cup are formed: https://dukesurf.com/asi-forman-los-seleccionados-para-la-copa-rio-de-la-plata/

-Santiago Giovannini: “I lost a few thousandths of a second looking at one of the most beautiful tubes I have ever seen”: https://dukesurf.com/santiago-giovannini-perdi-unas-milesimas-mirando-uno-de-los-tubos-mas-hermosos-que-vi/

-John John and all the beasts in what they say was the best Pipe of the season: https://dukesurf.com/john-john-and-all-the-beasts-in-what-they-say-was-the-best-pipe-of-the-season/

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