The first event of the new World Surf League competitive big wave surfing era is expecting waves in the 35-to-50-foot range.
The cbdMD Jaws Big Wave Championships just got green lit for Thursday. According to Surfline’s official forecast for the event, it’s gonna be solid with 35- to 50-foot surf and bigger sets, groomed by favorable east winds.
Last year, back when it was called the Peahi Challenge and it didn’t have that any of that highly-fragrant, sticky icky Marijuana money behind it, the event got quite a bit of attention both for its incredibly dramatic moments where lunatics like Billy Kemper and Grant “Twiggy” Baker packed building-sized closeouts, and for its judges appraisal of said closeouts, which earner higher marks than less dramatic, yet completed rides.
The Competitive Format
The competition format is relatively simple.
In the first round, the 24 male surfers will be divided into four 45-minute heats of six surfers. Judges will be scoring each ride on a scale of 1 to 10.
The best two waves are counted, with the highest wave score doubled. The three highest-scoring surfers advance through to the semifinals; the top three from the semifinals advance to the final.
On the women's side, there will be ten athletes competing in two five-surfer semifinals - the top three surfers in each heat advance to the final.
The organization also underlined that due to safety and environmental concerns, there is no location available for on-site spectating for the 2019 Jaws Big Wave Championships.
Men’s Division:
Grant Baker (ZAF)
Alex Botelho (PRT)
Russell Bierke (AUS)
Lucas Chianca (BRA)
Trevor Carlson (HAW)
Nathan Florence (HAW)
Natxo Gonzalez (EUK)
Greg Long (USA)
Mark Healey (HAW)
Billy Kemper (HAW)
Kai Lenny (HAW)
Albee Layer (HAW)
Tyler Larronde (HAW)
Nic Lamb (USA)
Tom Lowe (GBR)
Torrey Meister (HAW)
Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
Jojo Roper (USA)
Koa Rothman (HAW)
Makuakai Rothman (HAW)
Nic von Rupp (PRT)
Ian Walsh (HAW)
Wildcard 1 TBD
Wildcard 2 TBD
Women’s Division:
Paige Alms (HAW)
Justine Dupont (FRA)
Emily Erickson (HAW)
Raquel Heckert (BRA)
Keala Kennelly (HAW)
Andrea Moller (BRA)
Felicity Palmateer (AUS)
Bianca Valenti (USA)
Wildcard 1 TBD
Wildcard 2 TBD
Good luck to all!
