Who's In and Who's Out at Waimea's Biggest Event of the Year

Yesterday, the longest-running big-wave event on the planet, the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau, announced its 2009/2010 invitees and alternates. The contest, which (swell permitting) will run between December 1 and February 28 doles out a hefty $98,000 purse to supplement an already svelte $1,000,000 prize purse for the Van Triple Crown of Surfing.

The event hasn’t run since Bruce Irons claimed top honors in 2004/2005, punctuating his victory with a crowd-pleasing claim in the pounding Waimea shorebreak. While this year’s list of invites includes many of the usual suspects, a few wildcards have been thrown in the mix to shake things up a bit.

Opening ceremonies will be held at 2pm, December 3rd, 2009, at Waimea Bay. Let the speculation begin.

INVITEES
Andy Irons, Hawaii
Brian Keaulana, Hawaii
Brock Little, Hawaii
Bruce Irons, Hawaii
Carlos Burle, Brazil
Clyde Aikau, Hawaii
Darryl Virostko, California
Greg Long, California
Jamie O’Brien, Hawaii
Jamie Sterling, Hawaii
Kelly Slater, Florida
Keone Downing, Hawaii
Makuakai Rothman, Hawaii
Mark Healey, Hawaii
Michael Ho, Hawaii
Noah Johnson, Hawaii
Peter Mel, California
Reef McIntosh, Hawaii
Ross Clarke-Jones, Australia
Rusty Keaulana, Hawaii
Shane Dorian, Hawaii
Sunny Garcia, Hawaii
Titus Kinimaka, Hawaii
Tom Carroll, Australia
Grant “Twiggy” Baker, South Africa
Ibon Amatriain, Euskadi
Ramon Navarro, Chile
Takayuki Wakita, Japan

ALTERNATES
Kala Alexander, Hawaii – Aikau Family Pick
Pancho Sullivan, Hawaii
Garrett McNamara, Hawaii
Kohl Christensen, Hawaii
Dave Wassel, Hawaii
Keoni Watson, Hawaii
Nathan Fletcher, Hawaii
Ian Walsh, Hawaii
Danny Fuller, Hawaii
Kalani Chapman, Hawaii
Taylor Knox, California
Chava Greenlee, Hawaii
Jamie Mitchell, Australia
Myles Padaca, Hawaii
Tony Moniz, Hawaii
Darrick Doerner, Hawaii
Ken “Skin Dog” Collins, California
Ross Williams, Hawaii
Derek Ho, Hawaii
Paul Paterson, Australia
Anthony Tashnick, California
Koby Abberton, Australia
Laurent Pujol, France
Laurie Towner, Australia

HONORARY INVITEES
Mark Foo, Hawaii
Todd Chesser, Hawaii
Tiger Espere, Hawaii
Jay Moriarty, California
Peter Davi, California
Lester Falatea, Tahiti