Before January 2016, the last time the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau (known simply as ‘The Eddie’) ran was in 2009. Of all the surf contests in the world, even among big wave contests, The Eddie has the most anticipatory energy. Maybe it’s the specificity of the wave requirements – Waimea Bay must exceed a 20-foot threshold. Or, the 3-month wait period (longer than any other contest). Or, how, in spite of the long wait period, the contest has only been held less than 10 times in the last 30+ years.
When the wave at Waimea breaks, all eyes are on the place. But when The Eddie was given the green light in early 2016, anticipation was at a fever pitch. John John went on to win, you can check out some photos here, and people are still talking about it – especially in the context that John John could make history by winning The Eddie, a world title, and the Triple Crown this year.
But what you don’t often see is the anticipation, the energy behind the scenes when The Eddie’s given the green light. Filmmaker Vincent Kardasik was there, and the footage above offers a rare glimpse of what a handful of competitors are up to in the hours preceding one of the world’s most prestigious surf contests.
“Last January, as I was coming home from a trip in Canada, one of my client asked me if I was keen to fly to Oahu the next day to cover the Eddie Aikau…” says Kardasik. “I was there in 2009, last time the event ran and I shot action the all day, the level of commitment was pretty incredible. I always thought that if I had the opportunity to shoot it again I will focus on the behind the scene as the vibe is pretty unique. I landed in the middle of the night before the contest, the brief wasn’t really defined yet so before things started to clear up I shot pretty much everything which happened in front of my lens, wandering around the Waimea Bay car park… The rigors of the journey were slowly killing me and I knew it would be a long and intense day so I decided to go with the flow and let people act as they wanted in front of my lens…
Then the buzzer rang and I had to be back in business and follow the brief, this is what happened just before that…”
Check out more from Vincent Kardasik on Vimeo.
