The Eddie won’t go this season, and we’re already hopeful for the next one. Photo: Eddie Aikau Foundation
The Eddie Aikau Invitational is the most prestigious event in all of surfing. But this year, it’s not running. “It’s official,” organizers wrote in an email. “NO Eddie Aikau event for the 2025-2026 winter season.”
The Eddie only runs when the waves are big enough, and the kind of conditions it needs are rare. Organizers require consistent 40-foot waves at Waimea Bay, which doesn’t happen all that often. That’s what makes it so special, though. The last two years have been a bit of an anomaly — it ran in back-to-back years, which has only happened three times since its inception in 1985 — but this year, it seems all but certain that a third year is not in the cards.
“Waimea Bay is forecasted to be below Eddie-level the next seven days,” organizers said. “We were hoping for the three-peat, but we’ll have to wait for the next winter surf season on the North Shore.”
The contest window is a long one, but it needs to be in order to give the best chance for the conditions to line up. It opened on December 5, 2025, and closes on Friday March 6, 2026. So while there’s still a very slim chance, it looks like we’re all going to have wait for next year to begin hoping again.
