It's big wave surfing's premier event but The Eddie, which takes place at Waimea, will not run next year after a breakdown between the Aikau family and event sponsor, Quiksilver.
It's the event you could argue that laid the path for John John Florence taking his maiden world title this year. Double J took out the Eddie, which only runs if 20 foot plus waves are freighting into the bay, before the CT season kicked off, lighting that competitve fire beneath the now world champ that had been missing in previous seasons.
Yet, discussions between the family of Eddie Aikau said an agreement with Quik could not be found and the event's off for 2017. The Aikau's attorney Seth Reiss said on Saturday at a luncheon: ''The family is proud of the event and appreciated the role Quiksilver played. That relationship ended earlier this year. There were substantial discussions between the family and Quiksilver about how the relationship could be continued, but in the end, no agreement was reached.''
The Eddie, held in memory of the legendary waterman, has run 9 times in the past 32-years since its inception. A permit to run the comp between December 2016 and February 2017 had been granted – but only with the Quik name attached to it, the family's split from Quik renders it invalid. A new permit application, with a new sponsor attached, would not meet deadlines to run the event in 2017.
Eddie's brother, Clyde Aikau, said the disagreement has nothing to do with money but about unresolved concerns with Quik, however he did say the family are hoping to continue the contest. The next sponsors? Who knows. Could any of the big industry names stump the cash to see the event come to fruition? Time's gonna tell all.
