For years, the Eddie Aikau has been a Quiksilver event. As of this morning, though, that is no longer the case.
There’ve long been rumors of a split–Quik and the Aikau’s have been negotiating for months, but according to reports, negotiations “broke down” on Saturday.
“The family is proud of the event and appreciated the role Quiksilver played,” said Seth Reiss, the attorney for the Aikau family. “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.”
In the last few years, Quiksilver has lost Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, and Craig Anderson, just to name a few. Although they’ve run into some serious financial issues, cash wasn’t a contributing factor with the Eddie event. “Money was not a major issue,” said Reiss.
Although the Eddie is a notoriously-fickle event anyway, it definitely won’t run this year. “We certainly understand how important the Eddie is to the people of Honolulu, and the state and the world, because it is such an iconic event,” said City Deputy Managing Director Georgette Deemer. “We have met with Clyde [Aikau], we have looked at it from every angle, and for the 2016-2017 season, the permit process has closed. It was closed in 2015.”
So far, there’s been no real news of any other brand with designs to become the sponsor for the most prestigious big wave event in surfing. There is, though, a rumor floating around that Red Bull is flirting with the idea. If that happens, the Eddie probably wouldn’t be a WSL event, and as per the World Surf League’s rules, none of their surfers would be allowed to compete. That’s all just speculation, though–only time will tell what will happen with Waimea Bay’s most iconic gathering.
