Shawn Alladio
01-22-2007, 10:04 PM
Mondo Mavericks
Surfing goes big time for big waves
Grant Washburn rides down the face of a wave into a fifth-place finish during the Mavericks Surf Contest at Half Moon Bay last year. Washburn has ridden Mavericks more often than anyone else on the contest list.
KEVIN GERMAN/THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Ryan Augenstein of Santa Cruz takes a nose dive early in the Mavericks Surf Contest last year.
KEVIN GERMAN/THE SACRAMENTO BEE
By DEBBIE ARRINGSTON
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Last Updated: January 17, 2007, 06:52:00 AM PST
HALF MOON BAY — If riding gigantic waves weren't enough, big-wave pioneer Jeff Clark and his cohorts really have their hands full at the surf break off Pillar Point.
Not only do they have to coordinate a unique surf contest with competitors from three continents ready to hit the water on 24 hours' notice, they've got to master a humongous logistical puzzle on land, sea and airwaves.
Riding a swell of international publicity, what once was a little-known, locals-only test of machismo and watery courage has grown into a mammoth event with $75,000 in prize money, high-profile sponsors, a pay-per-view stadium show, a free live Webcast and, of course, network TV and a direct-to-video highlight DVD.
In terms of overall exposure, the Mavericks Surf Contest has found its perfect storm.
"We reached 1 billion people last year," said Keir Beadling, Mavericks on-shore point man. "That includes all media outlets and television. But this year, it will be more."
That's because this big wave has gone big time, fully embraced by the $4.5 billion U.S. surf industry. Dubbed "the Super Bowl of big-wave surfing," Mavericks is approaching equally gargantuan proportions in the hyped-up world of spectator sports.
Stoking the contest's rise in popularity was last year's victory by South Africa's Grant "Twiggy" Baker. With a borrowed board, Baker barreled down 50-foot faces in picture-perfect 70-degree weather before an estimated 50,000 spectators.
"There's real excitement in the air," said Redwood City's Renee Sorenson, who got hooked last year and isone of a legion of new volunteers for the contest. "I don't know if it's total awe of the people who go out in the water or what. You can feel the power of that wave. It gives me chills."
Not that fans can see much from shore. With the waves breaking a half-mile away, the best views of last year's contest were on computer screens, images provided by intrepid videographers on personal watercraft.
A worldwide wave
But those visuals — which were also whisked into homes from New York City to Capetown via CNN, NBC and ESPN — whetted corporate appetites for more daredevil surfing.
CBS — with its plugged-in SportsLine.com audience — wooed Mavericks onto its Web site and its network for both a live Webcast and taped TV coverage.
The San Francisco Giants invited the contest to use their stadium, AT&T Park, for a live pay-per-view show. Ask.com signed on as the presenting sponsor, ready to provide many more new Web links.
"They called us," Beadling said of the new outlets. "And it just grew from there. We knew we had to find more ways for people to see the contest without actually coming to the beach; there isn't enough room. These new venues are a great option."
The interest doesn't surprise Beadling.
"Mavericks is not about a big wave," he said. "It's about challenging your limits. It's something that really inspires people to do more in their lives. That's the draw."
Mavericks already had made a splash in New York City's Times Square. The 2006 highlight show was simulcast on its landmark 45-foot-tall Reuters video board as Mavericks stars — the surfers — watched from a balcony at the Hard Rock Cafe.
"It was surreal to watch yourself on that screen," said San Francisco's Randy Cone, who made the 2006 semifinals. "We were life-size, surfing over Times Square."
The AT&T Park simulcast "is a test, a major experiment," said Beadling, noting that the stadium show can accommodate up to 5,000 people.
At the contest, parking this year has been added at Half Moon Bay Airport, with more shuttles to the beach. The promoters plan to bring in two big screens to help on-shore viewing.
As co-founder and managing partner of Mavericks Surf Ventures, Beadling oversees all the tech hookups in the total-access universe that surrounds the contest. That allows Clark — the local surfer who discovered the now-legendary break — to concentrate on running the event itself.
Raising the bar
During opening ceremonies earlier this month, Clark welcomed 26 competitors (including a few alternates) to the beach. Before a gaggle of TV crews, photographers and 200 well-wishers, they paddled out and formed a prayer circle, holding hands while straddling their boards to ask for God's and nature's blessings.
"We've raised the bar and changed the world of big-wave surfing as we know it forever," Clark said. "I'm proud to be around all these people and to be part of this event."
Added surfer Grant Washburn, a two-time finalist, "We're all very fortunate to be part of this thing. But what makes it special isn't all that other (commercial) stuff. That's not what Mavericks is all about. It's about enjoying the surf. It's about finding that joy and pushing your limits. It is a blast."
At its heart, Mavericks is the same. Sometime between now and March 31 when conditions are perfect, two dozen of the globe's best big-wave specialists will have 24 hours to return to the event and paddle out into a wave taller than a five-story building.
They'll compete in timed heats under judging similar to that of gymnastics, with points awarded for maneuvers, difficulty and style. After about six hours, one surfer emerges with the $30,000 first prize.
But that's just the beginning. With victory comes instant fame.
"And a lot more money and a lot more sponsors," said 22-year-old Anthony Tashnick, who won the Mavericks contest in 2005. "It's all good. But (winning) also really raised people's expectations. That's been the hardest part, dealing with that."
For last year's victory, Baker used a 9-foot board hand-shaped by local surfer Cone.
"I told him he could keep it if he reached the finals," Cone said, "but he did one better than that and won."
Providing the winning board didn't markedly improve Cone's Pacifica business; he already has all he can handle and a three-month waiting list, he said.
"But the publicity didn't hurt," added Cone, who surfs Mavericks every chance he gets in preparation for the contest.
"I was out there three times last week," he said. "It's an obsession. But I don't know if we can match last year. It will be difficult to get a day as perfect as last year's (contest)."
Mavericks easily ranks in the top three of all big-wave events, along with Hawaii's Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Memorial and South Africa's Red Bull Big Wave Africa.
The trappings and attention make producing the event far more complicated. But to those who were here from the beginning, the heart still beats true.
"Mavericks has always been so much more than this contest," said organizer Katherine Clark, Jeff's ex-wife and still a contest partner. "Mavericks has always had a soul all its own that goes way beyond everything else. Its spirit is still the same."
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Surfing goes big time for big waves
Grant Washburn rides down the face of a wave into a fifth-place finish during the Mavericks Surf Contest at Half Moon Bay last year. Washburn has ridden Mavericks more often than anyone else on the contest list.
KEVIN GERMAN/THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Ryan Augenstein of Santa Cruz takes a nose dive early in the Mavericks Surf Contest last year.
KEVIN GERMAN/THE SACRAMENTO BEE
By DEBBIE ARRINGSTON
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Last Updated: January 17, 2007, 06:52:00 AM PST
HALF MOON BAY — If riding gigantic waves weren't enough, big-wave pioneer Jeff Clark and his cohorts really have their hands full at the surf break off Pillar Point.
Not only do they have to coordinate a unique surf contest with competitors from three continents ready to hit the water on 24 hours' notice, they've got to master a humongous logistical puzzle on land, sea and airwaves.
Riding a swell of international publicity, what once was a little-known, locals-only test of machismo and watery courage has grown into a mammoth event with $75,000 in prize money, high-profile sponsors, a pay-per-view stadium show, a free live Webcast and, of course, network TV and a direct-to-video highlight DVD.
In terms of overall exposure, the Mavericks Surf Contest has found its perfect storm.
"We reached 1 billion people last year," said Keir Beadling, Mavericks on-shore point man. "That includes all media outlets and television. But this year, it will be more."
That's because this big wave has gone big time, fully embraced by the $4.5 billion U.S. surf industry. Dubbed "the Super Bowl of big-wave surfing," Mavericks is approaching equally gargantuan proportions in the hyped-up world of spectator sports.
Stoking the contest's rise in popularity was last year's victory by South Africa's Grant "Twiggy" Baker. With a borrowed board, Baker barreled down 50-foot faces in picture-perfect 70-degree weather before an estimated 50,000 spectators.
"There's real excitement in the air," said Redwood City's Renee Sorenson, who got hooked last year and isone of a legion of new volunteers for the contest. "I don't know if it's total awe of the people who go out in the water or what. You can feel the power of that wave. It gives me chills."
Not that fans can see much from shore. With the waves breaking a half-mile away, the best views of last year's contest were on computer screens, images provided by intrepid videographers on personal watercraft.
A worldwide wave
But those visuals — which were also whisked into homes from New York City to Capetown via CNN, NBC and ESPN — whetted corporate appetites for more daredevil surfing.
CBS — with its plugged-in SportsLine.com audience — wooed Mavericks onto its Web site and its network for both a live Webcast and taped TV coverage.
The San Francisco Giants invited the contest to use their stadium, AT&T Park, for a live pay-per-view show. Ask.com signed on as the presenting sponsor, ready to provide many more new Web links.
"They called us," Beadling said of the new outlets. "And it just grew from there. We knew we had to find more ways for people to see the contest without actually coming to the beach; there isn't enough room. These new venues are a great option."
The interest doesn't surprise Beadling.
"Mavericks is not about a big wave," he said. "It's about challenging your limits. It's something that really inspires people to do more in their lives. That's the draw."
Mavericks already had made a splash in New York City's Times Square. The 2006 highlight show was simulcast on its landmark 45-foot-tall Reuters video board as Mavericks stars — the surfers — watched from a balcony at the Hard Rock Cafe.
"It was surreal to watch yourself on that screen," said San Francisco's Randy Cone, who made the 2006 semifinals. "We were life-size, surfing over Times Square."
The AT&T Park simulcast "is a test, a major experiment," said Beadling, noting that the stadium show can accommodate up to 5,000 people.
At the contest, parking this year has been added at Half Moon Bay Airport, with more shuttles to the beach. The promoters plan to bring in two big screens to help on-shore viewing.
As co-founder and managing partner of Mavericks Surf Ventures, Beadling oversees all the tech hookups in the total-access universe that surrounds the contest. That allows Clark — the local surfer who discovered the now-legendary break — to concentrate on running the event itself.
Raising the bar
During opening ceremonies earlier this month, Clark welcomed 26 competitors (including a few alternates) to the beach. Before a gaggle of TV crews, photographers and 200 well-wishers, they paddled out and formed a prayer circle, holding hands while straddling their boards to ask for God's and nature's blessings.
"We've raised the bar and changed the world of big-wave surfing as we know it forever," Clark said. "I'm proud to be around all these people and to be part of this event."
Added surfer Grant Washburn, a two-time finalist, "We're all very fortunate to be part of this thing. But what makes it special isn't all that other (commercial) stuff. That's not what Mavericks is all about. It's about enjoying the surf. It's about finding that joy and pushing your limits. It is a blast."
At its heart, Mavericks is the same. Sometime between now and March 31 when conditions are perfect, two dozen of the globe's best big-wave specialists will have 24 hours to return to the event and paddle out into a wave taller than a five-story building.
They'll compete in timed heats under judging similar to that of gymnastics, with points awarded for maneuvers, difficulty and style. After about six hours, one surfer emerges with the $30,000 first prize.
But that's just the beginning. With victory comes instant fame.
"And a lot more money and a lot more sponsors," said 22-year-old Anthony Tashnick, who won the Mavericks contest in 2005. "It's all good. But (winning) also really raised people's expectations. That's been the hardest part, dealing with that."
For last year's victory, Baker used a 9-foot board hand-shaped by local surfer Cone.
"I told him he could keep it if he reached the finals," Cone said, "but he did one better than that and won."
Providing the winning board didn't markedly improve Cone's Pacifica business; he already has all he can handle and a three-month waiting list, he said.
"But the publicity didn't hurt," added Cone, who surfs Mavericks every chance he gets in preparation for the contest.
"I was out there three times last week," he said. "It's an obsession. But I don't know if we can match last year. It will be difficult to get a day as perfect as last year's (contest)."
Mavericks easily ranks in the top three of all big-wave events, along with Hawaii's Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Memorial and South Africa's Red Bull Big Wave Africa.
The trappings and attention make producing the event far more complicated. But to those who were here from the beginning, the heart still beats true.
"Mavericks has always been so much more than this contest," said organizer Katherine Clark, Jeff's ex-wife and still a contest partner. "Mavericks has always had a soul all its own that goes way beyond everything else. Its spirit is still the same."
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