Historic Big Wave Pe’ahi Challenge
In its 2nd year as a World Surf League sponsored event, the Big Wave Pe’ahi Challenge gathers all of the world’s best big wave surfers in one place. Held at the world famous surf break just off Pauwela Point is Pe’ahi or more affectionally known as Jaws (because the waves will chew you up).
What makes the event so unique is the contestants have to paddle into the wave which raises the level of difficulty. Typically, when surfing places like Jaws, surfers like to get towed into the wave by jet ski which helps them with gaining speed and not having to pop up from their paddling postion.
“To run WSL Big Wave events, we require swells and storm systems of immense size and energy,” said Peter Mel, the tour’s commissioner. “These are dynamic entities that change frequently. We have been monitoring this system very closely and have determined to focus the entire event for Friday (November 11) morning where we will have the biggest and best conditions.”
Here’s a #GoPro clip from the @WSL #PeahiChallenge 🌊🏄 @GoPro A video posted by Kai Lenny (@kai_lenny) on Nov 12, 2016 at 11:53am PST
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Local boy & all around waterman Kai Lenny at this year’s event
Billy Kemper makes it 2 out of 2 as he has claimed the 2016 Pe’ahi Challenge title!
The men’s final had six surfers vying for the coveted title. On his first wave, Kemper scored a perfect 10 for a flawless ride. His second attempt was near perfct, he scored another barrel that earned him a 9.07.
With an incredible score of 29.07 points, the rest of the field were left chasing an almost perfect score. With the win, Billy Kemper jumped from 9th to first in the 2016/2017 Big Wave Tour rankings.
Billy’s barrel
Billy Kemper on his win:
“I’ve trained so hard for the last eight weeks. I feel 100% this year, and I didn’t last year. I’m over the moon, and I just surfed with a few of my heroes and pioneers of this sport – Greg and Twiggy. I didn’t know I was winning, so I just went for it on that last wave. This is what I live for right here. I’ve never felt this good in my life, and I came here to win again and I did. I grew up here – this is my back yard and my blood, sweat, and tears.”
Paige Alms also makes history as the 1st woman to win the title as this is the 1st year the competition has been opened to women.
Alms wiped out the competition with 2nd and 3rd place finishers coming nowhere near Alm’s score of 21.66.
Paige Alms on surfing in front of her home crowd:
“The pressure comes from within. I wanted to put on a good show and make sure we represented women well. That was the pressure for me. It wasn’t about winning the contest. My friends tried to put that pressure on me. But it was about having those empty lineups, choosing the waves you want with other girls. When I won, I felt like I won for everyone.”
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