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Can Kemper, Alms Continue To Dominate Jaws Big Wave Challenge?
The waiting period for the Jaws Big Wave Challenge is officially underway, and with El Niño conditions on tap this winter, it could be one for the history books. The premiere big wave paddle surf contest on the planet, Maui’s Billy Kemper and Paige Alms have utterly dominated the event over the years, but that just makes them targets for a hungry, well-conditioned herd of competitors.
In total, 24 men and 12 women will compete in the Jaws Big Wave Challenge when it gets the green light. The waiting period runs from now through March 31, 2024, but getting a big, clean day at Jaws, or Pe’ahi as it’s traditionally known, is complicated. There’s a reason the contest hasn’t run the last couple of years. Located in one of the windiest places on Earth, just getting a day of “Maui glass” can be a tall order, never mind how big the spot gets on a sizable northwest swell event. Contest organizers have to wait for just the right size and consistency so it's not too big, but also big enough to be worthy to run (think 50-foot faces)
First run in 2015, Maui’s Ian Walsh is the only other surfer to have won the contest besides Kemper and Alms. But with surfers like Kai Lenny and Nathan Florence presumably in the draw, this could be the year we see a changing of the guard. We've just seen Laura Enever break the record for the largest wave every paddled by a woman, and she's spent the offseason training with friend and Jaws competitor Felicity Palmateer.
In terms of how to win the contest, as Lenny says, “One wave can change everything.” Using a traditional bracket-style format, the Jaws Big Wave Challenge is ostensibly run like everything other surf contest, just with a few minor tweaks. The two main differences are that the score of a surfer’s best wave in a heat is doubled, putting a heavier weight on catching a really big, really terrifying wave.
The other main difference between the Jaws Big Wave Challenge and a Championship Tour event is the judging. Most contests put an emphasis on “speed, power and flow.” In this contest the judges will be looking at commitment, degree of difficulty, intensity and size of the wave, control, and lastly, maneuvers.
The pieces are in place for another epic showdown at Jaws, now we just need the Pacific to cooperate.
