Oakley/ASL Big Wave Awards Are Off to a Cracking Start

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 June, 2006 : - - Gold Coast, Queensland, The Oakley/ASL Big Wave Awards, Australia's premier giant wave challenge, has taken off with a bang in its first few weeks, with massive rides already being recorded.

First off the mark was New Zealand surfers Daniel Kereopa, Doug Young, Oscar Smith and Kyle Davidson. On June 15 these four and several buddies charged solid four to six metre surf at Papatowai, near the South Island's Dunedin.

ASL senior photographer Cory Scott was on the spot to record the session and reported perfect surf in near-freezing conditions, warmed only by the heat of the riders' performances. "Daniel paddle surfed it for eight hours straight," Cory said. "We asked him if he wanted a ride out (on a jet ski) and he said no, he wanted to warm up by paddling." The move paid off, with Kereopa picking up a huge one to make him an early favourite for the $5,000 paddle-in ride Award.

Damien Warr : photo Jamie Scott - (click image to enlarge)

Young, a former winner of the paddle-in award, is in the running again too. He racked up a big one, before taking a nasty wipe-out and breaking ribs in the process. "The NZ guys are super enthusiastic," says Awards co-ordinator Nick Carroll. "They know what they're doing but they've also got that desire to take it on which seems to win the Awards each year. I'm pretty sure Doug will be back next swell no matter what."

No sooner had that swell backed down than renowned West Australian WCT pro Jake Paterson racked up an absolute colossus of a wave.

Tow-surfing an offshore bombora reef near his Yallingup home, "Jake the Snake" was frankly stunned to find himself on board such a behemoth. "The swell (forecast) was reading pretty well, with some size and a long interval," Jake said afterward. "But I didn't think it was going to be that big … the wave eventually ran me down and 'rag-dolled' me like nothing else, it was one of the worst wipe-outs of my life!"

Kyle Davidson : photo Cory Scott - (click image to enlarge)

Fellow West Australians Damien "Taco" Warr and Alex Cater also nabbed potential winning rides on the day. Talk is that the session may have produced the biggest waves ever ridden in Australian waters. Yet with the winter big-wave season only just underway, the Oakley/ASL Big Wave Awards teams will be fired up to take it a step or two beyond in coming months.

The Oakley/ASL Big Wave Awards is an ongoing seven month challenge to reward the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters. It runs from June 1, 2006 to February 1, 2007. $30,000 total prize money will be awarded to winning surfers and photographers at a gala presentation on the Gold Coast following the judging process in March 2007.

Jake Paterson : photo Jamie Scott - (click image to enlarge)

About Oakley
Oakley, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance sunglasses, prescription frames, goggles and technology-enabled eyewear that utilize the company's High Definition Optics® (HDO®), a collective platform of patented technologies that offer unbeatable optical performance.  The company also produces technical and active apparel, footwear and accessories.  

www.oakley.com.au  
www.surfinglife.com.au/bigwaveawards

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Cassandra Murnieks

Big Wave News - Surfersvillage