Team News

Big Wave Contest
Half Moon Bay, California, USA
7 December 2007 - 31/March 2008

Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker takes runner-up spot and Green Room award in 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 January, 2008 : - - South Africa’s top big wave surfer, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker from Durban, added the runner-up spot in the 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest to his growing list of achievements when he was narrowly beaten by good friend Greg Long (California) at the American mainland’s most famous big wave spot of Mavericks in California on Saturday.

The 34 year-old Billabong team rider and defending event champion earned an additional US $1 000 for winning the Clif Bar ‘Green Room’ award for the biggest and deepest tube ride during the event which was voted for and decided by the competitors themselves.

“It's been one crazy week that's for sure,” said Twiggy after the event. “The waves for the event were 15-20 foot, perfectly clean and really standing up in the bowl when they came. But it was quite inconsistent at times so it was a tactical event. The weather was the best I've seen since I came over here a month ago and all in all it was a classic contest day.”

“I won both my heats before the final, which gave me a heat tally of five wins from five heats in my Mavericks career, and I rode one of the biggest waves of the day in my first heat to knock out Peter Mel and Flea and then again in the semi to knock out Anthony Tashnick. So I was pretty confident going into the final.”

“I surfed a good final as well, grabbing two good waves early and then waited for the bomb, which I stuck.  I thought it was in the bag but Greg got that last wave at the end, scored a perfect 10 and beat me by 0.8 points....Close but no cigar this time! Ha Ha.”

“I’m totally stoked with the result … Greg is a good friend and what the two of us achieved this week was amazing,” he added, referring the epic mission to the Cortes Bank seamount 160 kilometres off the coast of Southern California on Sunday 5 January. There he and Long, along with Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach, rode waves estimated at 25 metres (80 foot), arguably the biggest waves ever surfed.

The final on Saturday is deemed one of the most competitive and inspirational in the contest’s history.  Despite the high stakes and back and forth lead changes, camaraderie ultimately stole the spotlight.  It was revealed at the post-event awards ceremony that the six finalists, while looking out at a seemingly flat ocean, agreed to split their shares of the prize purse evenly no matter the outcome.

Shortly thereafter a premier set appeared out of nowhere and Long snagged one of the waves, scoring his 10 point ride to overtake Baker and claim the title. An identical agreement was struck in the final of the Big Wave Africa event at Dungeons in 2003, ironically also won by Long, with both Baker and Hawaiian Jamie Sterling in the final.

Not all the spoils were split evenly however, as Long was awarded the one-of-a-kind high performance Reactor watch and a hand shaped Jeff Clark surfboard at stake for the winner. “The first heat is the biggest hurdle,” said Long who placed third in his opening encounter to reach the semis. “Making the semifinals is a huge accomplishment, but becoming the Mavericks Surf Contest® Champion is a dream come true. I am humbled.”

Sterling took third place followed by 2006 runner-up Tyler Smith, Mavericks legend Grant Washburn and Evan Slater. Sterling was also honored with the Jay Moriarity Award for the intense spirit and passion for big-wave surfing that he exemplifies.

A record number of surf fans enjoyed the action at the beach as thousands descended on Pillar Point. Even more enjoyed the alternate viewing options as more than 250,000 viewed the free live webcast on Myspace.com and over 1,000 people paid $20 to watch the competition on the big screen at the live viewing party at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Results - Final
1.  Greg Long (San Clemente, CAL)  $30 000
2.  Grant Baker (Durban, ZAF)  $12 000
3.  Jamie Sterling (Oahu, HAW)  $7 500
4.  Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz, CAL)  $3 500
5.  Grant Washburn (Half Moon Bay, CAL)  $2 500
6.  Evan Slater (San Clemente, CAL)  $1 500

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