The SURFER Big Wave Challenge: The Future Is Now

Like most every other aspect of surfing at the moment, the state of big-wave riding is hurdling forward. New frontiers are being explored, performance barriers are being shattered, and thanks to innovations in technology and safety protocols, bigger and bigger waves are being tackled.

"Every major swell, we see guys like Chumb, Nathan Florence, Kai Lenny and Albee Layer doing things that we couldn't even imagine happing in a video game," surmised world record holder Justine Dupont. "I’d say the performance level of women is also evolving a lot and progressing fast. In some ways, it’s still early days, but as the number of women riding big waves in- creases, the potential is incredible."

That brings us to the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge. A compendium of the most heroic rides from the 2023/24 El Nino winter, in the 25-year history of the Challenge we've never seen so many different surfers and locations represented. From the more notorious breaks like Jaws, Maverick's and Nazare, to 21st century heavy-water locales such as Mullaghmore Head in Ireland and Shipsterns Bluff in Tasmania, the global hunt for waves of unusual size and stature continues in full force.

"A generation or two ago, all of it happened on the North Shore of Oahu, mostly at Waimea Bay, where it was easy to stay up to speed. But with big-wave surfing going global and epic rides as likely to happen in Portugal, Chile, Tasmania, Tahiti, Mexico or Morocco, the old coconut wireless doesn’t keep up," explains Big Wave Challenge founder Bill Sharp. "And that’s where we find ourselves today with the SURFER Big Wave Challenge providing the scoop in near real time and truly celebrating the global community of big wave surfing."

Not just another awards show, the SURFER Big Wave Challenge offers a barometer of the pursuit. In 1997, Taylor Knox bagged a 52-foot paddle behemoth at Todos Santos, Mexico, blew minds and even ended up on the cover of SURFER. A lot's changed since '97, and that's why we're all here -- to keep pushing the sport ever forward.

The celebration kicks off on Saturday, October 19, when the SURFER Big Wave Challenge awards ceremony lands in Nazare, Portugal. Sharp will be on hand to be the master of ceremonies, while surfers like Dupont and Nic Von Rupp have been tapped to help present some of the awards. Watch the show live on SURFER TV and FUEL TV (show starts at 9:00pm local time).

Stay tuned for results, behind-the-scenes stories and all the action from the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge. It's on!