Shane Dorian’s gargantuan barrel at Jaws in October last year grabbed headlines once again at the 2013 Billabong XXL Awards, the ceremony of which took place Friday 3 May at the Grove Theatre in California.
Pulling into a 30-foot wave on a ten-foot plus board was all Shane needed to do to clinch both the Ride of the Year and the Pacifico Tube Award at the world’s most prestigious Big Wave awards, pocketing a tidy US$55,000 for his bravery and skill.
SA’s big wave-riding star Grant Twiggy Baker was nominated in both the Surfline Men’s Performance and Pacifico Paddle Award, but his entries were overshadowed by the largest wave ever paddled into – a 61-foot world record-breaking behemoth at Cortes Bank by Shawn Dollar, and an undoubtedly brilliant big wave season by Greg Long, which saw the Californian stare death in the face during the same record-breaking Cortes Bank session that Twiggy was also a part of.
Shawn Dollar’s 61 foot monster at Cortes Bank.
Proving that big waves is not all just about oozing testosterone was Keala Kennely, who claimed yet another XXL award for Billabong Girl’s Best Performance.
Keala Kennelly charging at Jaws, and a deserved win in the Billabong Girl’s Best Performance category.
Here’s a full list of 2013 Billabong XXL Award winners:
2013 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year:
Shane Dorian – Jaws/Peahi, Maui (US$50,000)
video by Elliot Leboe (US$55,000)
2013 Pacifico Paddle Champion:
Shawn Dollar – Cortes Bank, CA (US$20,000)
photo by Frank Quirarte ((US$4,000)
2013 XXL Biggest Wave Champion:
Shawn Dollar – Cortes Bank, CA (US$10,000)
photo by Rob Keith (US$4,000)
2013 Pacifico Tube Champion:
Shane Dorian – Jaws/Peahi, Maui (US$5,000)
photo by Fred Pompermayer (US$2,000)
2013 Mens Performance Champion:
Greg Long – San Clemente (US$5,000)
2013 Womens Performance Champion:
Keala Kennelly – Hanalei, Hawaii (US$5,000)
2013 XXL Wipeout Champion:
Chris Shanahan – The Right, Western Australia (US$2,000)
video by Darren McCagh (US$1,000)
For more, check out: www.billabongxxl.com
