Press release:
IRVINE, CA – (February 6, 2013) – The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards is proud to announce Pacifico Beer as the presenting sponsor of the event, as well as the title sponsor of the prestigious Pacifico Paddle Award and Pacifico Tube Award. Entries in those XXL categories can be reviewed today on the all-new event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.
“I believe Pacifico is the perfect partner for the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards as it is synonymous with the beach lifestyle,” said Graham Stapelberg, Billabong’s Global Marketing Manager. “It would be hard to find a big wave enthusiast who hasn’t celebrated an epic day of surf with an ice cold Pacifico. It’s an ideal fit.”
“Pacifico’s roots have always been entwined in the surfing culture, so being a part of the top big wave event in the world seems very natural for us,” said Santiago Gallo, Pacifico’s Brand Director. “Pacifico was introduced to the US by traveling surfers who discovered it in Mexico, and we look forward to continuing our involvement in the surfing community by supporting the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards.”
Pacifico’s partnership with the XXL event comes at an opportune time for the event. Recent entries into the competition have taken the last year of big waves to a level that somehow has managed to clearly surpass 2012’s landmark achievements, and has sent public awareness of big wave surfing into the stratosphere.
Highlights so far include entries from the monumental June swell which hit Cloudbreak during the Volcom Fiji Pro, forcing cancellation of the ASP event and allowing the world’s best big wave chargers to paddle into some of the biggest tubes ever challenged. The stakes rose ever higher during an unprecedented early October swell at Jaws on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where a crew of hardy watermen paddled into waves which just a couple of years ago were thought to be only possible with the use of a jet ski. In December, yet another harrowing paddle session took place at the Cortes Bank, in the open ocean 100 miles off the California coast. And just last week tow-in exploits in Portugal and Ireland lit up the internet with astonishing images of man versus the sea.
“After last year’s XXL where Nathan Fletcher won big with his Tahitian tube and Garrett McNamara set a new world record with his wave in Portugal, I didn’t think it could get any better,” said Bill Sharp, Event Director of the Billabong XXL Awards. “But I was wrong. We still have six prime weeks to go in the event period, but the waves that have shown up so far this year are pretty much the biggest and best ever, and the performance level of the surfers – especially in the paddle realm – has risen ever higher. Narrowing it all down to five nominees in each division is going to be incredibly difficult, but that’s a good problem to have.”
Spectacular video and photo entries from the key swell events are now on the www.BillabongXXL.com site, ready to be analyzed. The Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards are open to any wave ridden at any spot in the world, and are judged later, based on the visual evidence. Categories in the event include awards for Pacifico Paddle, Pacifico Tube, XXL Biggest Wave, Surfline Overall Performance, Billabong Girls Performance, Best Wipeout and the top-line $50,000 Ride of the Year. Nominees will be announced in late March and the invitation-only gala awards ceremony will take place on May 3, 2013 at the Grove Theater in Anaheim, California. A one-hour highlight show will air on the ESPN networks in June.
The 2013 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented by Pacifico Beer. Additional sponsors of the event include Air Tahiti Nui, Pelican Products, Surfline and Surfing Magazine.
Click HERE to see all the entries on the BillabongXXL.com website
Click HERE to join in and “Like” the XXL at www.facebook.com/BillabongXXL
