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Billabong’s Freewave Challenge
Billabong’s Freewave Challenge threw a twist into surfing competitions and opened up the doors for all competitors, surfers and videographers alike, to win some serious prize money outside of the arena of typical contest surfing. The competition officially began on Oct 1st of last year and is now in its judging period.
Taking place in surfing’s epicenter, the North Shore of Oahu, contestants had from Oct. 1 until the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31st to submit video of themselves on their best waves. The competition is broken down into two categories: Best Performance Ride and Best Tube Ride. Any worthy ride on a wave not occurring during a regular surfing contest is eligible.
With out any qualifying tour, elimination rounds, or any ’standard’ of what constitutes the best ride, this contest became one of the most inclusive and gave equal chance to local-legends and pro-surfers alike. Video clips of contender rides were required to be uploaded to the FreewaveChallenge.com hub by registered videographers in the specified time period where they were to be viewed and rated by surfers and fans from all over the world. Now that the entry period has concluded the most popular and frequently viewed videos are being judged by some of the top names and top journalists in the industry. The winners will be announced at an awards party later this month and $40,000 in cash and prizes will be given to the winning surfers and videographers.
With so much being made yearly about the standard used to judge the majority of surfings big events, it will be interesting to see what ends up being deemed the best ride. It also opens up the door for surfers who aren’t as well known and may not be ‘contest’ surfers to throw down something sick and walk away with a big stash of loot and a lot of recognition. And it appears Billabong has been quite pleased with the success of this new style of contest as they will announce the date and location of the next Freewave Challenge at its awards party.
Tags: Billabong
Posted by Cameron on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 in Brands, Surfing.
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