Every year, the world’s best heavy-water chargers gather in one room to honor the best big-wave performances of the year. On Saturday night this elite tribe will be taking over the ballroom of the Pasea Hotel in Huntington Beach for the invitation-only awards show. Big Wave Tour World Champions Grant Baker and Paige Alms will be in attendance, not to mention dozens of nominees from a variety of categories including Billabong Ride of the Year, Biggest Paddle, TAG Heuer XXL Biggest Wave, Surfline Men’s Best Overall Performance, Women’s Best Overall Performance, Tube of the Year and the TAG Heuer Wipeout of the Year. The nominees come from every corner of the globe, including California, Tasmania, Portugal, Hawaii, Mexico, Tahiti and Fiji. It’s an evening filled with jaw dropping highlights, and one you’re not going to want to miss. Watch all the nominated rides at BigWaveAwards.com.

The event will stream live Saturday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. PST / 11:00 p.m. EST via www.WorldSurfLeague.com and the WSL’s Facebook page.

2017 WSL BIG WAVE AWARDS NOMINEES BY CATEGORY

The Billabong Ride of the Year is the top-line category of the event and is awarded to the surfer who demonstrates the most advanced and committed level of big wave surfing during a successful ride, as judged by available video-footage. While raw size is taken into consideration, it is ultimately the level of performance that is rewarded. The category carries the biggest prize of the Big Wave Awards with $75,000 for the winner, $20,000 for second place, $15,00 for third, $10,000 for fourth and $5,000 for fifth place. The first place videographer will receive $6,000, second place will receive $2,500, $2,000 for third place, $1,500 for fourth and $1,000 for fifth.

BILLABONG RIDE OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES:
Surfer prizes total $125,000 – Videographer prizes total $13,000
Ben Andrews (Morro Bay, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on November 9, 2016.
(Video by Curt Myers.
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Nazaré, Portugal on December 22, 2016
(Video by Nuno Dias. Billy Kemper (Haiku, Hawaii, USA) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on November 11, 2016.
(Video by Etienne Aurelius.)
Jamie Mitchell (Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia) at Puerto Escondido, Mexico on June 24, 2016.
(Video by WSL Video Team.
Francisco Porcella (Sardegna, Italy) at Nazaré, Portugal on February 28, 2017
(Video by Javier Goya.)

The Paddle Award goes to the surfer who paddles into and successfully rides the biggest wave of the year. The winning surfer will receive $30,000 and the $5,000 will go to the photographer who captured the ride. This year’s nominees showcased fearless displays of big wave surfing with rides at Maverick’s and Nazaré.

PADDLE AWARD NOMINEES:
Surfer prize $30,000 – Photographer prize $5,000
Ben Andrews (Morro Bay, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on November 9, 2016.
(Photos by Michael Andrew, Fred Pompermayer and Todd Turner. Video by Curt Myers.)
Trevor Sven Carlson (Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA) at Nazaré, Portugal on December 17, 2016.
(Photos by Rafael Elias, Vitor Estrelinha and Guilherme Soares. Video by Andreas Jansen.)
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Nazaré, Portugal on December 22, 2016.
(Photos by Bruno Aleixo, André Botelho, Andrea Carminati, Pedro Cruz and Pedro Miranda. Video by Nuno Dias.)
Christopher Mashburn (San Diego, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on January 26, 2017.
(Photos by Nikki Brooks, Silvin Morgan, Fred Pompermayer, Frank Quirarte and Todd Turner. Video by Blakeney Sanford.)
Jamie Mitchell (Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia) at Nazaré, Portugal on December 20, 2016.
(Photos by Bruno Aleixo, André Botelho and Guilherme Soares. Video by WSL Video Team.)

The TAG Heuer XXL Biggest Wave Award goes to the surfer who, by any means available, catches and rides the biggest wave of the year and includes four incredible entries from Nazaré and one from Jaws in Maui. The winner will receive a $25,000 prize and the photographer of the ride will receive a $5,000 prize.

TAG HEUER XXL BIGGEST WAVE AWARD NOMINEES:
Surfer prize $25,000 – Photographer prize $5,000
Trevor Sven Carlson (Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA) at Nazaré, Portugal on December 23, 2016.
(Photo by Vitor Estrelinha.)
Kai Lenny (Paia, Hawaii, USA) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on November 8, 2016.
(Photos by Aaron Lynton and Fred Pompermayer. Video by Marcus Rodrigues.)
Francisco Porcella (Sardegna, Italy) at Nazaré, Portugal on February 28, 2017.
(Photos by Bruno Aleixo, Pedro Bala, André Botelho, Silvino Esperanca and Rafael Riancho. Video by Timelapse Media.)
Sebastian Steudtner (Nuremberg, Germany) at Nazaré, Portugal on October 24, 2016.
(Photos by Bruno Aleixo, Helio Antonio, Miguel Chaby, Rafael Riancho and Hugo Silva. Video by Timelapse Media.)
Hugo Vau (Terceira, Azores, Portugal) at Nazaré, Portugal on October 24, 2016.
(Photos by Mauro Correia, Pedro Cruz and João Serpa. Video by Timelapse Media.)