Before pro surfing became a tour, it was a loose collection of events staged around the world by independent organisers. Bells had been running since 1963, The Duke Invitational since 1965, South Africa’s Gunston 500 since 1969, and the Pipeline Masters since 1973.

It took the upwardly mobile imagination of Peter Townend, assisted by Kanga Cairns, Fred Hemmings, and Randy Rarick, to classify those individual contests a ‘tour’, each with allotted points, and then award the surfer who’d accrued the most points the world champion - which was PT of course.

The object here isn’t to chuckle once more at PT’s chutzpah but to show, at least in hindsight, how obvious it is to align various stakeholders under one united banner. Organisers benefitted from increased attention, so did sponsors, surfers reaped the windfall, and performances were sharpened by heightened competition. 

So of course there should be a pro surfing tour. The idea just makes sense.

Fred Hemmings (left) presenting Peter Townend with his world champion trophy for winning the 1976 world tour. The photo was taken in the Waikiki Outrigger Canoe Club and the trophy was hastily grabbed from a trophy cabinet then turned around for the camera - note there's no engraving plate.

After running individual big wave contests at Todos Santos in Mexico and Dungeons in South Africa, Gary Linden, freshly inspired from watching ‘Bustin’ Down The Door’, followed PT’s lead and aligned various stakeholders to create the Big Wave World Tour (BWWT).

“I want big wave surfing to be a sport,” Linden told Jamie Mitchell on The Late Drop podcast. “If you don’t have a world champion you're not considered a sport.”

Kicking off in 2009, the four-stop tour included Punta de Lobos, Pico Alto, Mavericks, and Todos. Carlos Burle was crowned world champion. Big wave surfing was, at least by Linden’s definition, now officially a sport.

Four years later, in 2013, the BWWT managed to woo the newly formed WSL. Linden gifted his tour to the Woz, who ran it till 2019 when it was junked - or as they diplomatically called it “reimagined”. Essentially the BWWT was stripped back to two standalone contests.

In 2016, Greg Long won his second Big Wave World Title, taking home a $100,000 winner's cheque. Three years later the tour was scrapped.

The reason for this historical lesson is the recent developments of a reformed big wave tour, of sorts. Called the Big Wave Alliance it’s again initiated by Gary Linden, and again it unites existing yet disparate big wave events. Linden is even talking the same talk.

“Sporting activity isn’t considered a real sport without a champion,” Linden told Stab. “I want big wave riding to be recognised as a sport, and we need a champion.”

The difference this time…or at least one of the differences, is that instead of forming a governing body, each contest will be organised and administered by existing locals, who’ll use their own rules and judging criteria, though they’ll send their winners to a final contest run by the Alliance at a rotating location each year. That contest will decide the world champion.

At present there are six contests: Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Portugal, Spain. That means no Hawaii, no California, no Australia, though Linden says that may change as there are twelve spots in the final, meaning there’s room for contests in six more countries.

A worthy digression: In 2013, Linden sought to include an Australian big wave location on the BWWT. He flew in for a town hall meeting where locals overwhelmingly rejected the idea. It's hard to see that changing.

Gary Linden, Jaws, 2015 - he was 65 at the time (Fred Pompermayer)

The other difference is that it’s not actually a tour. That is, unlike the Championship Tour or the old Big Wave World Tour, surfers won’t be travelling to various contests accruing points along the way. It’s essentially a one contest world championship with the entrants decided by winning their local contest.

By having no governing body, the Alliance spares itself the burden of finding event sponsorship and underwriting various costs. By the same token, without any continuity the Alliance contests will be a hodgepodge of style and presentation. This wasn’t a problem in Peter Townend’s day, yet in the internet era where audiences are reached via webcast, the lack of standardisation may present an issue.

Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca winning this year's Big Wave Mormaii contest at Praia do Cardoso, Brazil. Next year it will be part of the Big Wave Alliance (Marcio David)

Right now, big wave surf competitions are in an unusual place. Big waves are the most publicly relatable aspect of surfing, they’re exciting, the idea of a tour makes sense in the same way the original pro tour did, and yet a tour hasn’t proven workable.

In his aforementioned chat with Jamie Mitchell, Gary Linden laid the blame for the BWWT’s demise on the WSL over-investing in events. That may be true, but it’s also true that the capricious nature of big waves played its part. 

Despite a busy schedule, most events on the old Big Wave World Tour didn’t run due to a lack of waves. For example, in the first three years of the WSL administering the BWWT, twenty-one events were scheduled (six in 2014, seven in 2016, eight in 2016), yet just eight overall contests were held.

This infrequency works for the Eddie Aikau Invitational - in fact the run rates are almost identical - however the sponsor’s expectations are entirely different. Lacking the prestige of a fallen waterman, sponsors of the BWWT walked until the tour was no more.

Into the void came video contests such as the XXL Awards and Bill Sharp’s latest idea, the Surfer Big Wave Challenge. Online awards sidestep the issue of run dates, yet they sit awkwardly against the ubiquitous nature of social media. Sure, the year’s best big waves can be awarded by a panel of judges but the surprise element isn’t there as the audience has seen them all before.

The ace up the Alliance’s sleeve is that when the Final of the Big Wave Alliance runs, it’ll have the advantage of being the only real-time international big wave contest. The whole thing is a gamble but there’s less at stake then past big wave ventures.

If it all goes to plan, by mid-2025 the BWA will crown a world champion and big wave surfing will once again be considered a sport. Of course, that distinction brings its own set of criticisms.

//STU NETTLE

More info: The Big Wave Alliance will follow the financial year. The current season is already underway with the waiting period for the Chile running since July (it was due to close in August but has been extended to October)

The Nazare Big Wave Journey - a paddle contest - Punta Galea Challenge and La Vaca Gigante, both in Spain, all have waiting periods over the northern hemisphere winter. The waiting period for the Thriller at Killers, held at Todos Santos, is January and February 2025, with the CBSurf Big Wave Mormaii at Praia do Cardoso, Brazil, being held later in April 2025.