As the summertime doldrums descend upon California, the state’s most-revered (and feared) big-wave spot, Mavericks, has settled in for its annual slumber.
And now, it’s time to look back on the action – and carnage – that went down during the 2023 season; a slow-ish season, to be fair, but still filled with plenty of action.
Cue the schadenfreude; here’s all the worst (best?) wipeouts of the 2023 season.
The compilation comes from the Mavericks Awards, an all-digital competition celebrating the best waves caught during a particular season in a non-traditional format.
According to the Mavericks Awards homepage, the contest goes like this:
“The Mavericks Awards is a digital video performance contest in which big wave surfers and videographers submit their best surf content from Mavericks from the entire winter season.
“Founded by Jeff Clark and Chris Cuvelier, our mission is to celebrate Mavericks and the brave men and women that surf it.
“There are three categories for men and three categories for women with equal prize money for all. Categories include Biggest Wave, Ride of the Year, and Performer of the year. 60% of the prize money is paid to the athlete and 40% is paid to the photographer.”
As for the winners of this year’s season, they are as follows:
Performer of the Year (Male): Alo Slebir
Performer of the Year (Female): Bianca Valenti
Biggest Wave (Male): Greg Long
Biggest Wave (Female): Bianca Valenti
Ride of the Year (Male): Ryan Augenstein
Ride of the Year (Female): Bianca Valenti
Stay tuned for more Mavericks action (and wipeouts) next season.
***
Don’t miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We’re always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you’re a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.