Last week saw the world’s two biggest big-wave surf contests heading in opposite directions. The Mavericks Surf Contest remains in limbo due to financial difficulties in finding a sponsor, although the Godfather of Mavericks, Jeff Clark, and the rest of the crew remain confident that they’ll have their opening ceremonies in January.

Over in Hawaii, The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau (message to the folks at Quiksilver HQ: Please come up with a better, and shorter, name for this contest) held their opening ceremonies to commemorate the start of the waiting period for the big-wave contest over the weekend.

The opening ceremonies didn’t have Eddie Vedder joining in on the fun this year, but the invitees were there, and in addition to paying homage to both Aikau and other surfers who have fallen there, the invited riders were beyond stoked to be invited to the most prestigious of big-wave contests.

“Even though this event doesn’t happen every year, this special gathering does and allows all of us to come together and honer Aikau,” said Kelly Slater, star of the event.

Surf forecasters are very optimistic that there will be a contest this year. Massive storms have been a-brewin’ in the North Pacific, with Sunset Beach picking up huge swells just last week. Photos are courtesy of former Mavericks Surf Contest champion and new invitee Grant “Twiggy” Baker.