On Friday April 11th, at the Billabong XXL Awards we saw the biggest chargers of the surfing world applauded and awarded for their achievements in big wave surfing. I heard it was quite a party, with the usual debauchery, but what better way to honor these guys that travel around the world charging the biggest waves. The crazy thing is, most of these guys are soft spoken, centered guys, not loud, amping maniacs. They are great surfers and deserve every bit of respect.

Here's the $50,000 Ride of the Year by Shane Dorian.
The 2008 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year Nominees - Shane Dorian

Local San Clemente chargers took the prizes for Biggest Wave and Biggest Paddle-In Wave.
Mike Parsons- Biggest Wave at 70Ft!
The 2008 Billabong XXL BIGGEST WAVE Nominees - Mike Parsons

Greg Long for Biggest Paddle-In wave at Todos Santos
The 2008 Monster Paddle Wave Nominees - Greg Long

Let's see what happens this year. Will is go down in Chile, Tahiti, France, Hawaii...or Cortex again???

Tags: Billabong XXL

The annual Billabong XXL Awards nominees have just been announced. It seems that each year the rides just get more incredible! Can you imagine seeing one of these waves in person? I can't, but the videos will do for now, and maybe someday I'l find myself sitting in the channel watching Teahupoo do it's thing.

Click on the different thumbnails to view all of the nominees in each category.

Ride of the Year:
The 2008 Billabong XXL Ride of the Year Nominees - Shane Dorian

Biggest Wave:
The 2008 Billabong XXL BIGGEST WAVE Nominees - Grant Baker
All I have to say is...I can't believe the Cortez Bank waves!!

Monster Paddle-In:
The 2008 Monster Paddle Wave Nominees - Greg Long

Tags: Billabong XXL