“It’s the greatest sporting event on Earth,” said Greg Long in 2024, as he officially announced his retirement from The Eddie. “I’ve been getting invites for 20-years, and winning the Eddie was the biggest achievement of my career.”

When I attended The Eddie in 2024, I wrote this to finish the day;

“As the sun finally fell behind distant clouds, the visitors packed up their couches, and the scaffolding fell at the hands of determined aunties, I watched Moana Jones Wong sign the shirts of a dozen smiling children. 

How many little girls decided this afternoon that, one day, they want to surf Waimea too? How many little boys watching from the sand will now ask their fathers, sheepish and excited, if he can take them surfing for the first time? The Eddie was always intended to be a distinct junction, a planetary surfing memory, around which a hundred thousand other moments orbit. It is rooted in something absolute and carnal, in the magnetic courage that bellows from the belly of surfing.

Despite the rampaging vampire of commercialism, despite the ego-bridled surf industry politics, the legacy of a man who sacrificed his life for others remains unifying. The universal allure of the Eddie suggests that ours is still a world where the mark of a man’s worth is how willing he is to seek triumph in the face of certain obliteration.”

Rip Curl is once again fronting the cost of propping up surfing’s Super Bowl — and today they announced the 2026/27 invitee list.

Thank God. Or Kathmandu. Or… the spirit of Eddie himself?

The event has a three-month window within which to run, from December 6, 2026, to March 4, 2027. In its 41-year history, the event has been held 11 times.

“With El Niño continuing to intensify as we head towards winter, this season definitely holds a lot of promise,” said Contest Director Keone Downing.

You can read our full story on El Niño here.

2026/27 INVITEES

Alphabetical order

1. Aaron Gold (Hawaii)
2. Annie Reickert (Hawaii)
3. Ben Wilkinson (Australia)
4. Billy Kemper (Hawaii)
5. Bruce Irons (Hawaii)
6. Chad Keaulana (Hawaii)
7. Eala Stewart (Hawaii)
8. Eli Olson (Hawaii)
9. Emily Erickson (Hawaii)
10. Ezekiel Lau (Hawaii)
11. Felicity Palmateer (Australia)
12. Grant Twiggy Baker (South Africa)
13. Ha’a Aikau (Hawaii)
14. Ian Walsh (Hawaii)
15. Jake Maki (Hawaii)
16. Jamie Mitchell (Australia)
17. Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii)
18. Joey Cadiz (Hawaii)
19. John John Florence (Hawaii)
20. Kai Lenny (Hawaii)
21. Koa Rothman (Hawaii)
22. Landon McNamara (Hawaii)
23. Luke Shepardson (Hawaii)
24. Makua Rothman (Hawaii)
25. Mark Healey (Hawaii)
26. Mason Ho (Hawaii)
27. Matahi Drollet (Tahiti)
28. Nathan Florence (Hawaii)
29. Paige Alms (Hawaii)
30. Ross Clarke-Jones (Australia)
31. Seth Moniz (Hawaii)
32. Tom Lowe (England)

2026/27 ALTERNATES

Men

1. Torrey Meister (Hawaii)
2. Kala Grace (Hawaii)
3. Cliff Kapono (Hawaii)
4. Kaiwi Berry (Hawaii)
5. Russell Bierke (Australia)
6. Josh Moniz (Hawaii)
7. Tyer Larronde (Hawaii)
8. Ivan Florence (Hawaii)
9. Lucas Chianca (Brazil)
10. Tiger Doerner (Hawaii)
11. Mikey O’Shaugnessy (Hawaii)
12. Barron Mamiya (Hawaii)
13. Nic Von Rupp (Portugal)
14. Francisco Porcella (Hawaii)
15. Mitch Sanborn (Hawaii)
16. Steve Roberson (Hawaii)
17. Kipp Caddy (Australia)
18. Koa Smith (Hawaii)
19. Isamu Sumi (Japan)
20. Jojo Roper (USA)

Women

1. Laura Enever (Australia)
2. Bianca Valenti (USA)
3. Tiare Lawrence (Hawaii)
4. Makani Adric (Hawaii)
5. Justine Dupont (France)