Shane Dorian, Paddle-In at Jaws, Hawaii

Y’heard of the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards? As the name implies, it’s a contest that encourages the riding of extra-large waves. There’s three main categories that make up the contest: – “The Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award will be won by the surfer who, by any means available, catches and successfully rides the single biggest wave of the year based on objective analysis of the available images.” – “The Monster Paddle Award will be won by the surfer who, using arm power alone, paddles into and successfully rides the single biggest wave of the year based on objective analysis and measurement of the available images.” – “The Monster Tube Award will be won by the surfer who successfully rides the single most spectacular tubing wave of the year based on the impact of a single still photo image of the most dramatic moment of the ride…” With the contest window drawing to a close, a recent session at Jaws may prove to have been a last-minute game-changer. Shane Dorian, pictured here, was surfing a paddle session at the Hawaiian outer-reef with Ian Walsh and some other pals when this monster came through. Needless to say, this could be a strong contender for the Monster Paddle award. It’s easily one of the largest waves ever taken with bare hands. Dorian told Surfline of the session: “It’s such a vast lineup and it’s easy to get caught inside by a massive set or be out of position,” Dorian explained. “It was also super hard because there were a lot of guys towing right through us and windsurfers lapping us too. When paddling waves that scary you don’t want to be taking the scraps. I was stoked to get a couple good ones.”