INTERNATIONAL SURFING ASSOCIATIONæ Surfing's World Governing Authorityæ æ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Video clips and photos available to media) æ REEF BIG WAVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HELD IN GIGANTIC WAVES æ BIGGEST WAVES EVER SURFED IN COMPETITION ?...æ æ Todos Santos Island, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico (February 16, 1998) - History was made Monday, February 16th at "Killers" surf spot on the island of Todos Santos in Baja California, Mexico, sight of the Reef Big Wave Team World Championship '98. æ The biggest waves ever surfed in competition on the West Coast shocked the surfing world and media on hand to witness this historic event; æ The biggest, best waves I've ever seen - Taylor Knox, World Surfing Games Champion. Best surf event since the first Eddie Aikau Memorial - Brook Little, Big Wave Legend All time Todos - Mike Parsons, Todos Santos pioneer The best big waves ever - Peter Mel, Professional big wave surfer 26 rolls of A+ film, best day ever. - Rob Brown, photographer, Surfing Magazine The first, the biggest, the best - Dr. Mark Bracker If it gets any bigger, I don't want to be in the event." Terrence McNulty, professional surfer Topped the Smirnoff in 74 - Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholemew, 1977 World Champion, event judge We played our best cards...and Neptune dealt us an ace - Cadu Villela, Executive Director. I.S.A Fate was on our side, Best event ever - Ben Siegfried, photographer, Surfer Magazine It's good to see somebody finally make it happen - Evan Slater, Managing Editor, Surfer Magazine æ Waves of 20 - 25 feet (40 - 50 feet on the face) slammed into the coast of Northern Baja as the relentless "El Niöo" winter continues, The huge waves, combined with many of the best big wave surfers in the world, caused for some of the most memorable surfing, and wipe-outs, ever witnessed. Welcome to 'Killers, go home alive! - exclaimed contest director and renowned surfboard shaper Gary Linden after the event drew to a climactic end. æ The tone of the event was set in the first heat of the day Monday, the second and final day of competition. Within the first 5 minutes of the heat an enormous wave of 50+ foot on the face caught the four competitors by surprise, breaking on top of them. Four of the best big wave surfers in the world, Hawaiian's Brock Little and Shawn Briley and Australians Ross Clarke Jones and Tony Ray were helpless to mother ocean as the wave broke on top of them, smashing one board and breaking the cords of two others, Only Little retained his board, while the others were forced to use back-up boards for the rest of the heat. Briley, in awe of the moment, chose not to paddle back out to the line-up and eliminated himself from the competition. æ Brazilian hell-man Carlos Burle led his team to victory and the gold medal in both the team and individual classes by consistently picking off the biggest and best waves in the final heat. In the waning 15 minutes of the one hour final, Burle fought his way into one of the biggest waves of the event to surpass Australia's Tony Ray on his quest to become the first ever "Big Wave World Champion". æ Taylor Knox charged the heaviest and biggest wave of the day, and possibly biggest wave of the winter during the semi finals, placing him as the leading contender for $50,000 cash prize offered by K2 for the biggest wave surfed this winter. Terence McNulty representing Ireland also made his mark on the event with the "Best/Worst Wipeout" award. "Oh My God! screamed U.S. Coach Bruce Walker as McNulty was annihilated by the lip of the wave. æ The format for this event was a two man national team chosen by each countries amateur surfing governing body. 10 teams representing 9 countries (Hawaii was the 10th) made their way from around the world to compete in this event, the first ever of its kind. World renowned big wave surfers Brock Little and Shawn Briley of Hawaii, Ross Clark Jones and Tony Ray of Australia, and Taylor Knox and Peter Mel of the U.S.A. joined a field of 19 surfers to brave the conditions of this remote island which lies directly in the path or the huge "El Niöo" swells. æ Sanctioned and Organized by the International Surfing Association (I.S.A.), the Reef Big Wave Team World Championship '98 is being hailed as equal to, if not better than the previous epic big wave event in history - the 1987 Eddie Aikau Memorial at Waimea Beach on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. "Best event since the first Eddie" exclaimed Brock Little, recognized as the worlds premier big wave surfer, as he made the obvious comparison on the minds of all witnessing the historic event. æ Contributing to the incredible surf which graced "Killers" to make it such a memorable competition were the conditions of the local. Located 12 miles off the coast of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, "Killers" at Todos Santos Island is accessible only by boat. The surfers and media on hand to record the event loaded all their gear onto "Panga" boats to make the one hour trip through 20-30 foot swells on their way to the island. The judges and only the bravest photographers were dropped off 40 yards from the island and forced to swim with their equipment through the 6 foot shorebreak in order to reach the Island. æ As an I.S.A event, surfers representing their countries competed for pride associated with the challenge of competing in giant waves within the tight-knit big wave community. No prize money was at stake, as gold, silver, and bronze medals for both individual and teams were the lure for the competitors. Competing for their countries, the remoteness of location, and life threatening conditions all contributed to the camaraderie felt by all competitors and media on hand. "Viva Todos Los Santos", screamed I.S.A. President Fernando Aguerre, caught up in the excitement of the moment. æ A rescue crew on "wave runners" were on hand to assist the competitors and rescue surfers when in need. "Thank you to the K38 rescue team for saving my life today, twice!" exclaimed eventual champion Burle during the closing ceremonies, æ The event was conceived and executed with the combined efforts of the I.S.A, and Reef Brazil, leading sandal and shoe manufacturer in the Action Sports Industry. "My special thanks to Cadu Villela of the I.S.A and all the staff and competitors for making this special event possible", stated Reef Marketing Manager Alistair Craft, during the awards ceremony, Other sponsors of the event were Scorpion Bay Clothing company, the Mexican Surfing Fiesta, and 976-Surf. æ RESULTS - COUNTRIES: æ 1 - BRAZIL 2 - IRELAND 3 - AUSTRALIA 4 - USA 5 - FRANCE 5 - JAPAN 7 - PORTUGAL 8 - HAWAII 9 - MEXICO 9 - VENEZUELA æ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: æ 1 - Carlos Burle (Brazil) 2 - Tony Ray (Australia) 3 - Terrence McNulty (Ireland) 4 - Joe McNulty (Ireland) 5 - Taylor Knox (USA) 5 - Rodrigo Resende (Brasil) 7 - Guevara Christian (France) 7 - Takao Kuga (Japan)/font>