2014 Billabong XXL Wipeout Of The Year Nominees

It’s the guiltiest pleasure of the year. Big-wave surfing is, at its finest, a cross between calculation and spontaneity. It’s about doing every little thing you can to ensure you’re ready for an XXL opportunity. It’s about trusting in that, about the consequential confidence. And when the day comes, it’s about having the cashews to throw instinct out the window, to swing and to go. It’s a wild dance and one worth celebrating.

But sometimes not. Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, no matter how salted your cashews, things go south. Your calculations are set ablaze and your body takes a trip to the bottom of the ocean. You eat shit. It is without further ado that we present you with the 2014 Billabong XXL Wipeout of the Year nominees — the most cherished missteps of the entire season. While it feels strange to reward somebody for floundering, it feels even stranger to look away. You probably won’t have to take our word for it.

Check back for analysis on the more effective XXL categories.

Shawn Dollar, Maverick’s.

Alex Martins, Maverick’s.

Jamie Mitchell, Belharra.

Alain Riou, Teahupoo.

Koa Rothman, Teahupoo.