MAVERICKS INVITATIONAL CONTEST: ONE WINDOW CLOSES, OTHER ONE OPENS

Organizers Shift Focus To Mavericks Festival & Inaugural Mavericks Awards

The Mavericks Invitational holding period
closes this week, and though there is a current storm system in place, the likelihood of
contest worthy conditions hitting the break by the 31st is very slim. Though this year’s La
Nina winter did not produce the waves needed to hold the infamous big wave surf
contest, Mavericks Invitational will still celebrate the power of Mavericks and those who
surf the giant liquid mountains.

The group is hosting the first Mavericks Festival, being held outdoors on the grounds of
the Oceana Hotel & Spa in Princeton Harbor, Half Moon Bay, on March 31, the final day
of the contest window.

“There’s very little possibility we will get a swell with the current storm that is hitting the
coast, but realistically there are no significant conditions on the horizon before the
contest window closes.” said Contest Director, Jeff Clark. “We are stoked to have the
opportunity to share the Mavericks season and honor the surfers who challenged the
waves at the Mavericks Festival on the 31st.”

The Mavericks Festival will be emceed by the Bay Area’s own, Eric Byrnes, who’s MLB
career began with the Oakland As, and currently has a nightly show on KNBR from 7pm
– 10pm. The festival will also have a full line-up of bands, surfing video presentations on
the JumboTron, local food vendors, giveaways, Mavericks Invitational gear, and some
very special tributes and presentations.

Festival goers will also be treated to live performances by the bands: Dank Jenkins, Bar
Fight, and The Expendables. Additional information can be found at:

http://mavericksinvitational.com/.

The highlight of the day will be the inaugural Mavericks Awards. The concept behind the
awards is that every year the sport of big wave surfing witnesses a push of progress,
raising the level of performance in one of the world’s most extreme sports. This progress
does not always happen on the contest day. Some of the greatest achievements in big
wave history go unnoticed or can even be overshadowed by the contest itself. The
Mavericks Awards will acknowledge and award those who challenge Mavericks and their
contributions to the sport of big wave surfing.

The 2012 Mavericks Awards categories Include:

• Mavericks Barrel of the Year
• Mavericks Bomb of the Year
• Mavericks Photo of the Year
• Mavericks Female Performer of the Year
• Mavericks Performance of the Year
• 5150 Award (for the most insane wave of the year at Mavericks)

The judging panel for the Mavericks Awards include Jeff Clark, Bruce Jenkins, Matt
Ambrose, Grant Washburn, and Dick Keating, who looked over hours of video footage
and hundreds of still photos taken during the 2011 – 2012 season at Mavericks. The
group unanimously agreed on all the on the top award candidates and winners.

Tickets to the Mavericks Festival are available at Mavericks Surf Shop, 25 Johnson Pier,
Half Moon Bay, or online at http://mavericksinvitational.com/. General admission tickets
are $25 ($35 at the door), and parking will be available for $10 at the Half Moon Bay
Airport, with proceeds benefiting the Coastside Boys & Girls Club.

Mavericks Invitational is the world’s premier, high adrenaline, big wave surfing event.
This one-day, invitation-only surfing competition is held at the legendary Mavericks surf
break located ½ mile offshore at Pillar Point Harbor, just 20 minutes south of San
Francisco. The 24 most daring big-wave surfers in the world will attempt to tame the
massive swells on the biggest and best day of the 2011 / 2012 winter season. For
additional details, visit: http://mavericksinvitational.com/.

Mavericks event slogs forward; Permit OK’d but costly

Burle Mavericks Contest 2010

Clark, who is returning as the contest director this year, said after the meeting that he was pleased with the decision. “I feel really good about this year’s contest, and the group of people we’ve put together to run it,” he said. The group has renamed the 2011-2012 contest as The Mavericks Big Wave Invitational.

While obtaining the contest permit was good news — the “golden ticket,” as Santa Cruz professional big-wave surfer and Mavericks Invitational board member Ken Collins put it — the Harbor District’s move to unexpectedly raise the cost of the permit by $10,000 was a sticking point.

Two months ago, the District quoted the cost of the Mavericks surf contest permit at $20,000. Members of Mavericks Invitational’s Board of Directors spoke to the Harbor Commissioners about what they felt was an unfair hike on the permit fees compared to what the district charged others. “There’s an event this weekend at the harbor with 500 people,” said Rocky Raynor, Mavericks Invitational board member, referring to this Sunday’s debut Half Moon Bay International Marathon. “Their permit cost $250,” he said. “Ours is $30,000.”

Raynor, who is also the head coach of the surf club at Cunha Intermediate School in Half Moon Bay, said that the Mavericks Invitational’s plan involves bringing in revenue to the Harbor District through paid parking and through the group’s plan to generate income for harbor businesses by granting viewing rights for the contest at local establishments.

“The district doesn’t have a rigid standard schedule for events like these,” said Peter Grenell, General Manager of the San Mateo County Harbor District. Grenell said that the $250 fee is a standard district administrative fee, so it could not be compared to the $30,000 use fee charged for the surf contest.

“We’re aware that the financial benefits are very large and widespread,” Grenell said, citing a study conducted by the University of Hawaii which concluded that the Mavericks surf contest brought in $24 million to the area. “The Harbor District does not share in that except it may get some percentage revenue from a few businesses in the harbor,” he said.

The Harbor District needs “to make ends meet,” Grenell said, citing the district’s financial strain. Jeff Clark voiced his concerns about the fee increase. “Watching this permit fee grow has put questions in our mind,” he said. “I think there needs to be some balance and look at this homegrown group now with control of this event. Moving forward, we’re going to need to have you as partners in this event as well.”

Harbor Commissioner Robert Bernardo voiced concern that the increased fee was too high, and that he wanted to know more about what determined the amount of the fee.

Cassandra Clark, Mavericks Invitational board member, suggested that the group could make up for the $10,000 increase in fees in the long term with the harbor and pay the original $20,000 fee instead. But Grenell and Commissioner James Tucker said they felt it was important for the Harbor District to bring in the $30,000 revenue.