hiya wa howa aswat

The wipeouts of the year for the 2014 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards have been picked.

In contention for the "Wipeout of the Year" honors are five surfers at three notorious big wave breaks scattered around the world.

Among this year's candidates are Shawn Dollar and Alex Martins who suffered spectacular malfunctions at their home break of Maverick's in Northern California, along with French Polynesian Alain Riou and Hawaiian Koa Rothman, who both went end-over-end at Teahupoo, Tahiti.

Rounding out the top five is Australian Jamie Mitchell, who parted ways with his surfboard during a try at what was probably the biggest paddle-in wave ever attempted in the history of the sport at Belharra Reef, France.

On the female side, the "Girls Performance Award" nominees include perennial Hawaiian standouts Paige Alms and Keala Kennelly, Brazilian stars Maya Gaberia and Andrea Moller, plus underground Californian Bianca Valenti.

Generally regarded as the international benchmark for year-round excellence, the nominees for the "Best Overall Performance Award" are South African Grant "Twiggy" Baker, Hawaiian Shane Dorian, Australian Jamie Mitchell, along with Californians Greg Long and Shawn Dollar.

"Wipeout of the Year" Nominees
Shawn Dollar (Santa Cruz, California, USA) at Maverick's, California
Alex Martins (San Francisco, California, USA) at Maverick's, California
Jamie Mitchell (Gold Coast, Australia) at Belharra Reef, France
Alain Riou (Tahiti, French Polynesia) at Teahupoo, Tahiti
Koa Rothman (Sunset Beach, Hawaii) at Teahupoo, Tahiti

"Girls Performance Award"
Paige Alms (Haiku, Hawaii, USA)
Maya Gabeira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Keala Kennelly (Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA)
Andrea Moller (Ilhabela, Brazil)
Bianca Valenti (Mill Valley, California, USA)


"Best Overall Performance Award"
Grant Baker (Durban, South Africa)
Shawn Dollar (Santa Cruz, California, USA)
Shane Dorian (Kona, Hawaii, USA)
Greg Long (San Clemente, California, USA)
Jamie Mitchell (Gold Coast, Australia)