![]() “He waited and waited for the big peak and he got it,” Thoman said. He got a citation when he got out of the water. blackball, when no boards are allowed in the water. ![]() He recalls giving Sharp “Peak of the Year” in 1996 after the kneeboarder waited for just the right wave, but didn’t snag it until after 10 a.m. “They were pure, raucous fun,” Thoman said. The categories included “Tube Ride of the Year” and of course, “Wipeout of the Year.” “The Wedge awards were almost yearly,” he said, given out at the end-of-summer parties in the ’90s, himself snagging the “Snake of the Year” award once after taking a wave from another bodysurfer. Thoman, the unofficial mayor of what would eventually be called the “Wedge Crew,” recounted the casual awards handed out decades ago. They rode waves all day and partied at night, decked out in Speedos and hosting raging bashes still talked about today. In the 1970s, a group of brash bodysurfers, guys like Kevin “Mel” Thoman and Terry Wade, showed up. “It’s just become an obsession for generations of wave riders. The Wedge gained fame when it was featured in the ’60s film “Endless Summer” and other early surf films that showcased its massive waves, Sharp said. At the time, there were no surf magazines, no social media documenting their rides. In the 1950s, Roger Goodan and Fred Simpson, who later invented Viper Fins, bodysurfed the Wedge before crowds or lifeguards watched over the spot. “I’ve been obsessed with it for 40 years, generations come and rarely leave.” “It’s such an emotional and psychologically complicated location,” Sharp said. The awards will recognize different groups at the Wedge, with categories for bodysurfing and board riding, which includes bodyboarding, stand up surfing, skimboarding and kneeboarding, as well as filmmaking. With pandemic uncertainty around the XXL Big Wave Awards, now under World Surf League management, Sharp decided to apply the format on a smaller scale with the wave in his own backyard. He’s also creator of the XXL Big Wave Awards, a global contest that pays homage to surfers who charge the largest waves on Earth. The 2021 Wedge Awards is the brainchild of Bill Sharp, a Newport Beach kneeboarder with decades of experience at the Wedge. ![]() The Wedge in Newport Beach will be in the spotlight this summer with a new contest recognizing the season’s best riders – and biggest wipeout – as a way to highlight locals who take on one of the world’s beastliest waves. It’s a freak of a wave, a man-made anomaly that has no mercy for those who try to tame it. ![]()
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