Sports

Pacifica Surfer Makes the List of Mavericks Invitees

Colin Dwyer has earned a spot in the famed surf contest through his performance in big wave surfing.

Mavericks Invitational recently released the official list of 24 competitors for the 2013-14 season which includes Pacifica's Colin Dwyer as the only surfer from San Mateo County on the list of invitees.

This year’s list of nominees was determined by committee of five comprising Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark, Big Wave World Tour founder Gary Linden, three-time Mavericks champion Darryl Virostko, and respected big wave surfers Greg Long and Shawn Dollar. The list of nominees was sent to last year’s competitors and alternates, who then voted for their top picks.

In addition, organizers have created a “Watch List” of big wave surfers who are pushing their skill level at Mavericks, highly respected and will be eligible for consideration for the next contest season. Coastsiders Mark Alfaro, Ion Banner and Tim West are on that list.

Contest organizers announced that the contest waiting period will open on Nov. 1, 2013, and run through March 31, 2014. This one-day, invitation-only surf competition is held at the legendary Mavericks surf break located ½ mile offshore at Pillar Point Harbor, just 20 minutes south of San Francisco. Organizers have already secured the permit from the San Mateo County Harbor District for this year and through 2016.

“We’re all stoked to be back for another year,” said Clark. “The 2013-14 season looks promising, with a lot of positive changes made for the competitors and fans. The perfect contest day we’re looking for is typically a northwest groundswell between 18 and 20 feet (translating into waves faces of 30- to 40-feet).”  

Find out what's happening in Half Moon Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The contestants receive the famous green light alert and have approximately 24 hours to arrive for the event in Half Moon Bay to test their skill and vie for the title of Champion of the Mavericks Invitational. 

Here's the complete list of competitors:

Find out what's happening in Half Moon Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 24 Invited Competitors:

  • Ryan Augenstein  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Grant Baker  (South Africa)
  • Chris Bertish  (South Africa)
  • Carlos Burle  (Brazil)
  • Kohl Christensen  (Hawaii)
  • Ken Collins  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Shawn Dollar  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Shane Dorian  (Hawaii)
  • Colin Dwyer  (Pacifica, CA)
  • Nathan Fletcher  (San Clemente, CA)
  • Tyler Fox  (Aptos, CA)
  • Mark Healey (Hawaii)
  • Nic Lamb  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Greg Long  (San Clemente, CA)
  • Rusty Long  (San Clemente, CA)
  • Alex Martins  (Brazil)
  • Peter Mel  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Ryan Seelbach  (San Francisco, CA)
  • Jamie Sterling  (Hawaii)
  • Anthony Tashnick  (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Grant Washburn  (San Francisco, CA)
  • Dave Wassell  (Hawaii)
  • Ben Wilkinson  (Australia)
  • Zach Wormhoudt  (Santa Cruz, CA)

The Alternates:

  1. Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz, CA)
  2. Danilo Couto (Brazil)
  3. Derek Dunfee (San Diego, CA
  4. Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, FL)
  5. Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz, CA)
  6. Frank Solomon (South Africa)

The "Watch List":

  • Mark Alfaro
  • Ben Andrews
  • Ion Banner
  • Shawn “Barney” Barron
  • João deMacedo
  • Wyatt Fields
  • Mike Gerhardt
  • Alex Gray
  • Lance Harriman
  • Josh  Loya
  • Andrew Marr
  • Garret McNamara
  • Jamie Mitchell
  • Travis Payne
  • Josh Redman
  • Shawn Rhodes
  • Mike Schlebach
  • Russell Smith
  • Tim West, Jr.


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