The first Mavericks contest was held in 1999. Each year organizers invited 24 big-wave surfers to a one-day event that went ahead only if wave conditions were good during the winter season. Waves could reach up to 60 feet. The event ran ten times, with the last in 2016.
It stopped when the organizing company filed for bankruptcy, and the World Surf League indefinitely canceled it in 2019. Sarah Gerhardt had become the first woman to surf Mavericks in 1999, and women were formally included in the competition from 2018 with equal prize money.
Today the Mavericks Awards are a video performance contest where surfers and videographers submit their best Mavericks content.
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