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Tom Carroll And Ross Clarke-Jones Are Ready For The Eddie

It’s not just you getting psyched for the big day.

Think you’re excited by the prospect of The Eddie this week?

Ross Clarke-Jones got so amped upon hearing the news he went out and got…cupped.

“It an ancient Asian craft where they suction glass bulbs to your body and that helps relieve muscle tension and fatigue,” Clarke-Jones told Tracks earlier this morning. “My back looks like it’s been shot at with a paint ball gun.”

Similarly, good mate and fellow invitee Tom Carroll, who’d only arrived back in Australia from Hawaii two days prior, found himself re-packing the bags he’d just unpacked, booking flights and hightailing it back to Sydney International.

“The Bay is calling us all back,” Carroll laughed.

“It’s looking like a solid swell, but I am only too well aware of mother nature’s sense of humour when it comes to things like this, it could all change in a heartbeat.”

Social media has gone into meltdown since this morning’s announcement and with big wave surfing firmly in the eye of mainstream media; Ross says the buzz on The Rock is already at fever pitch.

“I had people ringing me five minutes after the announcement…and that’s just from guys that aren’t in Hawaii,” he says.

“Everywhere you go here, places like Foodland and the car parks, everyone is talking about it and it’s been, what, five hours since news broke? It’s hectic. I think I’m going to have to stay at home and meditate for the next couple days.”

Both say the non-stop plus-sized action this season has left them good to go for The Eddie, although Carroll had to deal with a slight knee injury sustained while surfing Himalayas late January.

“I got a load of water on the head and it basically squashed me into my board and I copped a compression injury,” says Carroll.

“That seems to have cleared up fairly swiftly, especially in the last 72 hours things have really turned around and I’m ready to hop on the plane.”

Ross says his attention this year, his 30th consecutive Hawaiian winter, has been firmly on Waimea.

Perhaps part intuition, but he’s been keen to re-familiarise himself with the wave which gave birth to his seemingly endless big wave career 30-years ago.

“I’ve been hitting it in all conditions just to get the feeling back,” says Ross.

“It’s a much, much more complicate wave than it’s still given credit for. The problem it has is it just doesn’t photograph big. There’s something about the angles of it or something, but the same size wave can look bigger out at Jaws for some reason, but it’s a legitimate big wave that all big wave riders get excited about. The heritage of big wave surfing is all right there, concentrated on that take off zone.”

As the countdown to Thursday (Wednesday in Hawaii) begins, Ross, Tom and a gaggle of the world’s best like Mark Healey are already beginning to feel the heat.

“I can honestly tell you competing in the Eddie is a in a league entirely of it’s own,” Healey told Tracks.

“The amount of energy that the valley, the crowd and the waves bring is something that’s entirely unique and that energy is already there. Anyone you pass on the street is talking about it.”

The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Heat Draw:

Round 1/Heat 1

Shane Dorian (HAW)

Kohl Christensen (HAW)

Greg Long (USA)

Ramon Navarro (CHL)

Sunny Garcia (HAW)

Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS)

Jamie Mitchell (AUS)

Round 1/Heat 2

Kelly Slater (USA)

David Wassell (HAW)

Grant Baker (ZAF)

Reef McIntosh (HAW)

Jamie O’Brien (HAW)

Aaron Gold (HAW)

Tom Carroll (AUS)

Round 1/Heat 3

John John Florence (HAW)

Mark Healey (HAW)

Clyde Aikau (HAW)

Nathan Fletcher (USA)

Noah Johnson (HAW)

Peter Mel (USA)

Takayuki Wakita (JPN)

Round 1/Heat 4

Bruce Irons (HAW)

Makua Rothman (HAW)

Ian Walsh (HAW)

Albee Layer (HAW)

Kala Alexander (HAW)

Garrett McNamara (HAW)

Jeremy Flores (FRA)

Round 2/Heat 1

Shane Dorian (HAW)

Kohl Christensen (HAW)

Greg Long (USA)

Reef McIntosh (HAW)

Jamie O’Brien (HAW)

Aaron Gold (HAW)

Tom Carroll (AUS)

Round 2/Heat 2

Kelly Slater (USA)

David Wassell (HAW)

Grant Baker (ZAF)

Ramon Navarro (CHL)

Sunny Garcia (HAW)

Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS)

Jamie Mitchell (AUS)

Round 2/Heat 3

John John Florence (HAW)

Mark Healey (HAW)

Clyde Aikau (HAW)

Albee Layer (HAW)

Kala Alexander (HAW)

Garrett McNamara (HAW)

Jeremy Flores (FRA)

Round 2/Heat 4

Bruce Irons (HAW)

Makua Rothman (HAW)

Ian Walsh (HAW)

Nathan Fletcher (USA)

Noah Johnson (HAW)

Peter Mel (USA)

Takayuki Wakita (JPN)

Official Alternates:

Mason Ho (Aikau Pick), Danilo Couto, Mark Matthews, Koa Rothman, Ben Wilkinson, Jamie Sterling, Billy Kemper, Shawn Dollar, Carlos Burle, Kealii Mamala, Gabriel Villaran, Michael Ho, Kai Lenny, Kahea Hart, Nathan Florence, Damien Hobgood, Kalani Chapman, Ryan Hipwood, Danny Fuller, Nic Lamb, Anthony Tashnick, Rusty Long, Derek Dunfee and Brock Little

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