Greenlight Alert! The wait is over, the votes have been counted, and the 24 invitees have chosen to call The 2009/2010 Mavericks Surf Contest® Presented by Sony Ericsson and Barracuda Networks for 8 a.m. on Saturday February 13, 2010. Showcasing 24 of the world’s finest big-wave surfers, the largest prize purse in the history of big-wave surfing at $150,000, a groundbreaking live webcast program, and four former Contest Champions, the Mavericks Surf Contest® returns once again to the epic Half Moon Bay break.

2009/2010 Contest Invitees. Mavericks is proud to present the 2009/2010 INVITEES (in alphabetical order): Matt Ambrose, Ben Andrews, Grant Baker, Ion Banner, Chris Bertish, Carlos Burle, Kenny Collins, Shane Desmond, Nathan Fletcher, Brock Little, Greg Long, Josh Loya, Peter Mel, Shawn Rhodes, Ryan Seelbach, Evan Slater, Tyler Smith, Jamie Sterling, Anthony Tashnick, Darryl Virostko, Grant Washburn, Dave Wassell, Tim West, and Zach Wormhoudt. The 15 alternates are (in order of priority): Alex Martins, Danilo Couto, Mark Healey, Tyler Fox, Rusty long, Nic Lamb, Jamie Mitchell, Mike Gerhardt, Russell Smith, Kealii Mamala, Garrett McNamara, Andrew Marr, Lawton Smith, John Whittle, Colin Dwyer.

2009/2010 Contest Partners. The 2009/2010 Mavericks Surf Contest® Presented by Sony Ericsson and Barracuda Networks has been made possible due to the generous support of its sponsors and partners: Sony Ericsson, Barracuda Networks, Jim Beam® Bourbon, Moose Guen and Jane Sutherland of MVision, Facebook, the Bay Club, The Corporate Law Group, Gnarly Head Wines, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Airship Ventures, Vertical Response, Surfer Magazine, Oceano Hotel & Spa, Stormsurf.com, Rickshaw Bagworks, GoPro, Mission Chiropractic, and Capture Technologies.

NOTE: IN AN EFFORT TO LIMIT CROWD IMPACT ON THE HALF MOON BAY AREA AND COASTAL ECO-SYSTEMS, WE ARE ENCOURAGING ALL MAVERICKS FANS TO WATCH THE CONTEST VIA FREE LIVE WEBCAST OR BY ATTENDING OUR LIVE VIEWING PARTY AT AT&T PARK IN SAN FRANCISCO. BOTH OPTIONS PROVIDE A MUCH BETTER VIEWING EXPERIENCE THAN THE VIEW FROM THE BEACH. IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING MAVERICKS IN-PERSON, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND CAUTIOUS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, AND LEAVE NO TRACE. PLEASE PARK IN THE OFFICIAL PARKING LOTS ONLY AND BE RESPECTFUL OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

Viewing Options. As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce foot traffic at the event and entice fans to experience the Contest remotely, this season Mavericks has launched its most ambitious webcast offering to-date. Millions of fans witnessed the 2008 Contest via a live webcast. For the first time ever, this season fans can catch all the live action at Mavericks’ official website, www.maverickssurf.com. Also new this year, Mavericks will bring viewers around the world an opportunity to experience the thrill of Mavericks via a live, interactive webcast on Facebook® and Ustream. The webcasts will be powered by Ustream, the leading live broadcasting platform on the internet. The experiences, available at www.facebook.com/mavericks and http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-2009-2010-mavericks-surf-contest-presented-by-sony-ericsson, will provide fans with an unprecedented level of interactivity while viewing the contest—sharing their thoughts real-time, through Facebook Connect, with other Mavericks fans everywhere. Fans will also have the option of watching the contest while on the go, thanks to FLO TV, provider of the award-winning live mobile FLO TV™ service. Through the partnership with FLO TV, surf fans will be able to watch the competition on mobile handsets, the FLO TV™ Personal Television and on in-car entertainment systems launching later this year. More information is available at www.flotv.com.

The day’s activities will again be available via a unique live webcast viewing event at AT&T Park—“baseball’s perfect address” and the home of the San Francisco Giants. Ticketed fans can watch the Contest live and in high definition on the big screen in centerfield or from any of the big screens throughout the Club level. Tickets for the AT&T Park viewing event will include in and out privileges and can be purchased for $20 in advance, or $25 at AT&T Park or online at www.maverickssurf.com. Fans who will be in the East Bay can attend a live viewing event at Miss Pearl’s Jam House in Oakland. The event is free to attend, but space is limited, so fans are encouraged to arrive early. For more information go to www.misspearlsjamhouse.com. For those who want to be even closer to the action, Mavericks offers officially-sanctioned boat tours. These boats are piloted by seasoned, local captains with knowledge of the area around the Mavericks surf break, and guests on the boats are provided with complimentary parking, lunches and official Contest apparel. *Note: Mavericks strongly discourages anyone from purchasing seats on non-sanctioned boat tours with which Mavericks has no affiliation due to safety risks.

As always, surfers and fans alike can track the waves, stay informed of webcast information, Contest announcements, signup for Mavericks mail, SMS alerts, purchase official Mavericks™ gear and buy tickets for the Mavericks Boat Tour and the AT&T Park Viewing Event, at the official Mavericks website, www.maverickssurf.com.

SOURCE: Mavericks Surf