Maverick's A No-Go This Year

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) -- The Mavericks big wave contest is officially a no-go for this year.

The three-month window to hold the surf competition closed Monday. Contest organizers say the swells at the famous spot north of Half Moon Bay were never big enough to call 24 top surfers to the event.

Organizers blame La Nina weather conditions for the calmer waters that didn't come close to the 30- to 40-foot breakers needed to call the contest.

Since the Mavericks competition started in 1999, surf conditions have only been right to hold the event seven times.

This year, the contest was organized by a new group comprised of surfers themselves, who wrested control from the former organizers, after complaining that the event had become overly commercialized.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)