Edward Ryan Makuahanai Aikau was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is named in his honor. He was also a crew member on the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa.

"The Eddie", also known as The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, is a big wave surfing tournament held at Waimea Bay on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The tournament is named for native Hawaiian, champion big wave surfer, and life-saving Waimea Bay lifeguard, Eddie Aikau. Created in 1984 at nearby Sunset Beach, the invitational tournament moved to the notoriously big waved Waimea Bay, where Aikau's family maintains an ancestral tradition as caretakers of the Waimea Valley. It was formerly known as the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau after its sponsor Quiksilver, but the company and the Aikau family could not agree to terms for a new contract after the previous one expired in 2016.