The famed Mavericks surf competition down near Half Moon Bay, which held its tenth event in February since being founded in 1999, will be welcoming female competitors for the first time when and if the the competition happens this season. As KRON 4 reports, six female competitors will be selected and announced November 1, which is the first day that the window of opportunity for Mavericks will open.

The big-wave surfing event, officially known as Titans of Mavericks, announced the first time ever Women's heat in a tweet last week.

Mavericks, as you may know, doesn't happen every year because it's dependent on there being a particularly large and consistent swell between November and March.

And as KQED tells us, "Women have never competed in the 15-year history of the event, although several women regularly surf where the competition is held off Pillar Point."

San Francisco surfer Bianca Valenti told Surfer Mag that this announcement came earlier than expected, since organizers had originally said they would be having the first women's heat in the 2017-18 season. "I wasn’t expecting this. But I think it’s awesome. I’m just excited to see the women’s side of the sport strengthen. It felt weird always asking for them to let us women in. So it feels great knowing they know want us to be apart of this rad big-wave community.”

As always, the competition will be announced with just 24 to 48 hours notice, and the 24 competitors then have to high-tail it from all corners of the world to participate.

Previously: Mavericks Wrap-Up: Nic Lamb Of Santa Cruz Takes Home Top Surfing Prize