Swell or no swell, there will be no Mavericks this year. Following the news this week that organizers had filed for bankruptcy protection amid some outstanding debts and a lawsuit from sponsor Red Bull, the big-wave surfing competition has been officially canceled, as the New York Times is reporting.

This also means that the first year that the competition was going to feature women is a no-go.

Filing for bankruptcy is Cartel Management, headed by sometime record producer Griffin Guess and his supermodel wife Marissa Miller, and they said last week in a statement that they were looking to sell Titans of Mavericks, the brand and the not-annual competition, claiming that the Chapter 11 filing was "the culmination of a strategy designed to implement a sale of the assets and intellectual property of the companies to afford a buyer certain protections available only in bankruptcy."

Despite the fact that Cartel is apparently indebted to vendors and contractors to the tune of $1.9 million, with Titans of Mavericks also $776,335 in the hole, Guess doubles down on the news about the buyer in a statement to the Times, saying, "The bankruptcy filing came after having had several conversations with multiple interested parties who were looking at an acquisition that could happen quickly, with a minimum of legal complications."

Mavericks founder Jeff Clark, himself a well known big-wave surfer, seems to be calling bullshit on that, telling the Times that the three-year relationship the event has had with Cartel has been a mistake. "We thought they were the right fit for us, but they brought their own problems and are now going bankrupt," he said, adding, "Our primary focus has always been to support the men and women who surf Mavericks and to preserve the sanctity of the wave and support our local community. We have sacrificed much to create a stage for the world’s best big wave surfers. We are disappointed.”

Sabrina Brennan, head of the San Mateo County Harbor Commission which oversees the Pillar Point surf area near Half Moon Bay where Mavericks has taken place 10 times since 1999 — only in years when the biggest swells arrive between November and March — tells the Times that the current situation isn't exactly surprising. "This event has been plagued with problems since its inception," she said. "Trying to generate revenue from an event like Mavericks is a challenge.You need a more organized and committed group of people to pull it off."

Some surfers were apparently already in town awaiting the event, and hanging out in Half Moon Bay — especially after hearing about the 30-foot swells that were happening two weeks back. And now they are sad.

Previously: Wipeout: Mavericks Surf Contest Organizers File For Bankruptcy