Surfer magazine will bring its major awards show from Southern California to the North Shore of Oahu in December.

After 39 years on the mainland, the 40th edition of Surfer Poll will be relocated to the Turtle Bay Resort on Dec. 6, in conjunction with the seasonal Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

“Moving the event is giving us the opportunity to make some exciting changes,” said editor-in-chief Joel Patterson in a press release, “and to think about the night from a new perspective.”

Each year, the SURFER Poll (the surf equivalent of the People’s Choice Awards meets the Academy Awards wrapped up into one party) crowns the top 10 male and top 5 female surfers as voted on by Surfer’s readers. Past poll winners include Andy Irons, Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren, Lisa Andersen and 15-time No. 1 Kelly Slater. Online voting for 2010 kicks off this month.

The evening video awards show honors the best individual performances of the year as well as the best cinematography, heaviest wipeout, and film of the year. And with the explosion of web-exclusive surf filmmaking in the past few years, award categories have been added to recognize everything from the cutting edge of performance and recognizing the work of environmental and humanitarian champions.

Along with all of the world’s top surfers in attendance each year, Surfer Poll also attracts notable personalities from the worlds of action sports, professional sports, movies, television and music. Although the event is limited to invited guests, fans the world over will be able to catch the action via a live webcast with behind-the-scenes and red-carpet reporting as well as exclusive interviews with the winners.