• Nominees for Ride of the Year, Biggest Tow, and Biggest Paddle Announced Today, Winners To Be Revealed on July 7, 2022
• Germany’s Steudtner Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited) at Nazaré, Portugal in 2020
• View All the Nominated Rides at WorldSurfLeague.com

the World Surf League (WSL) released the official list of nominees for the 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards. $350,000 in prize money will be awarded across three categories for men’s and women’s divisions: Ride of the Year, Biggest Tow, and Biggest Paddle. The winning photographers and videographers will also be awarded prize money. In addition to announcing the nominees, as part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has officially announced the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited).

Sebastian Steudtner (above) Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited)
Sebastian Steudtner (GER) has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the largest wave surfed (unlimited) – male. As part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has officially analyzed, measured, and verified Sebastian Steudtner’s 2021 Big Wave Award-winning ride at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal on October 29, 2020 at 86 feet (26.21 meters) from trough to crest.

The ride won the Biggest Tow Award at the 2021 Red Bull Big Wave Awards making it eligible for World Record verification. Steudtner’s wave was analyzed, measured, and confirmed as the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited) – Male.

The achievement was announced at a special ceremony upon the grounds of the famous lighthouse that stands watch over the waves of Praia do Norte. An official Adjudicator of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS presented Steudtner with a certificate declaring him as the current record holder for men’s largest wave surfed. Steudtner’s record beat Rodrigo Koxa’s previous record by 6 feet, which was caught on November 8, 2017 at the same location of Praia do Norte, Nazaré.

Several frames from the video footage were extracted and corrected geometrically based on the camera position and inclination. Using known objects such as the jet ski and actual measurement of Steudtner’s body geometry, it was possible to calibrate the images for conversion from pixels to feet. The location of the trough and crest of the wave was determined from analysis of the video from two different angles.

2022 Red Bull Big Wave Nominees Announced
This year’s Red Bull Big Wave Awards received over 300 submissions with some of the heaviest and most amazing big waves ridden during the April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 big wave awards season. All submitted waves were evaluated by a comprehensive judging panel formed by WSL judges, former pro surfers, and big wave specialists.

This year’s nominees spanned the globe, with surfers representing countries like Brazil, Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Portugal, and France. The majority of the nominated rides come from the infamous big wave breaks of Nazaré in Portugal and Pe’ahi (a.k.a. “Jaws”) in Hawaii, USA, but this year’s shortlist also sees rides from Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California, USA, Teahupo’o in Tahiti, Shipstern Bluff in Australia, Himalayas on Oahu’s North Shore, and Outer Reef Kahului, Maui, both in Hawaii.

The winners of the prestigious awards for some of the wildest rides of the year will be announced on July 7, 2022.

Ride of the Year
The Ride of the Year is awarded to the male and female surfers who demonstrate the most advanced and committed level of big wave surfing during a successful ride, as judged by available video footage. While raw size is taken into consideration, it is ultimately the level of performance that is rewarded.

Female Nominees
Annie Reickert (above) at Outer Reef Kahului, Hawaii on December 5, 2021
Justine Dupont at Teahupo’o, Tahiti on October 6, 2021
Justine Dupont at Teahupo’o, Tahiti on August 13, 2021
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on February 10, 2022
Paige Alms at Jaws, Hawaii on January 9, 2022

Male Nominees
Billy Kemper at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Francisco Porcella at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazaré, Portugal on February 25, 2022
Mikey Brennan at Shipstern Bluff, Australia on March 26, 2022
Pedro Scooby at Nazaré, Portugal on December 13, 2021

Nominees in this category include Justine Dupont (FRA), with two separate rides at Teahupo’o, and Mikey Brennan at Shipstern Bluff, in addition to three nominations each from Jaws and Nazaré.

Female Nominees
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on December 13, 2021
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on December 11, 2021

Male Nominees
João Macedo at Nazaré, Portugal on February 25, 2022
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Mason Barnes at Nazaré, Portugal on February 26, 2022
Nic Von Rupp at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Pedro Scooby at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022

The tow category exclusively features nominations from Nazaré. The women’s side features two rides from Michelle des Bouillons (BRA) alongside world-renowned Big Wave charger Justine Dupont (FRA). Dupont is setting a high standard this year, with nominations in each of the three categories.

The men’s category includes the winner of this year’s TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, along with his teammate at the event, Nic Von Rupp. Chianca showed how comfortable he is in the massive surf at Nazaré and continues to push the limit of what’s possible. One of the standout surfers at the famed Portuguese break, Pedro Scooby (BRA) also teamed up with Von Rupp during one of the first big swells of the year, and both earned a nomination for their respective rides.

Biggest Paddle
The Biggest Paddle Award goes to the male and female surfers who paddle into, and successfully ride, the biggest wave of the year.

Female Nominees
Annie Reickert at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on November 19, 2021
Katie Mae McConnell at Himalayas, Hawaii on January 22, 2022
Paige Alms at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Raquel Heckert at Himalayas, Hawaii on January 22, 2022

Male Nominees
Ben Andrews at Mavericks, California on January 11, 2022
Billy Kemper at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Jamie Mitchell at Nazaré, Portugal on February 9, 2022
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazare, Portugal on January 12, 2022
Pedro Calado at Nazaré, Portugal on January 12, 2022

This year’s nominees include big names like two-time WSL Big Wave World Champion Paige Alms and four-time Pe’ahi Challenge Champion Billy Kemper. Hailing from Hawaii, both Alms and Kemper have stamped their authority in big waves with previous Big Wave Award wins and they continue to produce excellent rides at Jaws. No stranger to Jaws either, Raquel Heckert (BRA) has been putting in the time in Hawaii and it’s showing as she earned a nomination for her ride at Himalayas on the North Shore.

The 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards winners will be announced on July 7, 2022 on WorldSurfLeague.com/redbullbigwaveawards. The winning rides of the 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards will be eligible for World Record verification if the judging panel determines the wave(s) challenge the current World Records. World Record verifications will be announced on November 1, 2022.

To watch all the nominated rides, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com/redbullbigwaveawards.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

• Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) and Rio Waida (IDN) Claim Maiden Challenger Series Victories 
• Honolua Blomfield (HAW) and Harrison Roach (AUS) Win First Longboard Tour Event of 2022 Season 
• Waida, van Dijk, Callinan and Bonvalot Lock into Top 10 on CS Rankings
• More Available at WorldSurfLeague.com

Finals Day at the GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl, the second stop of the 2022 World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series (CS) and the first event of the WSL Longboard Tour (LT) has been completed today at Manly Beach with men’s and women’s winner’s being crowned across both divisions. Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) and Rio Waida (IDN) have claimed the biggest wins of their careers in the Challenger Series event while Honolua Blomfield (HAW) and Harrison Roach (AUS) have taken out the opening event of the 2022 LT season. 

After over a week of action, Manly Beach, on cue, delivered the best conditions of the entire period with super clean, three-to-four foot surf on offer all Finals Day, making it an incredible crescendo to what has been three straight months of professional surfing action on Australian shores. 

Rio Waida and Teresa Bonvalot Claim Biggest Victories of Their Careers
Portugal’s Teresa Bonvalot (PRT, above) has long been touted as the next European female to join the elite ranks and battle for a title on the Championship Tour. Today, Bonvalot has taken a step in the right direction, taking the biggest win of her young career with a victory here at the Sydney Surf Pro Challenger Series event. The stylish goofy-footer went through the event, relatively under the radar but brought out her best performance in the Final, posting her highest two-wave combination of the event in her matchup with Nikki van Dijk (AUS). Bonvalot’s 15.83 two-wave combination was too much for van Dijk to chase down and clinch her second victory here at Manly.

“It’s so amazing to win here, I love coming to Australia and I have had good results here before the pandemic so it’s just fantastic to be back here and winning,” said Bonvalot. “It’s the biggest win of my career and to have a good Portuguese crowd here supporting me is fantastic – So good for Portugal.” 

Rio Waida (IDN, above) has taken out the biggest win of any Indonesian in world surfing today, claiming his maiden CS win at Manly Beach. Earlier in the week, Waida was named the Wildcard for the upcoming Quiksilver Pro G-Land Championship Tour event, but his focus never moved from the task at hand, and it showed, as the Olympian put down the standout performances of the event to eventually find himself in the Final against Ryan Callinan (AUS). The Final was the true representation of the best performers of the event, with Callinan and Waida going toe-to-toe in epic beach-break conditions at Manly and Waida coming out on top with a two wave combination of 17.53 which included a near perfect 9.50 (out of a possible 10).

“I’m really happy to win but the job is not finished yet for me,” said Waida. “My goal this year is to qualify for the elite WSL Championship Tour and this is a great result but I must continue to get great results. I’m looking forward to the G-Land event at home in Indonesia which starts this weekend – My surfing ability is there to compete against the world’s best and be the best in the world. I’ve trained hard and I will continue to train and improve – It’s a great day for me and Indonesia.”

Roach Claims Maiden Longboard Tour Victory With Reigning World Champion Blomfield
Noosa’s Harrison Roach (AUS) has claimed his maiden WSL event victory at the GWM Sydney Surf Pro with an emphatic win over Great Britain’s Ben Skinner (GRB, below). The pair were the form surfers all event but it was Roach who was able to back up his performances with an excellent one in the Final. Roach combined critical nose-rides, tight arcs and floating maneuvers to post an excellent heat total of 16.50 which proved too great for Skinner to overcome.

“I did what I came here to do and I’m extremely happy as it’s my first Longboard Tour win,” Roach said. “ Obviously my ultimate aim is it to win the world title this year and the final event at Malibu in California will be crucial to taking the title but this is definitely the ideal start – It’s been a big day surfing and defeating local hero Declan Wyton (AUS) in front of all his fans and then Ben Skinner in that final and the waves were great today.”

The women’s Longboard Tour final was a familiar sight as perennial title threat Chloe Calmon (BRA, above) came up against three-time Reigning WSL Longboard World Champion Honolua Blomfield (HAW) as each surfer looked to get their 2022 season off to the perfect start. Calmon looked to have the advantage early, leading the heat from the first exchange, but, in typical Blomfield fashion, the stylish Hawaiian found a set with only minutes left, riding the nose and carving all the way to the beach to take the lead and the event win, in the dying minutes of the heat.

“I knew it was going to be a really tough final to win because Chloe is such an amazing surfer,” said Blomfield. “Despite being in second place throughout the final I remained calm and always knew I could take the win – that’s something that has evolved in my competitive surfing – remain calm and know that the wave you need can eventually come to you and that happened today and it’s the perfect way to begin my title defence.”

Aussie Duo Lock in Spots in Challenger Series Rankings Top 10
Although they both fell short of the ultimate goal of winning here in Manly, former CT competitors Ryan Callinan (above) and Nikki van Dijk have rocketed into the Top 10 on the 2022 WSL Challenger Series rankings. For van Dijk, today’s runner-up finish was the perfect result to compliment a fight place finish on the Gold Coast whilst for Callinan, it was a much needed response to an uncharacteristic first round loss at Snapper. Callinan is now sixth on the rankings whilst van Dijk is in second place and looking solid to find her way back on to the Championship Tour by year’s end.

The 2022 GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl Challenger Series and WSL Longboard Tour events will run at Manly Beach through May 24, 2022. For more information, please visist WorldSurfLeauge.com or check the free WSL App.

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Women’s Challenger Series  Results 

Semifinals 
HEAT 1: Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 13.07 DEF. Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) 12.74
HEAT 2: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 14.37 DEF. Sophie McCulloch (AUS) 12.77

Final
HEAT 1: Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 15.83 DEF. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 13.13

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Men’s Challenger Series  Results 

Quarterfinals 
HEAT 1: Rio Waida (IDN) 14.83 DEF. Brodi Sale (HAW) 12.70
HEAT 2: Jett Schilling (USA) 15.93 DEF. Kade Matson (USA) 9.67
HEAT 3: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 18.23 DEF. Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 17.07
HEAT 4: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.13 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 11.40

Semifinals 
HEAT 1: Rio Waida (IDN) 13.50 DEF. Jett Schilling (USA) 8.50
HEAT 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 16.34 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 9.23

Final 
HEAT 1: Rio Waida (IDN) 17.73 DEF. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 15.70

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Women’s Longboard  Results 

Semifinals 
HEAT 1: Chloe Calmon (BRA) 13.60 DEF. Tully White (AUS) 12.00
HEAT 2: Honolua Blomfield (HAW) 13.37 DEF. Soleil Errico (USA) 12.90

Final
HEAT 1:Honolua Blomfield (HAW) 12.87 DEF.  Chloe Calmon (BRA) 12.06

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Men’s Longboard  Results 

Semifinals 
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) 17.70 DEF. Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 16.73
HEAT 2: Harrison Roach (AUS) 15.50 DEF. Declan Wyton (AUS) 13.57

Finals
HEAT 1:Harrison Roach (AUS) 16.50 DEF. Ben Skinner (GBR) 13.67

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.