Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and Miguel Pupo (BRA) won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy, Stop No. 1 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). Bryan and Pupo have etched their names into surfing folklore, winning one of surfing’s most prestigious events, each for the first time. The pair were top performers all week in an assortment of conditions, with the event eventually culminating in semi-clean four-to-five foot swell at Winkipop, some of the best waves seen over the event period.
Miguel Pupo Sits Atop Rankings for the First Time in His Career
Miguel Pupo (BRA) has claimed one of the biggest results of his career, becoming the fifth Brazilian surfer ever to win the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Since joining the CT midway through 2011, Pupo has struggled to make it to Finals Day at Bells, but in 2026, the 34-year-old father of four appeared destined to push deep in the draw, with some of the strongest and most clutch performances of the event. Winning his second-ever CT event today, Pupo will start his 14th season at the elite level at the top of the rankings, sitting at No. 1 for the first time.
"I can't believe it, I was dreaming about this moment," Pupo said. "So much hard work, age 34, 14 seasons. If you were to tell me I would be number one in the world today, I would probably laugh at you. I came early to Australia, sacrificed so much, and yeah, happy. I feel like I'm living my career in reverse, you know, starting off not that well and finishing off strong. I feel like I feel I have a lot more years in me to give. It's my oldest daughter’s birthday today, so I'm bringing home a Bell."
In the Final, Pupo came up against fellow goofy-footer Yago Dora (BRA) in what was the first all-goofy Bells Final since Damien Hardman (AUS) defeated Barton Lynch (AUS) 33 years ago, in 1993. The Brazilian duo went back and forth, posting solid scores with Dora holding the advantage for the first three-quarters of the heat. With less than 10 minutes left, Pupo took off deep on a medium set which forced him to fight around the first big section. Once he found the open face, Pupo belted three, huge, precise and seamless backside snaps, drifting his tail each time, to post an 8.10 (out of a possible 10), giving him a winning heat total of 15.60 (out of a possible 20).
"This morning I woke up and I was like, I want to be in yellow next event," Pupo said. "I've never been in yellow before, I want to experience that. I want to live that shoe, with everyone, all the Brazilians. Those guys inspire me, like Yago (Dora) and Gabe (Gabriel Medina). I'm 34, so now I have to not look up, but look down at them, as an example of hard work and self-belief. Thanks to my coach (Adriano de Souza). He was the one that was believing in me the whole event. I want to thank my wife, my mom, dad. My wife's at home with four kids, so she's doing the hard work, and I'm here just having fun. Thank you."
Gabriela Bryan Kicks Off World Title Campaign With Bells Victory
After a breakthrough season in 2025 saw Gabriela Bryan (HAW) claim three CT event wins and end the year ranked third in the world, the 24-year-old Kaua‘i representative has kicked off 2026 in the perfect way, winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Bryan was the woman to beat all week, posting some of the highest single waves and heat totals in every round to make it past the Quarterfinals at this location for the first time in her career. Bryan will now wear the Yellow Leaders Jersey heading to the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, an event she has won for the last two years in a row.
“You got to win it to ring it, and I get to ring it, and I’m so excited,” Bryan said. “This event has so much history, and some of my favourite surfers have won it, so it’s surreal to get to lift that Bell myself now. I am here with my mum, and I’m staying with Riss (Carissa Moore). I've just been having the best time down here, and the vibes have been high. Now I get to head to Western Australia for another event that I love, so let’s hope I can keep this going.”
In the Final, Bryan came up against reigning World Champion Molly Picklum (AUS), who was on the hunt for her first win at Bells. Bryan got an early start, taking the best waves of the first two sets to earn an early advantage, while Picklum struggled to find the waves she was looking for. Bryan then found a decent-sized wave under priority and smashed a huge carve into a fins-free closeout hit to post a 14.83 two-wave total and put Picklum into a combination situation. Picklum was never able to find a score to get back in the game, leaving Bryan to win her fifth CT event with her fifth straight head-to-head defeat of the Australian. Bryan now puts her name on the Bell, joining the likes of fellow Hawaiians Carissa Moore (HAW), Megan Abubo (HAW), Jeff Hakman (HAW), Sunny Garcia (HAW), Margo Oberg (HAW), Andy Irons (HAW) and John John Florence (HAW) as a winner of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
“Molly (Picklum) is an incredible surfer and person,” Bryan continued. “We hung out in Kaua‘i in the off-season, and she just pushes us all so much, so it was cool to share a Final with her, and I’m stoked to get the win. It's an insane feeling, but I can never do it alone. There's so many people that help me and are part of my team. The best part is that winning feels really good for me, but it also is really good for everyone that supports you. It's been good celebrating my birthday here, and now I get to ring the Bell. One of my main goals this year is to have fun and just show the world some Gabby surfing and that's what I'm going to try to do for the rest of the year.”
Reigning World Champions Picklum and Dora Finish Runners-Up at Bells
Yago Dora (BRA) has commenced his Title defense with a great result, finishing the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in second place, his best ever result at this location and his first time appearing on Finals Day. The result also marks the first time Dora has made it past the Quarterfinals in any Australian event. The 29-year-old walks away confident after delivering some of the event's strongest performances at both Bells and Winkipop.
“It’s great to finally have a good result here,” said Dora. “This event has challenged me a lot in the past, and it still does. This wasn’t easy by any means. I had some slow heats, and then I had the beast of Gabriel Medina in the semis. Miguel (Pupo) had an incredible event. A massive congratulations to him and all the finalists. If there is something that I learned from last year, it's that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was and that self-belief is really good to be feeling right now."
On his way to the Final, Dora overcame event standout Gabriel Medina (BRA), who had posted the highest two-wave total of the event in his Quarterfinal to book a matchup with Dora. The reigning World Champion, Dora, had to pull out all the stops to defeat the three-time World Champion, Medina, in the dying seconds of the Semifinal to progress into the Final. Dora blasted three turns then ended the wave with a full-rotation backside indy air-reverse to post a 9.50, the highest single-wave score of the event.
Pupo and Bryan Lead GWM Aussie Treble Rankings Ahead of Margaret River
The 2026 season has seen the return of the GWM ‘Aussie Treble', which celebrates the best men's and women's performers across the three major events in Australia.
With Australia hosting the opening three events of the season in 2026, the proposition is simple: the men's and women's top-ranked surfers after the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Bonsoy, the Western Australia Margaret River Pro and the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro presented by GWM, win a GWM Tank 300. This is all thanks to GWM continuing as the Official Automotive Partner of WSL Australia in 2026.
With their wins today, Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and Miguel Pupo (HAW) will head to Margaret River in the Yellow Leaders Jersey and on top of the GWM Aussie Treble Rankings.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Final Results
1. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 14.83
2. Molly Picklum (AUS) 8.33
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Final Results
1. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.60
2. Yago Dora (BRA) 13.90
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Semifinal Results
HEAT 1: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 15.44 DEF. Alyssa Spencer (USA) 14.67
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 14.84 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 14.27
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Semifinal Results
HEAT 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.67 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 7.50
HEAT 2: Yago Dora (BRA) 16.33 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.17
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Quarterfinal Results
HEAT 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.50 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 11.10
HEAT 2: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.00 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.03
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.00 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 9.00
HEAT 4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.40 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 13.93
2026 English Surfing Champs
That’s a wrap on the 2026 Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships. There were highs and lows, lost fins, powerful turns, and solid performances from all of our athletes.
We have crowned Belle Betteridge and Fynn Gillespie as our 2026 Open Division English Champions. The battles were fierce, but these two athletes came out on top, delivering stellar performances and showcasing the first-class standard that English surfing has to offer.
The open (men’s) final was terrific to watch, with Heath Gillespie losing a fin early in the heat, resulting in a paddle in and a heroic jog down the beach from his dad. This was followed by some epic waves, with his brother Fynn bagging the barrel of the day. Fynn then went on to lead the men’s final, securing the win with a combined score of 15.50, snatching victory from Asbjorn, who battled right to the buzzer with a huge performance. Asbjorn travelled all the way from South Africa for the weekend, and as a member of Team England Juniors, it was great to see him fight to the very end.
In the women’s final, Willow Smith led the way through the first half of the heat with some powerful turns, posting a 5.33. However, Belle Betteridge came onto the scene in the latter half of the heat, scoring a 4.83 and a 6.00 to take the lead and claim the 2026 Women’s title. It was a nail-biting heat to watch, with all surfers fighting for the win. The depth of talent and skill on display highlights the strength of English women’s surfing and points to a very promising season ahead.
We started the day as we meant to go on, setting a fast pace to see what our surfers had to offer. Forecasts showed that the wind would pick up later in the day and conditions would deteriorate, so open round 1 was run across double peaks to keep things moving while we had a rare window of clean swell and light wind. Sam Harwood took the highest score of the round, posting a combined 11.60.
In the women’s divisions, we were pleased to see the return of Emily Currie to the shortboard division. Emily claimed the 2025 Longboard Championship crown in the Autumn, so it was great to see her switching things up this year and going for a win in the shortboard. Unfortunately, the win wasn’t to be today, but she delivered some great performances, finishing in third place. We hope to see her back again later this year for the Longboard Championship—perhaps even for a back-to-back win.
Recognition should also be given to Isaac Friend, who competed today while marking his 100th consecutive day of surfing this year. He is aiming to surf every single day of 2026 for a very worthy cause, raising money for Children in Need. As members of the English surf community, we all know the harsh winds, rain, and conditions that come with the beauty of waves in England, so it’s inspiring to see him taking on all weathers. His commitment is clearly paying off, as he banked some great waves today and made it through to the quarter-finals. You can find out more here.
Fynn’s on the ‘Bong
Billabong is proud to welcome Newquay standout Fynn Gillespie (19) to the team, marking a continued push to back Europe’s next generation of surfing talent.
Photos: Oskar Carmichael
Fast, sharp, and already turning heads in cold-water lineups, Fynn represents a new wave coming out of the UK — equal parts grit and style. His addition strengthens the European roster alongside Ireland’s Josh Karbus, forming a fresh UK/Ireland presence under the Billabong banner.
From the windswept peaks of Newquay to wherever’s firing next — Fynn’s just getting started.
Welcome to the ‘Bong.
More to come from the newly crowned English National Champ, watch this space.
100 Days of Surfing for Charity
Surfing every single day for a year is a pretty tough challenge.
Doing it through British winters, school commitments and relentless conditions is something else entirely. We caught up with Cornish surfer Isaac Friend. Driven by a simple idea to help other young people, this up-and-coming surfer has turned a daily ritual into a growing fundraising mission for BBC Children in Need. From pre-school dawn surfs to post-session edits late at night, the project is as much about resilience and consistency as it is about wave count — and it’s already gathering serious momentum.
Why did Children in Need appeal to you as a charity to support?
I knew I wanted to do something for kids - because I’m one, but couldn’t decide which charity. I thought of Children in Need because they fund a huge amount of projects across the UK. Everything from supporting kids who are grieving to projects tackling racism and bullying, youth theatre projects, arts and young carers. So raising money for Children in Need means we raise money for all of those things. They also raise money by people doing challenges. The woman on the radio that ran (Sara Cox), the guy on the bike (Matt Baker) and the lockdown PE guy (Joe Wicks) have done things to raise money, and people like Stormzy have donated big-time money to them. It's a trusted charity.
What gave you the idea to surf every day for a year?
I knew people have surfed every day for a month for the Wave Project and SurfAid and thought that was really cool. I also saw Nathan Smith, who surfed every day to improve his surfing and did an edit to show his progress and improvement. I think he did 125 days straight or something like that - so I thought I will aim to combine all of it, charity, surfing and doing an edit every day.
How much have you raised so far?
I set a goal of £3650. On GoFundMe I think I am up to about £1400. I also started a JustGiving page because you can donate £2 on there (it’s £5 minimum on GoFundMe, which I didn’t realise when I set it up - well, when my mum set it up). I think we have about £30 on there. So I’m stoked to have raised nearly £1.5K so far. I hope to smash the target. That would be amazing.
How do people contribute?
People can follow the links on my Insta, Facebook and TikTok profile. People don’t have to donate to get involved though. They can just watch my edits for, like, 60 seconds, they can share, like, comment or follow - it all contributes and makes a lot of difference - especially to me when I’m putting on a cold wetsuit, in hail and surfing in terrible waves.
What has been the hardest thing about it?
Sometimes it’s hardest going in when it’s horrible weather and terrible waves. I've had to do a couple of surfs in the dark when I had to go on a school trip or training camp and have been travelling all day. But sometimes it’s hardest when I’ve surfed all day cos I’m training or the waves are mental, and then I’ve had to do an edit when all I want to do is chill. I’ve also had to use some money I saved and earned for an editing app and bought a camera for POV filming, which is a bit of a bumper. Although it’s worth it.
Has anything surprised you so far on your mission?
What’s been amazing is the fact people have got involved. I think Day 3 had, like, over 100K views and nearly 9K likes. I definitely think people like to see me when I’m struggling. That day it just started hailing a couple of minutes after I set off. My voice was cracking and I had to carry my board over my head to the sea. It’s also sick that nearly 30% of my followers are outside the UK, in places like Australia and New Zealand - I mean, I know they love surfing over there, but I didn’t expect to be cheered on by people at the other side of the world. It’s mental.
Worst surf?
Probably one of the ones on my foamy. Don’t get me wrong, some of the foamy sessions have been amazing, especially some of the ones I’ve filmed on POV when there’s been amazing sunset, like day 5, but some of them are just brutal.
Best surf?
There’s been a few. Day 71 was an unexpectedly amazing day in Bude where the waves were huge. I was doing some training with Barnaby on my backhand and it was magical. Another was Day 67! when I was competing at the Junior Pro at Croyde. I got to surf and hang out with my mates, and although I didn’t surf my best in the final, I caught some great waves during the comp and felt like I surfed them well.
How’s the wetsuit rash?
Not bad, to be fair!
How many wetsuits and boards have you been through so far?
I got a couple of amazing boards from Skindog before I went to the Junior World Championships in Peru, and thankfully I haven’t smashed them up or outgrown them yet. Wetsuits are standing up to the use. Although I got super excited because it was sunny on day 89, so I put my 3:2 on - had a brain freeze - won’t be doing that in the UK for a while.
Anything else to add?
Just a huge thank you for all the support I’ve had so far - means a lot. Please tell friends, family, even strangers to get involved. I seriously need to get in the sea now because I haven’t been in yet - looks like it might be pumping!
William Aliotti – Full Send
This film marks my official welcome to the Billabong Adventure Division.
After signing with Billabong, I set out with a simple objective: to create a surf part that felt authentic and impactful, not just in performance but in atmosphere. Something built on movement, instinct, and the search for waves that sit just outside the obvious, while naturally exploring and pushing the limits of twin fins, as well as different types of surfboards like asymmetrics. What unfolds is a story shaped just as much by missed timing, wrong turns, and mounting pressure as it is by anything that made the final cut.
For months I moved from continent to continent, chasing conditions that never fully aligned. Winter was unpredictable, and entire trips were reduced to a single wave, sometimes less, as time slipped and resources stretched thin. A reminder that surfing does not bend to intention and rarely rewards effort in a straight line.
What was meant to be a reset back home in Europe became something unexpected. Free from the weight of expectation, the waves finally showed, the timing clicked, and the score I had been searching for across the world turned out to be waiting right where everything had started.
Not as a conclusion, but as part of the process. A quiet confirmation that the search does not always end where I expect, and that sometimes, it does not need to go quite so far. William Aliotti
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