WSL Welcomes Six Rookies to the Championship Tour

Challenger Series Qualifies Surfers from Indonesia, Morocco, Italy, France, Hawaii, Brazil, USA, and Australia

2023 CT Season Starts at the Billabong Pro Pipeline on January 29

More info at WorldSurfLeague.com

The World Surf League (WSL) Tours and Competition team confirmed the official competitor lists for the 2023 Championship Tour (CT) season. The 2023 WSL CT will feature the world’s best surfers, as determined by the top-ranking finishers on the 2022 CT and 2022 Challenger Series, as well as the season and event wildcards selected by the WSL Tours and Competition team.

Starting on January 29, 2023, the new CT class will compete in the fully redesigned CT framework for the second year. Men and women will compete in the same CT venues, with an equal number of competitions and equal prize money. The CT format will kick off the season at the Billabong Pro Pipeline, will see the Mid-season Cut at the season’s halfway point, and will conclude at the Rip Curl WSL Finals, where the WSL Final 5 men and women will battle for the World Title.

“We’re excited to welcome and officially confirm the new class of Championship Tour competitors,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. “We’re coming off of a groundbreaking season with the first-ever combined schedule for the men and women and the continuation of equal prize money, and we will continue to make history in 2023 and beyond.

“We have so much to celebrate as the 2022 season comes to a close, and we look forward to next season. We’ll have world-class athletes take center stage representing new countries on the CT, with Ramzi Boukhiam representing Morocco and Rio Waida representing Indonesia. Our surfers are role models, paving the way for the next generation and showing the world what’s possible.”

The men’s 2023 Championship Tour will be contested by the WSL Top 36, made up of:

The Top 22 finishers from the 2022 CT rankings
The Top 10 finishers on the 2022 Challenger Series rankings
Two WSL season wildcards
Two event wildcards

The women’s 2023 Championship Tour will be contested by the WSL Top 18, made up of:

The Top 10 finishers on the 2022 CT rankings
The Top five finishers on the 2022 Challenger Series rankings
Two WSL season wildcards
One event wildcard

The 2023 CT season will start with 36 men and 18 women. Halfway through the season, the field will be reduced to 24 men and 12 women. The top-ranked surfers will automatically requalify for the 2024 CT, as well as continue on to the second half of the Tour, where they will be joined by one season-long wildcard and one event wildcard (two men’s wildcards and two women’s wildcards).

In addition to the WSL wildcards announced for the season, the WSL Tours and Competition team also assigned one WSL Replacement for men’s competitions and one WSL Replacement for women’s competitions. The WSL Replacement surfer will surf amongst the world’s best when a CT surfer withdraws from the competition.

The WSL Replacement spot will only be available at the first five stops of the season before the Mid-season Cut. The 2023 WSL Replacements are Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) and Carlos Munoz (CRI).

Men’s 2023 Championship Tour Qualifiers

Top 22 Qualifiers from the 2022 CT Rankings

Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Italo Ferreira (BRA)
Jack Robinson (AUS)
Ethan Ewing (AUS)
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Griffin Colapinto (USA)
Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Connor O'Leary (AUS)
Callum Robson (AUS)
Samuel Pupo (BRA)
John John Florence (HAW)
Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Kelly Slater (USA)
Barron Mamiya (HAW)
Nat Young (USA)
Jake Marshall (USA)
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Jadson Andre (BRA)
Seth Moniz (HAW)
Jackson Baker (AUS)

Billabong Pro Pipeline To Kickoff 2023 CT Season

The first stop on the 2023 WSL Championship Tour will be the Billabong Pro Pipeline, starting January 29 and running through February 10, 2022. The women made history last season after competing in the first full competition at Pipeline and will continue paving the way in January to kick off the 2023 CT season.

“The WSL held the first-ever women’s competition at Pipe in 2020 and hosted the first full CT competition there earlier this year, and now we cannot wait to see this group kick off the CT season at the world-renowned venue again in January for the Billabong Pro Pipeline,” said Miley-Dyer.

All the action will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

Learn from Nathan Fletcher and a handful of the world’s best aerial surfers on what makes Pipeline the world’s best airwave and what this means for the Vans Pipe Masters.

Sam Bloom, Team Australia Photo: ISA / Sean Evans

Women were at the forefront on the third day of competition at the 2022 Pismo Beach ISA World Para Surfing Championship Hosted by AmpSurf (WPSC), showcasing the growth in both participation and performance levels.

With women’s involvement at an all time high, a 20% increase from last year’s event alone, it’s no surprise to see new records set and progression pushed.

At 51-years-old Sam Bloom (AUS) is determined to continue improving. Competing for the first time in the unassisted Women’s Prone 1 division, the two-time Women’s Prone 2 gold medalist collected a 14.17 heat total and sits on top of the leaderboard ahead of defending champion Sarah Bettencourt (USA).

An incredible showing in her second round heat rocketed Bloom’s teammate and protege Emma Dieters (AUS) to the top of the leaderboard in Women’s Prone 2. It also wrote Dieters’ name in the record books. Her 17.83 heat total is officially the highest in women’s ISA Para Surfing History.

Scotland’s Jade Edward is appearing in her first WPSC as the youngest woman ever at just 10-years-old. Learning to surf within the past 18 months, Edward is enthralled with the sport.

“I love surfing, it’s just amazing,” Edward said. “I’ve been skateboarding for quite a while. I think because I’ve got the balance on my skateboard I can balance on the surfboard as well.”

Defending Women’s Vision Impairment 1 gold medalist, Portugal’s Marta Paço, kicked off her campaign in a very strong fashion, scoring a 9.50 for an incredibly long ride after a big take-off.

Caleb Swanepoel, Team South Africa Photo: ISA / Pablo Franco

“I’ve been surfing for the last five years,” Paço said. “I started in 2017 and since then I’ve been trying to prove that completely blind surfers can surf as regular surfers. That’s why I’m here every year and trying to go for the gold medal and always trying to do something new, something better.”

Round 1 was completed for all classifications, with Round 2 kicking off the elimination rounds in multiple divisions. Most divisions are functioning in a round robin format, meaning that positioning on the overall leaderboard for each division determined who continued in competition and who was eliminated.

Trickier conditions in the afternoon meant that the leaderboards in the Men’s Prone 2, Stand 3 and Prone 1 classifications didn’t see too much of a shake-up.

Competing in his first WSPC, Caleb Swanepoel (RSA) is extremely proud to represent his country. The 27-year-old shark attack survivor lost his leg in 2015.

“Everyone thinks, ‘Shark attack survivor, you must have been a surfer,’ but I actually only learned to surf after I lost my leg,” Swanepoel said. “I was actually bodysurfing with my brothers when there was a great white shark in the water in South Africa. It came for me, took my whole right leg off above the knee. It’s a miracle that I’m still here today.

“The journey to surfing happened a few years after that. I say that the ocean has taken away from me, but it’s also given a lot back. It’s a privilege to wake up every single day and know that life’s a gift, so make the most of every single day.”

Competition will resume at Pismo Beach Pier with Women's Stand 2, Round 2 at 7am, today, Thursday, December 8.

Team England, Including Melissa Reid (ENG) one of two women in contention to win their fourth gold medals this week Photo: ISA / Sean Evans