Rip Curl has officially announced the 16 men and 8 women surfers invited to compete in the 20-Year Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang.

The announcement was made on Sunday at the Opening Ceremony, held at Padang Padang Beach in front of a crowd of several hundred fans gathered from all over the world to join in blessing the event with good waves, a safe competition, and officially christen the start of the holding period (Aug. 1st-31st) to the one-of-a-kind tube-riding invitational.

Among the international invitees this year are defending champion Clay Marzo (HAW), WCT legend Taj Burrow (AUS), Kolohe Andino (USA) Mason Ho (HAW), and 15-year-old surfing prodigy Dylan Wilcoxen (USA). Indonesia will be represented by 2x Rip Curl Cup Champion Mega Semadhi, 2x champion Bol Adi Putra, and 2014 champion Garut Widiarta, among others.

Among the elite female tube-riders invited to the first-ever Women’s Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang are Erin Brooks (CAN), who last year claimed third place in the men’s division, as well as Sierra Kerr (AUS) and Sky Brown (ENG, below).

Two-time Rip Curl Cup Champion and pride of Balinese surfing, Mega Semadhi, said he’s looking forward to a rematch with the big names, and surfing alongside Indonesia’s up-and-coming female chargers as they give it their all out at Padang Padang in the heaviest conditions of the year.

“Padang Padang is one of the most amazing waves in Indonesia and the Rip Curl Cup is for the best of the best out there,” Semadhi said. “If you want the opportunity to surf out there for the Rip Curl Cup, you have to be able to perform with the best. And I think these women are up to the challenge.”

 All eyes are now focused on a powerful Indian Ocean swell that is forecast to reach Bali this week. Contest directors are monitoring the swell closely, with a potential contest run day of Friday, Aug. 4th looking increasingly likely. Stay tuned to ripcurl.com for the latest event status updates.

The 2023 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang will be webcast LIVE to the world at ripcurl.com and at worldsurfleague.com. Fans can also visit the Rip Curl website to check the official event swell forecast, real-time contest status, and video updates from Bali.

Following is the complete lineup of 24 surfers invited to the 2023 Rip Curl Cup:

INTERNATIONAL SURFERS:
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Miguel Blanco (PRT)
Taj Burrow (AUS)
Nathan Hedge (AUS)
Mason Ho (HAW)
Clay Marzo (HAW) *Defending Champion*
Koa Smith (HAW)
Dylan Wilcoxen (USA)

INDONESIAN SURFERS:
Made "Bol" Adi Putra
Mega Artana
Mustofa Jeksen
Raditya Rondi
Mega Semadhi
Tommy Sobry
Agus “Dag Dag” Sumertayasa
Garut Widiarta

WOMEN SURFERS:
Erin Brooks (CAN)
Lidia Kato (IND)
Ziggy Mackenzie (AUS)
Jasmine Studer (IND)
Sierra Kerr (AUS)
Kailani Johnson (IND)
Sky Brown (ENG)
Taina Izquierdo (IND)

The answer to the question surfing fans around the globe have all been asking will be revealed this Sunday when Rip Curl officially announces the 16 surfers – eight of Indonesia’s best and eight of the world’s greatest barrel hunters – invited to compete in the 20^th Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang presented by Samudera Indonesia.

The eight female surfers selected to compete in the first-ever Women’s Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang – split evenly between local and international athletes – will also be revealed.

The 24 total surfer invitations, as well as the men’s and women’s opening round heat draws, will be announced at the Rip Curl Cup Opening Ceremony on Sunday, 30th of July at Padang Padang. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the traditional festivities to bless the event with good waves and pray for the safety of the competing athletes.

Due to a lack of contestable swell at Padang during the month of July, the Local Trials will not be held in 2023. Instead, contest directors will select the four remaining Indonesian surfers qualifying for the main event based on their results in last year’s Rip Curl Cup.

These four “Trials Qualifiers” will be re-seeded along with the top-four Indonesian surfers from last year’s Rip Curl Cup – Mega Semadhi (2nd place in 2022), Mega Artana (3rd place in 2022), Mustofa Jeksen (equal 7^th place/Semi-Finalist in 2022), and Garut Widiarta (equal 7^th place/Semi-Finalist in 2022) – to once again represent Indonesia and compete against the world's best tube riders at Padang Padang on the heaviest and most dangerous day of waves between 1st-31st of August.

“Unfortunately, the swell never reached the highest standard we need to run the Trials at Padang during the month of July,” said Contest Director James Hendy. “Therefore, we will resort to the cleanest, fairest Plan B option – we will take the back seeds from last year’s Rip Curl Cup Main Event. In other words, the eight local surfers from last year’s main event will be re-seeded into this year’s Rip Curl Cup based upon last year’s results.”

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to run the Trials and showcase the talent of all our amazing local surfers at Padang Padang, particularly the younger generation,” added Hendy. “But hopefully the slow July is a sign that we will see high swell activity during the month of August and a very special Padang swell for the 20-Year Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup.”

The Opening Ceremony marks the start of the one-month Rip Curl Cup holding period, which runs for the full month of August. The Opening Ceremony celebration will begin promptly this Sunday at 3 PM on the sacred sands of Padang Padang Beach, followed by a meet and greet with the surfers and contest organizers. The day will conclude with the traditional Balinese Kecak Dance performance at sunset.

The 2023 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang will be webcast LIVE to the world at ripcurl.com and at worldsurfleague.com. Fans can also visit the Rip Curl website to check the official event swell forecast, real-time contest status, and video updates from Bali.

RIP CURL CUP PADANG PADANG 2023 EVENT SCHEDULE:

Main Event Holding Period
August 1st – 31st

Opening Ceremony

Sunday, July 30th at 3 PM, Padang Padang Beach, Bali
1.    Media Gathering at 1 PM @ Grün Resort Uluwatu
2.    Meet the invited athletes
3.    Press conference
4.    Traditional Balinese Kecak Dance performance

Official Rip Curl Cup Party
Friday, August 25th 5PM – Midnight.
Live performance by special guest at Ulu Cliff House