Fanning Is Back!

Fanning Is Back!

Three-time World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) has been awarded the event wildcard for the upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the fourth stop on the World Surf League (WSL) 2022 Championship Tour (CT), which holds a competition window from April 10 to April 20, 2022.

“Bells is the wildcard I really wanted,” Fanning said. “Obviously, I did Narrabeen last year but Bells is the one I was really aiming for. It’s a place that is really close to my heart, and if I was ever going to take a wildcard, it would be there, so I’m pretty fired up. Personally, I really like the wave at Bells. The speed of it, the wide open canvas, and the fact that it is a right hand point break. I love everything that comes with Bells, the history, the cliffs, the gathering of everyone down in the car park. It’s so awesome. It’s something that sits in my heart.”

2018 Rip Curl Pro. Prior to his retirement, Fanning spent 17 years competing on the elite CT. His illustrious tenure includes 22 Championship Tour victories, 11 Top 5 finishes, and three World Titles, cementing him as one of the greatest surfers and sportsmen in history.

“To go and ring the Bell for the fifth time, no one has ever done it apart from Gail Couper,” Fanning continued. “During my career I got close, but right now I just want to focus on putting on a good performance. My preparation when I was on Tour was non-stop training but this time around I’ve just been focusing on my surfing and making sure it’s up to the level of the best in the world.” 

After taking a couple of years off to recover from a knee injury, Fanning was back in the jersey as an event wildcard at the 2021 Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic presented by Corona, marking 20 years since winning his first CT event — as a wildcard — at the 2001 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. 

CT Surfers Ready for 59th Edition of Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is the longest-running surfing event in the world, dating back to the Bells Beach Easter Classic in 1973. 

Bells Beach has been the proving ground for the greats, and the list of Bells champions corresponds pretty closely to the list of all-time great surfers.11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), seven-time WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), event wildcard Fanning and surfing legends Lisa Andersen and Mark Richards have won the event four times each. 

Australian icon, Gail Couper, is the surfer that holds the record for the most surfing trophies at Bells Beach. After becoming the first female surfer to win an event at Bells Beach in 1964, Couper has won the Bells Beach trophy another nine times. To this day, no surfer has been able to beat this record.

Bells Beach is also a sacred place, a place of cultural significance to the Wadawurrung people traditionally known as Djarrak. To honor and respect the local community, every year The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach begins with a traditional Welcome to Country and concludes with Wadawurrung and local indigenous surfers presenting the winner’s trophy.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Wildcards and Replacement Surfers Confirmed

Fanning was awarded the event wildcard through the event’s title partner, Rip Curl. Five other surfers were called into the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach to replace injured athletes.

Bronte Macaulay (AUS) will continue surfing as the WSL Injury Replacement for Caroline Marks (USA), who has withdrawn from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach due to medical reasons.

Three-time WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) has withdrawn from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and will be replaced by Barron Mamiya (HAW), who is currently sitting as World No. 2 alongside 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA).

Yago Dora (BRA) continues his recovery from his injury ahead of the season and will be replaced by WSL Injury Replacement, Matthew McGillivray (ZAF). Carlos Munoz (CRI) and Liam O’Brien (AUS) sustained injuries at Pipeline and continue their recoveries. They will be replaced by World No. 6 Caio Ibelli (BRA) and Mikey Wright (AUS), respectively. This will mark Wright’s return to the CT after announcing an indefinite break from professional surfing following last year’s Corona Open Mexico.

The two remaining wildcard spots for women and men will be decided by the local trials event. The trials are scheduled for Thursday, April 7 at Bells beach, and a total of 20 men and 20 women will fight for one spot in each division.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Opening Round 1:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Heat 2: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Isabella Nichols (AUS), TBD
Heat 4: Brisa Hennessy (CRI), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Molly Picklum (AUS)
Heat 5: Johanne Defay (FRA), India Robinson (AUS), Luana Silva (HAW)
Heat 6: Malia Manuel (HAW), Tyler Wright (AUS), Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Opening Round 1:
Heat 1: Seth Moniz (HAW), Callum Robson (AUS), Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Zeke Lau (HAW), Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA), Nat Young (USA), Owen Wright (AUS)
Heat 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Mikey Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Samuel Pupo (BRA), Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 6: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Lucca Mesinas (PER), TBD
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Frederico Morais (PRT), Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
Heat 8: John John Florence (HAW), Connor O’Leary (AUS), Jackson Baker (AUS)
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Joao Chianca (BRA)
Heat 10: Kolohe Andino (USA), Jack Robinson (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 11: Miguel Pupo (BRA), Jake Marshall (USA), Deivid Silva (BRA)
Heat 12: Barron Mamiya (HAW), Ethan Ewing (AUS), Morgan Cibilic (AUS)

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

World Longboard Tour

World Longboard Tour

The World Surf League (WSL) announced the 2022 World Longboard Tour schedule. Manly Beach, Huntington Beach, and Malibu will host this year’s Longboard competitions for the men’s and women’s divisions. The first two events of the season in Manly Beach and Huntington Beach will be worth 5,000 points each, while the final event in Malibu will have 10,000 points on offer. The World Titles will be determined by the highest points in the best two of three competitions.

The competitions will host 20 surfers for the men’s division and 20 surfers for the women’s division. Each field will be made up of the Top 10 from the 2021 rankings, seven surfers selected from the regions, one WSL wildcard, and two event wildcards.

“We’re looking forward to kicking off the World Longboard Tour and crowning World Champions later this year at the iconic break of First Point, Malibu,” said Devon Howard, WSL Longboard Tour Director. “We’re also excited that this year’s Tour will start at Manly Beach then continue on at Huntington Beach. All of this Tour’s breaks are steeped in longboard history spanning back to the 1960s, where champions were crowned and surf culture as we know it today entered the world stage.”

“We’re very excited to bring back the World Longboard Tour in 2022,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. “The Longboard community is very passionate, and we appreciate all the feedback we got from them as we were planning the future of this important division in professional surfing. This year, the World Longboard Tour will have three events, and we can’t wait to crown World Champions at the iconic First Point, in Malibu.”

2022 WSL Longboard Tour Schedule:

Manly Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: May 16 – 24, 2022
Vans Duct Tape Invitational, Huntington Beach, California, USA: August 3 – 7, 2022
WSL Longboard Championships, Malibu, California, USA: October 3 – 13, 2022

The 2022 World Longboard Tour will kick off at Manly Beach, Australia as part of the Sydney Surf Pro Challenger Series event from May 16 – 24, 2022. Considered by many as Sydney’s most popular surfing beaches, Manly Beach has a very long and celebrated history with surfing. Not only was it on the next beach over that Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to Australia, but it was in Manly Beach in 1964 that Phyliss O’Donnell and Midget Farrelly were crowned the first surfing World Champions. Manly Beach will host the world’s best longboarders as they try to earn as many points as possible to establish their World Title campaigns early in the season.

Competitors will then head to California, where the next two events of the 2022 season will take place. The Vans Duct Tape Invitational in Huntington Beach will host the first California event from August 3 – 7. Huntington Beach has served as the stage of several professional surfing competitions throughout the years. The break is also set to host the Vans US Open of Surfing, the fourth stop of the Challenger Series, from July 30 to August 7. The World Longboard Tour will conclude at one of the sport’s proving grounds, the iconic First Point in Malibu, California from October 3 – 13. Surfers’ two best results will be used to determine the Longboard World Titles and final 2022 Rankings.

Watch LIVE
The World Longboard Tour will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and WSL’s YouTube channel, as well as the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

Surfing England’s Junior Surf Series

Surfing England’s Junior Surf Series

The sun shone brightly along the North Devonshire coastline on Saturday 26th March, as the first event of Surfing England’s Junior surf series kicked off in Croyde Bay. The single-day event was hosted by Croyde Surf Club and served as the first of 5 stops across the UK, with a final competition that will see the best young athletes from each event compete to crown winners in each category.

33 young athletes who came from as far north as Tyneside and as far south as Cornwall to enter the competition. Participants were separated into four shortboard divisions: Under 12 Girls & Boys, and Under 14 Girls & Boys, following the International Surfing Association’s guidelines on age categories. The offshore winds had some hefty gusts, and the surf was relatively small but still contestable and the young athletes certainly made the most of the conditions they were given. 

12 athletes competed in the under 14 boys shortboard division, with Lukas Skinner coming in first place with a total of 11.27 points, followed by Heath Gillespie in second with 6.57 points, Reuben Joseph Wakely in third with 5.10 points and Sebastian Connolly in fourth place with 3.93 points. 

11 athletes competed in the under 12 boys shortboard division, with Joshi James earning first place with 8.53 points, Wilbur Prisk in second with 5.70 points. George Moy was the only North-Devon based contestant to place in the competition – and came third with 2.67 points, followed by Harvey James Waters in fourth with 2.46 points. Rafael French, from Braunton also participated in his first-ever competition. He was ranked third best in heat 3 of the quarterfinal.

4 athletes competed in the under 14 girls shortboard division, with Sunny Ingram placing first with 5.27 points, Bethan Davies in second with 4.67 points, Harlyn Sykes in third with 3.83 points and Lilly Issberner in fourth with 2.47 points.

6 athletes competed in the under 12 girls shortboard division. Hazel Bennett came first with 3.83 points, Summer-Marie Moore in second with 2.93 points, Lila Skinner in third with 2.73 points and Betsie Reay in fourth with 2.17 points.

The next stop in the series will take place in Newquay with Newquay Boardriders, and the third at Widemouth Bay with Bude Waveriders in June. The fourth in September with West Cornwall Global Boarders, the fifth in October with Tynemouth Surf club, and the finals are scheduled to take place in late October 2022, where the winners from each competition stop will be invited to compete.

“The key thing for me was seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces at the end,” says Phil Williams, the Junior Surf Series contest director for Surfing England. “We want events like the Junior Series to help young athletes hone their competitive skills and also give an opportunity for some to begin their journey into competitive surfing.”

“We had people compete from across the country to compete, and Croyde Surf Club helped to host a brilliant start to our surf series,” adds Williams. 

Surfing England hopes that the Junior Series will contribute to their wider goal of running more national surfing contests to cultivate top-tier British surfing talent. The series is sponsored by Eola, a brand that provides booking systems for activity providers and surf schools throughout the UK, and Animal, a Southwest based sustainable clothing brand.

Congratulations to all of the young surfers who made it into the top four rankings of each category. It’s certain that the future of British surfing looks bright, and we hope to see athletes like Lukas Skinner, Joshi James, Sunny Ingram and Hazel Bennett flourishing into top-tier-level competitions in the future. 

For more information on the upcoming event and how to attend to support our young athletes, please visit surfingengland.org/

Nazaré

Nazaré

Another world record wave at Nazaré, decide for yourself.

This is Vinicious dos Santos, on one of the last swells of this season of giant waves in Nazaré. According to many media sources, his wave (along with Lucas Chumbo’s) would surpass Rodrigo Koxa’s world record for the largest wave ever surfed. Vinicious has been having good seasons in Praia do Norte going full send.

Worship

Worship

After a few weeks chasing pros in Peniche Adam from Offshores Photo timed his return nicely to coincide with the first fusion of sun and swell to hit the South West this season. Filmed in Devon and Cornwall, Worship features Will Bailey, Reubyn Ash and some more anonymous local rippers making the most of the prime conditions that rolled up last week.