World Surf League Releases 2021 Regional Event Calendars

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surfing News

World Surf League Releases 2021 Regional Event Calendars

European Qualifiers for the Challenger Series will be decided at the final European qualifying event in Anglet. Image credit: WSL / Poullenot

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The World Surf League (WSL) today announced the 2021 regional events calendar, including the Qualifying Series (QS), Junior Tour, and Longboard Tour.

Earlier this year the WSL revealed a new format for 2021, which included creating distinct seasons between the QS (the regionalized development tier), the Challenger Series (the global battleground for Championship Tour qualification) and the Championship Tour (the world’s best surfers competing for the World Title).

The new tour structure will provide a more streamlined and affordable career pathway for WSL athletes by allowing up-and-coming surfers to develop closer to home without financially overleveraging themselves. Athletes will compete on their regional QS tour in hopes of qualifying for the Challenger Series (CS), and ultimately the Championship Tour, which will reduce the economic pressure on surfers and their sponsors, as well as provide increased opportunities to celebrate local stars.

The QS will run through to July 2021 and determine who has qualified for the CS, which will run from August through to December 2021. Each region will have an allocation of surfers that can qualify for the CS through their regional tour and athletes will be able to roll over points from 2020 QS events into the current season.

The Junior Tour will run from January to December 2021 and will determine who qualifies for the WSL Junior Championships (men's & women's), which will take place in December 2021 in Taiwan.

The Longboard Championships will feature a three-event circuit to determine the World Longboard Champions with events in Long Island, New York; at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore, CA; and in Malibu, CA, in addition to Longboard Regional events.

View the calendar at worldsurfleague.com/events.

Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Tours Take Surfers Across the Old Continent

Starting in 2021, European surfers will fight for 18 spots on the Challenger Series, through QS events located around the Old Continent and affiliated territories, as well as a few locations in Africa and the Middle East. The Top 10 men and 8 women at the end of the regular qualifying season (before July 4, 2021) will have a shot at the elite tours via the Challenger Series.

The European QS is a historic leg that travels to France (Lacanau), Spain (Pantin, Las Americas), Portugal (Caparica, Santa Cruz), England (Newquay), Morocco (Taghazout), and Israel (Netanya). The final qualifying event will be the culmination of the season, held in Anglet at the end of June.

The Challenger Series will also feature three events in Europe, offering a glimpse of the current and future world’s best surfers in some of the continent’s best waves. The region continues to push and challenge athletes in a variety of conditions to send only the most well-rounded competitors to the big leagues.

The European Junior Tour will be a four-stop affair with events in Espinho (Portugal), La Torche, Lacanau and Capbreton / Hossegor / Seignosse (France). The best surfers under the age of 18 take part in this development tour to hone their skills before embarking on the qualifying journey.

The European Longboard Tour will consist of two events in Espinho (Portugal) and Newquay (England), crown the region’s longboard Champions and help decide the qualifiers for the World Longboard Tour events.

Despite the uncertainty of the current situation, new events could be added to the various tours, an update will be made in January.

2021 North America Regional Calendar

Surfers in North America will battle for the 18 available spots (10 men and 8 women) on the CS. The top-ranked surfers at the end of the 2021 North American QS season in July will qualify for the CS starting in August 2021.

The QS season will start in Barbados (Bathsheba) before events in California in Huntington Beach, San Clemente, and Oceanside, as well as Puerto Escondido and Playa Revolcadero in Mexico. Surfers will carry over their three best results from QS events that ran in 2020 into the 2021 North America QS Rankings.

The North American Junior Tour will feature stops in Huntington Beach, Virginia Beach, and Barbados.

The Longboard Championships will feature a three-event circuit to determine the World Longboard Champions with events in Long Island, New York; at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore, CA; and in Malibu, CA.

Regional Qualifying Series and Junior Series Dates Released for Australia/Oceania and Asia Pacific

Australia/Oceania will receive an allocation of 10 men’s and 8 women’s spots onto the Challenger Series based on the regional QS rankings. The Asia region will be allocated 6 spots for men and women on the Challenger Series based on Qualifying Series Rankings.

The Qualifying Series will consist of 1000, 3000, and 5000 rated events with competitors rankings being determined by their top five results of the season. Australia / Oceania have confirmed four QS events for the 2021 season with more QS and JQS events to be confirmed in the coming weeks and months. The Asia region will be confirming events in the coming months.

For more details on the Great Lakes Pro QS1,000, Mad Mex Maroubra Pro QS1,000, The Vissla Central Coast Pro QS3,000 or the Port Stephens Women’s Pro QS3,000 please head to the WSL website.

The regional Junior Qualifying Series will run in line with the calendar year and all points accrued will go towards qualification for the World Junior Titles to be held in December of 2021. Similar to past years, the top 3 men and top 2 women from each region will be invited to the World Junior Championships.

All tour stops and dates are subject to change due to applicable COVID-19 related restrictions, including global travel restrictions.

Follow the Road to The WSL Finals

The road to The WSL Finals will start at the Maui Pro presented by ROXY with the women competing at Honolua Bay in Maui, Hawaii from December 4 - 15, 2020. The men will compete at Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii at the Billabong Pipe Masters presented by Hydro Flask from December 8 - 20, 2020 in Oahu, Hawaii. Watch both events live on worldsurfleague.com and register now for WSL's official Fantasy Surfing game at fantasy.worldsurfleague.com.

Check WorldSurfLeague.com/events for the full schedule and to tune-in.

For further information about WSL & to stay up to date with their events, you can follow this link.

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