The World Surf League has just announced its tours & competitions schedule for 2023; next year’s calendar follows a similar format to the 2022 season and includes two stops in Australia.
The calendar follows on from the redesigned Tours framework, which combines the women’s and men’s schedule with 10 regular season events, a mid-season cut and the final five once again in play for the WSL Finals. However, when the tour arrives again in Australia, it will be here for two rounds only, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach from April 4 to 14 and the Margaret River Pro from April 20 to 30, signalling the final note in hopes for a return to the Gold Coast.
“We are proud of the new framework we’ve developed and seen play out over the course of this season with great success,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. The 2023 schedule provides the best possible platform and will continue to drive the world’s best surfing. Seeing the women return to Tahiti for the first time in 16 years in August was incredible, and I’m proud to confirm that 2023 will continue to see equal events, venues, and prize money with this fully combined schedule.”“Following the incredible momentum and milestones we’ve hit in 2022, we will continue to build our global platform to progress and elevate professional surfing,” said Erik Logan, WSL CEO. “We experienced the redesign in its entirety for the first time this year, and we will further strengthen the sport through next year’s fully-combined Championship Tour, which will also qualify the first 18 athletes for the 2024 Olympic Games.”
The 2023 CT will include 10 regular-season events in seven countries, starting in January for the Billabong Pro Pipeline. The Mid-season Cut will come into action following the Margaret River Pro, Stop. No. 5. The WSL CT will return to the Surf Ranch, the world’s largest high-performance, human-made wave 100 miles from the ocean in Lemoore, Calif., as the sixth stop on the calendar. The 2023 Rip Curl WSL Finals will be held in Lower Trestles in San Clemente, Calif., where the men’s and women’s Top 5 surfers will face off for the World Titles.
2023 WSL Championship Tour Schedule:
Billabong Pro Pipeline (Hawaii): January 29 – February 10Hurley Pro Sunset Beach (Hawaii): February 12 – 23MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal (Portugal): March 8 – 16Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (Australia): April 4 – 14Margaret River Pro (Australia): April 20 – 30Mid-season Cut: 36-man and 18-woman fields reduced to 24-man and 12-woman fields.Surf Ranch Pro (USA): May 27 – 28Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona (El Salvador): June 9 – 18Rio Pro presented by Corona (Brazil): June 23 – July 1Corona Open J-Bay (South Africa): July 13 – 22SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro (French Polynesia): August 11 – 20WSL Final 5 determined to battle for the men’s and women’s World Titles.Rip Curl WSL Finals (Lower Trestles, USA): September 7 – 15
