The World’s best have descended on the Gold Coast ahead of the season opener but before the competition kicks off it was time to celebrate with WSL Awards.
The evening commemorated the newly crowned World Champions across the Championship Tour, Big Wave Tour, Longboard, Pro Junior, Masters and Grand Masters. Recognition was also delivered to the best performances, most groundbreaking moments, and exciting achievements in surfing over the past year.
“It was around September in 2018 that I really understood the power of winning multiple World Titles,” said Gilmore on the WSL Awards stage. “You win a lot of World Titles and you start to wonder, ‘What is it worth? Why do I continue to do this? What is it that motivates me to keep going?’ And you start to think about the platform that you get, the voice that you get, and the value of the power of sport. To announce equal prize pay for men and women with the WSL was such a proud moment for myself and for all of the women before me, for not only female athletes but women around the world.
“I think that was truly a moment in my year last year that made me fall in love with being a leader, with being the World Champion, with being someone who can use their voice for something much bigger than themselves, and that is really what this trophy represents to me. I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of young women who are following their dreams.”
2018 WSL World Champions
Championship Tour: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Big Wave Tour: Keala Kennelly (HAW), Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker (ZAF)
Longboard: Soleil Errico (USA), Steven Sawyer (ZAF)
Pro Junior: Kirra Pinkerton (USA), Mateus Herdy (BRA)
Masters: Layne Beachley (AUS), Rob Bain (AUS)
Grand Masters: Dave Macaulay (AUS)
2018 Championship Tour Honors
Fan Favorite Award pres. by Breitling: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Wave of the Year: Carissa Moore (HAW), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Move of the Year: Carissa Moore (HAW), Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat of the Year: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA) at Beachwaver Maui Pro / Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Conner Coffin (USA) at Billabong Pipe Masters
CT Runner-Ups: Lakey Peterson (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS)
CT Rookies of the Year: Caroline Marks (USA), Wade Carmichael (AUS)
View some amazing videos and a full list of Winners from the WSL Awards Here
(left to right) Big Wave World Champion Keala Kennelly of Hawaii, 7X World Champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia and 2X World Champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil pose with their trophies at the 2019 WSL Awards after being crowned the World Champion on March 31, 2019 in Queensland, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images)
