2025 Championship Tour Announced
Overnight, the World Surf League released the schedule for next year's CT and, as expected, there are a few changes.
Cloudbreak is the venue for the Finals Day, but we already knew that was coming. We also knew the mid-season cut was to be pushed back but now we have the specifics: it'll be after the seventh stop, which is Margaret River.
Other noteworthy alterations?
- Sunset has been cut.
- Abu Dhabi has been added.
- El Salvador moves to earlier in the season (and into a more favourable swell season)
- Trestles moves to a regular season slot.
- Jeffreys Bay is back!
- As is Snapper, though rumours it would be earlier in the season were false.
The complete order and dates are as follows:
Counting Finals Day, there are now twelve stops on the tour. The last time there were this many contests on the CT was 2003 when AI beat out KS for the world title and lit a fuse that fuelled his second coming.
Looking closely: of the twelve stops in 2003, seven of them are repeated in 2025. Putting Abu Dhabi aside, it's arguably the most 'dream-like' schedule the Woz has released since taking the reins in 2013.
No doubt there'll be dissenters to that view, though it'd be harder to argue against the 2025 representing the best schedule yet for the women. Keep in mind, the dream was gender specific, while the lads were jetting off for Fiji, the lasses were heading for Huntington, or Taranaki, or, god forbid, Dee Why.
What's an announcement without a word from the CEO?
“We've built this schedule to include more events and feature a variety of breaks," said Ryan Crosby. "We've brought back some of the Tour’s most desirable locations, while aligning dates with favorable swell windows, to open up more opportunity for quality surf. We'll see a great mix of locations from heavy-water barrels, to high-performance waves, and pristine point breaks. It'll be an exciting showcase of the world's best surfing featuring the incredible CT talent. We can't wait to kick off in January 2025. See you at Pipe."
Keen watchers of pro surfing will await the release of the Challenger Series schedule. With Snapper being promoted and the cut pushed back, the Changa now starts over a month later than it did this year. The timing pushes it away from favourable times in some regions, yet towards favourable times in others. Dare they close the Changa with a comp at Haleiwa or Sunset..?
The Woz are ironing out the kinks on the top sheet, when will they sort out the next layer down?
Comments
Very positive changes.
Sad to see Sunset go, and would love to give Abu Dhabi the boot, but can't have everything.
And the new tour schedule was released in partnership with Qantas. Wonder how far reaching that sponsorship is?
So happy with 2025 CT, hopefully CS gets the upgrade it deserves to match. Hoping indo and Hawaii make the list
Looks heaps better! But Huey hates the Woz, so they'll likely get skunked everywhere.
Certainly an improvement. Great to see Jbay and Snapper back. As for the tank. Just get rid of Abu Dhabi as a tour stop after they've had their go at it. Unless the sheikhs buy the Wozz and pump more money into the tour than Ziff. But yeah, bring back Sunset please, in some shape or form. Challenger finish with Haleiwa could work really well. Probably mean some more Hawaiian and other surfers qualifying instead of so many Brazilians who are more favoured by the current tour. We know Sunset provides a proper test in heavy water rights in its own unique way which any would be world champ or qualifier should have to try and decipher.
A few things I like here:
- More events before the cut ( it will help some surfers financially, and give rookies better odds of snaring some heat wins despite their low seeding)
- j Bay and snapper back. Who isn't happy about this?
-more events total = more for fans to look forward to.
- Sunset gone. We already had two chunky rights in Bells and Margaret River. We didn't need a 3rd. Hopefully it ends up on the CS though.
QUESTIONABLE:
- no lefts before the cut. Again.
-Still a general lack of lefts.
- probably not the best time of year for Snapper.
- the schedule is very compact. That's 12 events in 7 months. I wonder how the athletes feel about this. Seems like almost no time to recover between some of those stops.
- I would say Abu Dhabi, but I suspect having this event is the reason why they've been able to afford adding two extra events. I reckon the Arabs have handed them a fat wad of cash to bring their event over there, and this is a move the WSL needed to make to ensure improvements elsewhere. I don't know what other reason there could possibly be for building a pool over there other than that. Now it all seems very well planned.
Overall, stoked.
"- the schedule is very compact. That's 12 events in 7 months. I wonder how the athletes feel about this. Seems like almost no time to recover between some of those stops."
I agree. Compared to the last two decades it's compressed, however for those who qualify they get near enough five straight months off.
I have a feeling that, somewhere down the track, maybe 2026, maybe the year after, the Changa is going to get a complete overhaul. Rather than squeeze it into six months to try and get dropouts back on tour the next year, an easier solution - at least from a scheduling POV - would be to revert to the old QS style where if you're off the CT, then you're off for the year. Means dropping the cut of course.
CT surfers get all year to plod away, rookies learning the ropes etc., CS surfers can pick and choose.
This would allow the Changa to start during East Coast Australia's prime surf season and end in Hawaii. Have more events though, like the old QS days, only the top four or five count.
Agree Stu. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a major change for the CS in the works. Have they announced next year's schedule yet for CS? Also agree about getting a full year on the tour but missing the next year if you don't qualify. 10 new faces every year. Overall I think we're going in the right direction here, and its the first time in quite a few years I've felt that way about the WSL. Maybe this Crosby bloke is onto something?
No lefts before the cut? The first 3 events are literally peaks... and then after the cut they finish the season with 2 heavy water lefts... pretty fair I reckon
Disagree. Of the first seven events, four are exclusively right handers (snapper, Bells, el sal, and Margaret river - technically a peak but no one goes left). There are no events before the cut that are pure lefts, and that is the point I'm making. As for the lefts, you can't really count Fiji because only 5 surfers get to go there while everyone else misses out.
So, when you look at the whole year, there are 5 rights (including the four above + JBay) and only one left (tahiti). Still seems pretty unbalanced to me. I can live with it but it'd be great to see a left point in the mix.
Yeah a rippable left or two ala Macaronis or Raglan or Uluwatu would be nice to see
yeah but the first 3 events, Pipe - if it's proper Pipe then lefts are preferred, then it's the pool where it's an equal right and a left for everyone, then it's Supertubes - peaky beachbreak where it's 50/50 lefts and rights.. and then add to that it's a Left that decides the world champ
Some great events in there and easy to just skip the ones not doing it for you….like the pool. I’m happy and look forward to tuning in. WSL appear to be listening and have managed to follow the money and put a solid sensible schedule together.
Better, but pretty hard to celebrate still having Rio and Portugal, along with a pool comp in a county that abused human rights. Stoked to see Snaps and J Bay back plus the finals at Cloudy. 7/10
I can’t wait dor the pool comp this year. The wozzle are going to have to pull out their best greenwashing and toxic positivity plays at pool stop. Joe is gonna really outdo himself I reckon.
Look forward to the WSL Pure ad. More so what issue they’ll be tackling!?
Wonder how they’ll wrangle in the rising tides for that one?
Mixed bag IMO.
First, Sunset scrapped means no Hawaiian leg.
Thats a big loss because no longer will we see sustained testing of heavy water skill sets to start the season.
That "baptism of fire" was a really entertaining and challenging way to see which of the rookies had a full skill set.
A one off at Pipe then straight to the Tub is a very weird way to start the year.
Would rather have seen El Sal scrapped and the Hawaiian leg, then the Tub.
The Aussie leg is solid except Snapper should come first- should be in the El Sal slot.
Massive missed opportunity not going from Margies into an Indo leg, while you are in the Indian Ocean and same time zone.
Ulus, Keramas or both.
Once more the lowest hanging fruit in pro surfing fails to get picked.
Trestles is a great reg tour stop but June is very, very early season. Right in the peak of So.Cal Marine Layer or so-called June Gloom.
Saquarema once again just looks out of place. Do we really need a wobbly, backwashy beach break to both decide the CS and be a Tour stop?
Surely it is better served as a CS venue, especially with the break wall right off the menu.
12 events is great.
J-Bay, Chopes and Cloudy to end is epic.
You want heavy water testing but want to send the Margies comp to Keramas?
No, after Margies go to Indo.
Bring back Sunset Beach.
Swap Abudoobedoobedoo for Sunset and you'll be right. Sunset in mid-February can really get up and GO. Two heavies to start the whole thing off, Pipe and Sunset, and you're gonna have all the drama you could ask for, right out of the gate, with year-long consequences forcing people to put it on the line whether they want to or not.
Plus, Jack Robbo seems to do just fine for himself at Sunset and is always a treat to watch, as he gives the other children a proper demonstration of how to operate the equipment, constantly disproving all those weirdos and whiners who claim Sunset isn't a good wave, or you can't get barreled there, or the dog ate my homework, or some damn thing.
Sunset Beach will kill you and eat you.
Bring back Sunset Beach.
How many does Kelly surf?
4 at least.
Is Flip back on tour this year?
Hard to imagine he will come back. The failure to launch yet again at the Olympics is surely the last straw. You’d have to be incredibly thick skinned to brush that aside and come back confidently
Good question. It will be interesting to see what happens.
I cant see how he could come back.
Imagine if Pipe is 10 foot for the 1st comp of the year, he'd be fucked.. again
Likewise with Chopes & Cloudy at the backend.....
Not sure about Flip or Steph.
Abu Dhabi date?
I'll try one cooked in Ghee. Delectable on a cold morning..
Felipe will be back. Looks a good tour agenda for him.
Apart from the Pipe beginning and Teahupoo/Cloudbreak ending.
My thoughts too. Espeacially if CB has a bit of size.
My only issue with this schedule is that pre-cut, if they have another unlucky year there is potential for 4-5 of these comps to be fought out changa style in 2 foot slop.
How much is UAE tipping in ?
Reckon a lot !!!
PS: Why not have Snapper in Feb and Wave Pool in May....
Its not like the surf is better in UAE Wavepool in Feb...
Would be good if they scrapped punta roca for a peruvian or Chilean left point.
Punta roca would be a good challenger series wave to replace snapper.
Didn’t Andy win at Arica high as a kite after inhaling some of Sth Americas finest?
That seems so far removed from todays clean cut “athletes” it’s not funny.
Yeh, If you watch the highlights package including his post heat pressers he gets higher and more whacked throughout the day.
I think from memory theres even a bit where it looks like a local punter hands him something suss while on stage. Maybe the awards ceremony.
Coke is definitely a performance enhancer for a joint like el gringo.
But I’d prefer a left point for balance.
Yep, Ulu’s or Maccas or similar would be good.
It’s a good starting point. Hopefully the changas goes from Aus to Indo, then ends in Hawaii.
Getting involved with Saudi sportswashing is fuckin gross.
Hopefully Big Oil will go to Abu Dhabi, watch the event, think - surfing is boring as batshit and decide not to buy WSL.
Politics aside, they are amazing venues (apart from Peniche and Saquarema, which are great local spots but rarely world-class in a 10-day window). I agree that the balance rights/lefts is off, but it is still a great tour IMO.