2024 WSL’s Championship Tour Schedule
As the 2023 World Surf League’s (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) season comes to an end, we eagerly anticipate another year of competitive surfing at the highest level on world-class waves. Upon reviewing the new schedule, it's evident that several significant changes have been made this upcoming season for the men and women competitors.
BANZAI PIPELINE, Hawaii, USA : JANUARY 29-FEB 10
SUNSET BEACH, Hawaii, USA : FEBUARY 12-23
PENICHE, Portugal : MARCH 6-16
BELLS BEACH, Victoria, Australia MARCH 26-APRIL 5
MARGARET RIVER, Western Australia : APRIL 11-21
TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti, French Polynesia : MAY 22-31
PUNTA ROCA, El Salvador : JUNE 6-15
SAQUAREMA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil : JUNE 22-30
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS : TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti, French Polynesia : JULY 27-AUG 5
CLOUDBREAK, Fiji : AUGUST 20-29
FINALS : LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, California : SEPTEMBER 6-14
Once again, we will kick off the 2024 season at a wave of consequence known as Pipeline, located on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The event window will span from January 29th to February 10th. The importance of performing well at this challenging wave arises due to the mid-season cut, which takes place after the 5th stop in Margaret River, Australia. To excel through the mid-season cut, surfers must begin the year with confidence in their ability to navigate one of the most dangerous waves in the world.
Continuing the Hawaiian leg of the tour, surfers will compete at Sunset Beach, anywhere from February 12th to the 23rd. Tackling Sunset Beach at the start of the season can be difficult. Open ocean beach breaks like Sunset beach can be hard for competitors to navigate and find their rhythm. Experience proves valuable in these heavy water waves. The surfers who are powerful watermen with ample amounts of ocean knowledge often times excel in the conditions presented at Sunset Beach.
Shifting from tropical to colder waters, the schedule remains consistent with last year's, featuring the third CT stop in Peniche, Portugal. The contest spans from dates between March 6th to the 16th. Peniche presents a powerful beach break with both lefts and rights. It can be a demanding venue due to the ever-changing conditions and multiple peaks along the beach.
Next up is the Australian leg of the tour, with surfers arriving at Bells Beach from March 26th to April 5th. Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia is the longest-running competition on the CT. Surfers will experience added pressure at this stop on tour to secure their results above the cut line and ring the iconic bell. Bell’s Beach is best-known for it’s right point reef break.
The fifth and possible final stop for one-third of the surfers competing on the 2024 CT season is Margaret River, taking place between April 11th and April 21st. Depending on their performance at Margaret River, surfers will either return to the Challenger Series or continue their campaign for a world title. Margaret river, Western Australia, is known for its raw, tough and powerful waves.
Now, here's where we will notice the first difference in the WSL CT for 2024. Only 22 male and 10 female surfers will advance beyond this point to the remaining stops on the tour. In recent years, Teahupo’o has been the final event on the tour, setting the stage for the final five men and women to compete at Lower Trestles for the world title. This year, the intense, critical, and deep heavy-water wave at Teahupo’o becomes the sixth stop on the tour. We will witness the competitors compete in Tahiti anywhere from May 22nd to May 31st.
Surfers will then head to the South American leg of the tour in Surf City, Punta Roca, El Salvador, with an event window from June 6th through June 15th. As this is only the third year the tour has visited Surf City, it promotes high-performance surfing at a dreamy right-hand point break.
Continuing southward, the pressure is on as the tour moves to Saquarema, Brazil, from June 22nd to the 30th. The crowd and energy from the fans play a significant role in the athletes performance, and the powerful, unpredictable waves bring variety and constant incoming swell.
Surfers who qualified will then take a break from the WSL CT and head back to Teahupo'o, Tahiti for the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 27-August 5th.
The regular season will conclude with its final stop on the 2024 CT at Cloudbreak, Tavarua, Fiji, taking place from August 20th through the 29th. Cloudbreak is returning to the tour for the first time since 2017. It is one of the most critical shallow reef breaks in the world. Cloudbreak regains its place on tour as a desired left-hander. This stop will determine the final five and who will get the chance to compete in a one-day event, Rip Curl WSL finals at Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California spanning from September 6th to the 14th.
The major difference in the 2024 season of the WSL Championship Tour is the addition of Cloudbreak and the removal of Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, and J-Bay, South Africa. The release of the schedule on September 20, 2023, has sparked dissatisfaction among fans and enthusiasts of competitive surfing. Many are expressing their disappointment over the omission of J-Bay from the tour venues and their discontent with the choice of Lower Trestles, California, as the location for the Rip Curl WSL Finals once again.