Surfing in the UK is a bit of a lesser known sport and many people may not be sure how to follow the top levels of wave riders. With the official surf championship season kicking off, I thought I would do a quick explainer of how the championship tour works and what it actually is.

So, the WSL, or World Surf League, is the official governing body for professional surfers and was founded in 1976, although it has been run under several different names. They run the world championships for surfing (longboard, short board, big wave riding etc. categories) and all the sub levels/divisions of competition.

And the top female and male surfers (based on a points system from the last championship tour and qualifying tour) compete to win the overall title. There are also wildcard competitors to take into account and local qualifiers at each event.

In each heat, that lasts for 30 minutes, the surfers can get as many waves as they want but their top two scoring waves (scored by a panel of judges) make up their final total. There is a priority system in place, which means different surfers will have the right to any chosen wave within a heat they want over the other competitors, and this is switched around depending on who just caught a wave.

Obviously, at the moment, the WSL are following all COVID-19 safety guidelines and as such the first tour event stops, Honolua Bay and Pipeline, are non-spectator events, but are being broadcast online on the WSL app and website.

This year’s championship tour is not only exciting because it hasn’t actually run for a year, but certain stops are on the calendar for the first time in over a decade (like G-land in Bali) AND the format of the tour has changed!

Before, by the final event of tour the World Champion could have already been crowned because of the points system in place (the further in any one event you get - seeding rounds, quarter finals, semi finals etc. - the more points you receive and this accumulates through the year).

Last year for example, on the women’s tour the final stop was Honolua Bay and Carissa Moor won, even though she lost the event. She had gained enough points when she got to a certain point in the event that regardless of how any of the other ladies placed, they wouldn’t beat her. On the other hand, you had Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina battling it out in the finals of the last stop on the men’s tour (Pipeline) because their points were so close. It was very intense to watch!

The World Surf League have a really brilliant ‘frequently asked question’ section on their website if you would like to know more.

Frequently Asked Questions - World Surf League

The women have a top 18 surfers and then men have a top 36.

Women’s Tour: Men’s Tour:

1. Carissa Moor - Hawaii 1. Italo Ferreira - Brazil

2. Caroline Marks - USA 2. Gabriel Medina - Brazil

3. Lakey Peterson- USA 3. Jordy Smith South - Africa

4. Stephanie Gilmore - Australia 4. Filipe Toledo - Brazil

5. Sally Fitzgibbons - Australia 5.Kolohe Andino - USA

6. Tatiana Weston-Webb - Brazil 6.  Kanoa Igarashi - Japan

7. Courtney Conologue - USA 7. John John Florence - Hawaii

8. Johanne Defay - France 8. Kelly Slater - USA

9. Malia Manuel - Hawaii 9.Owen Wright - Australia

10. Nikki Van Dijk - Australia 10. Jeremy Flores - France

11. Isabella Nichols - Australia 11. Julian Wilson - Australia

12. Bronte Macaulay - Australia 12. Seth Moniz - Hawaii

13. Sage Erickson - USA 13. Michel Bourez - France

14. Brisa Hennesy - Costa Rica 14. Ryan Callinan - Australia

15. Macy Callaghan - Australia 15. Jack Freesone - Australia

16. Keely Andrew -Australia 16. Griffin Colapinto - USA

17. Tyler Wright - Australia 17. Caio Ibelli - Brazil

18. Amuro tsuzuki - Japan 18. Wade Carmichael - Australia

19. Adrian Buchan - Australia

20. Conner Coffin - USA

21. Peterson Crisanto - Brazil

22. Yago Dora - Brazil

23. Frederico Morais - Portugal

24. Jadson Andre – Brazil

25. Adriano de Souza – Brazil

26.Mathrew McGillivray – South Africa

27. Jack Robinson – Australia

28. Alex Ribeiro – Brazil

29. Miguel Pupo – Brazil

30. Ethan Ewing – Australia

31. Connor O’Leary – Australia

32. Morgan Ciblic – Australia

33. Mikey Wright – Australia

34. Leonardo Fioravanti - Italy

Come the 2022 season, the top 36 men will become 24 and the top 18 women will become 12 – this is a move the WSL has been planning for a while.

Tour Stops: