World Surf League confirms the changes and news for the 2021 tournament round | SEGS

Mexico will once again host a phase of CT in 15 years

Confirm the Challenger Series’ 2021 calendar

The World Surfing Association (WSL) announces changes to dates and new features for the 2021 Championship Tour (CT), which determines the qualifiers for the world title decision at the Rip Curl WSL Finals in September. Corona’s Oi Rio Pro, in Saquarema (RJ), was moved to August 11-16, and the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro became the next stage after the ‘Australian Leg’, in June. The big news is Mexico is back on the calendar after 15 years, with the Corona Open Mexico tournament presented by Quiksilver from July 5-15, in Barra de la Cruz, Oaxaca.

Watch the following events after the Australian stages:

6: Stage: Jeep Surf Ranch Pro: June 25-27, at Surf Ranch, California (USA)

7th: Quiksilver Corona Open Mexico: July 5-15, Barra de La Cruz, Oaxaca (Mexico)

Eighth: Oi Rio Pro submitted by Corona: From 11 to 16 August in Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

9: Tahiti Boo Outdoors: From 22 August to 1 September in Thobo (Tahiti)

Final: Rip Curl WSL 2021 Finals: September 8-17 in Lower Trestles, California (USA)

* All events and dates remain subject to change due to potential restrictions related to COVID-19, including international travel.

“Since the global circuit was canceled in early 2020, the WSL team has been working hard to resume CT scans and we are proud of our ability to deliver a global calendar in 2021,” said Eric Logan, CEO of WSL. “It is testament to the tremendous support of our athletes, government partners, local communities and the hard and committed work of our team that we are able to hold events safely for the WSL Rip Curl Finals title decision, which will debut in September.”

“It’s great to see the athletes back in competition, wearing lycra again in Australia,” said Jesse Miley Dyer, Senior Vice President of Tours and President of the competition. “I’m excited to be able to confirm the rest of the tour and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming events, especially to see women surfing alongside the men at Teahupoo after 15 years,” she adds.

Latin America – Another novelty is the Corona Open México introduced by Quiksilver to replace Santa Cruz Pro in California, which was to be held in February and canceled due to COVID-19. In addition to Mexico returning to the calendar, Latin America will again host two stages of the World Surf League Tournament, which has not happened since 2007, when an event was also held in Arica, Chile. Oi Rio Pro presented by Corona, tentatively scheduled for June, has moved to August, in the final round to select five men and five women for the Rip Curl WSL Finals.

Interestingly, the only two stages that took place in Latin America, outside of Brazil, were won by three-time world champion Andy Irons (on memory). Hawaii won a Chilean award in 2007, on El Gringo Pipes, in Arica, and also in 2006, the last time the world’s best surfers competed in Mexico. The event was held in the city of Oaxaca, in Barra de la Cruz, a paradise beach known for the long tubes chosen to host the Corona Open Mexico tournament presented by Quiksilver. This event has been confirmed as the sixth stage of the World Surf League Tournament and will take place between July 5-15.

Corona Open J-Bay, which was originally scheduled for June 25 to July 9, in South Africa, and MEO Pro Portugal in Ericeira, which was also on the calendar, was officially canceled for that year. WSL is working to take back these traditional events in 2022.

Challenge Series – The Challenge Series is a new battleground for surfers to showcase their talents in the battle for seats on the World Surf Championship Tour. In this mini-season, the WSL Championship confirms four events for the male and female categories, in California (USA), Portugal, France and Hawaii. The dates have not been released yet.

The Sydney Surf Pro and Piha Pro New Zealand Challenger Series, which were also planned, have been postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19. WSL expects these important events to return to the Challenger Series’ calendar next year.

Updates and more information about the qualifying series’ regional tour schedule can be accessed at WorldSurfLeague.com.

ABOUT WORLD SURF LEAGUE: Founded in 1976, the World Surf League (WSL) is home to the world’s best surfing. WSL, a global sports, media and entertainment company, oversees international circuits and competitions, and has a division of media studios that create over 500 hours of live and on-demand content through its WaveCo affiliate, the company that created the world’s best high-performance synthetic wave.

WSL is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Annually, WSL crowns the world champions in professional surfing for men and women. The Global Circles Division oversees and manages more than 180 international competitions each year in tournament rounds and levels of development, such as the Challenge Series, the Qualifiers Series, and the Junior Series, as well as the Longboard and Big Wave Circuits.

Launched in 2019, WSL Studios is a standalone producer of non-script TV projects, including documentaries and series, that provide unprecedented access to athletes, events and places globally. WSL events and content are distributed on line television to more than 743 million households worldwide and on digital and social media platforms, including WorldSurfLeague.com. The WaveCo subsidiary includes Surf Ranch Lemoore facilities, use and licensing of the Kelly Slater Wave system.

WSL is dedicated to changing the world through the inspiring power of surfing, creating original events, experiences and stories, in order to motivate the ever-growing global community to live with purpose, originality and enthusiasm.