Thank you, World Surf League!
For the five hardcore surf fans awaiting the release of the World Surf League’s “Challenger Series” schedule, Christmas came early. The “Global Home of Surfing,” dropped the lightly anticipated B-league calendar that was instantly dubbed “stunningly average” by students of the game.
Per the press release:
The 2024 Challenger Series will start in April in Australia after CT Stop No. 5 with an event at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast and another in Sydney at North Narrabeen. Next up, the tour heads to Ballito, South Africa, followed by the US Open of Surfing in early August and a stop in Portugal at the end of September. The Challenger Series concludes in October in Brazil, where the top 10 ranked men and top five ranked women will be decided and qualify to join the world’s best surfers on the 2025 Championship Tour. Competitors will count their four best results out of the six events.
“We’re three years into the Challenger Series format, and it feels really good to see this Series build and solidify its place in the competition pathway,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL Chief of Sport, adding a little more oatmeal to the serving of plain oatmeal. “48 surfers have earned their place in the Championship Tour via their performances in the Challenger Series since 2021, and the 2024 season will see 15 more join them.”
Each of the six stops will be broadcast, though even the aforementioned five hardcore surf fans were unsure if they’d tune in to anything except Snapper and only then to see the tears of recently shamed Championship Tour surfers who had not made the cut in higher definition.
Fine enough entertainment.
In case you actually care, and aside from the 12 men and seven women from the CT who did not make the Mid-season Cut, the rest of the Challenger Series is made up of:
-10 men and five women from the previous year’s Challenger Series rankings,
-Three men and two women who were CT surfers in the prior season that did not requalify for either the CT or the Challenger Series,
-49 men and 30 women as allocated by the seven WSL regions (Australia/Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe, Hawaii/Tahiti Nui, North America, and South America), and
-The men’s 2023 World Junior Champion,
-The women’s 2023 World Junior Champion, and
-Five men’s and three women’s wildcards per event.
Bon appetite.