The World Surf League has announced that the 2020 Championship Surf Tour has been officially cancelled due to the Coronavirus and that nest year’s Tour will begin in November 2020 in Maui, Hawaii for the women and in December in Oahu, Hawaii for the men.
This is subject to the approval of the State of Hawaii as well as effective protocols that allow for safe international travel.
The 2021 CT season will finish with ‘The WSL Finals,’ a new single-day World Title Event in September next year.
The Corona Open JBay will take place from 7 – 19 July 2021 which is great news for the tourism industry in Jeffreys Bay which has been hard hit by Covid-19 and has basically ground to a halt in South Africa’s surfing mecca.
The WSL Championship Tour will see key format changes.
The WSL Finals:
The men’s and women’s World Titles will be decided in a single-day event, ‘The WSL Finals’. The top five women and top five men following the 10-event CT season will battle for their respective titles in a new surf-off format at one of the world’s best waves.
Equal number of women’s and men’s CT events:
The 2021 CT will include 10 events each for both the women and the men, an equal number of events for the first time ever, with the women joining the men to surf at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, one of the world’s most iconic and demanding waves, for the first time since 2006.
Seasonality of the tour:
In addition to the redesign of the CT, the schedule will be updated to create distinct seasons between the CT and the Challenger Series (CS).
Starting in 2021, the CS will run from August through to December. The QS will run through to the end of June 2021 and determine who has qualified for the Challenger Series.
Points from QS events that were completed in 2020 will carry over into 2021.
2021 Championship Tour Season*:
* All events and dates subject to change due to applicable COVID-19 related restrictions, including global travel restrictions
Shiseido Maui Pro presented by ROXY: Maui, Hawaii
November 25 – December 6, 2020
Billabong Pipe Masters: Oahu, Hawaii
December 8 – 20, 2020
MEO Pro Portugal: Peniche, Portugal
February 18 – 28, 2021
Corona Open Gold Coast presented by Billabong: Queensland, Australia
March 18 – 28, 2021
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Victoria, Australia
April 1 – 11, 2021
Margaret River Pro: Western Australia, Australia
April 16 – 26, 2021
Oi Rio Pro presented by Corona: Saquarema, Brasil
May 20 – 29, 2021
Surf Ranch Pro: California, USA
June 10 – 13, 2021
Quiksilver Pro G-Land: Indonesia
June 20 – 29, 2021
Corona Open JBay: South Africa
July 7 – 19, 2021
Outerknown Tahiti Pro: Teahupo’o, Tahiti
August 26 – September 6, 2021
The WSL Finals: Location TBD
September 8 – 16, 2021
The Corona Open JBay forms part of the annual Jeffreys Bay Winterfest, a multi sport and entertainment festival that was also cancelled this year due to Covid-19.
Photo: Jordy Smith at Supertubes Jeffreys Bay: Photo: Joey Nel
