The World Surf League announced early Friday morning that they have decided to cancel their 2020 season, including the Championship Tour.
WSL CEO Erik Logan made the announcement.
“After careful consideration and extensive discussions with key stakeholders, we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Championship Tour and Qualifying Series seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Logan said. “While we firmly believe that surfing is amongst the sports best suited for competition to be held safely during the age of unresolved COVID, we have huge respect for the ongoing concerns of many in our community as the world works to resolve this.”
Surfing seems like the one sport where COVID-19 risks could be minimized—athletes are able to totally social distance and all events take place outside—but the WSL also has events that take place literally all around the world, leaving too many logistical and practical concerns about spreading the virus.
Not only is so much travel potentially dangerous to athletes, but countries have varied wildly in their responses to the pandemic. While some countries have it under control, others are a total mess. Trying to shuttle athletes between boarders could be a huge public health risk.
In addition shuttering the 2020 season, the WSL has also announced multiple changes to the format of the 2021 season.
In a a major departure, the Billabong Pipe Masters, which has traditionally been the last event on the WSL’s tour calendar, will kick off the Men’s CT in December of 2020. The Women’s CT will kick off with the Maui Pro in November of 2020.
In another major change, the WSL has announced ‘The WSL Finals’ event which will decide the world title winner. The World Title, usually determined by points earned throughout the season, will now be decided in a single-day event, among the CT’s top competitors. Per the WSL, the top five men and women in the Championship Tour “will battle for their respective titles in a new surf-off format at one of the world’s best waves. ”
Honestly, that sounds incredible for viewers but a real departure from the past where World Champions have been crowned by a cumulative points total. Bringing it all down to one race at the end, pitting the best surfers of the year against each other, certainly heightens the drama.
Additionally, for the first time ever, there will be an equal number of men’s and women’s CT events. In other great move and for the first time since 2006, the women’s tour will compete with the men at Teahupo’o.
If you’re bummed that you won’t get to see your favorite surfers tear it up until November, CT tour stars will also be participating in regional events in less pandemic ravaged countries like Australia, France, and Portugal over the next few months. The WSL is also hosting a mixed-gender “Rumble at the Ranch” contest out in Lemoore, California later this summer.
If you’re still with me, here’s the full 2021 Men’s and Women’s CT schedule, pandemic permitting.
Shiseido Maui Pro, Honolua Bay, Maui, Hawaii: November 25 – December 5, 2020
Billabong Pipe Masters, Oahu, Hawaii: December 8 – 20, 2020
MEO Pro Peniche, Portugal: February 18 – 28, 2021
Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast, Australia: March 18 – 28, 2021
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 – 11, 2021
Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 16 – 26, 2021
Oi Rio Pro Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: May 20 – 29, 2021
Surf Ranch, Lemoore, California, USA: June 10 – 13, 2021
Quiksilver Pro G-Land, Indonesia: June 20 – 29, 2021
Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 7 – 19, 2021
Teahupo’o, Tahiti: August 26 – September 6, 2021
The WSL Finals, Location TBD: September 8 – 16, 2021