Last surfers standing. Photo: Matt Dunbar/World Surf League via Getty Images)(Photo by Matt Dunbar/World Surf League
Gabriel Medina kicked off the annual controversy over CT wildcard announcements last month when he revealed he’d return to the tour at G-Land, post-cut. That took one of the two men’s wildcards off the board and on Monday the WSL announced its decision on the remaining Wildcards for the men’s and women’s tours. Medina and Caroline Marks are officially 2022/2023 wildcards and Yago Dora and Sally Fitzgibbons have been awarded 2023 season wildcards.
What’s the difference?
For Medina and Marks, the post-cut wildcards thrust the defending world champion and the women’s 2021 World no. 6 surfer into CT competition for the duration of this year’s schedule. Each will be eligible for September’s Finals Day lineup if they rack up enough points to jump into the Top-5 through the next five events (G-Land, El Salvador, Rio, J-Bay, and Teahupo’o). They’re also automatic qualifiers to start 2023 on the World Tour rosters.
“The health and safety of our athletes is of the utmost importance, and we fully support Gabriel’s decision to prioritize his well-being,” WSL CEO Erik Logan said of Medina’s withdrawal at the time. “We want to put the world’s best surfers in front of our fans to start the season, but we certainly respect his decision. We’ll obviously miss having our reigning World Champion at the 2022 CT kickoff at the Billabong Pro Pipeline, and we will be here to welcome him back when he’s ready.”
Marks surfed at Pipe this year and withdrew from the four contests since, citing “medical reasons.” She has finished in the Top 10 of the women’s rankings since joining the Tour in 2018, finishing runner-up to Carissa Moore in 2019. Medina, on the other hand, has finished third twice, runner-up twice, and won three world titles since 2014.
The decisions for Fitzgibbons and Dora will shake out a little differently. Sally finished five spots below the cut line after Margaret River after an uncharacteristic run of results this season. She’s finished in the Top-5 all but two seasons since 2010, including a WSL Finals Day appearance in 2021. When she missed the cut last week after a Round of 16 loss, the CT community showed a wave of support for the longtime vet, who promised to earn her way back on Tour for next season’s kickoff at Pipe. She was then told just before her Round of 16 heat at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro that the WSL was awarding her the 2023 wildcard.
“I’m just blown away. You don’t get many second chances,” she said. “I guess all those years of service, just trying my heart out, it’s cool to have my body of work seen.”
Dora’s 2023 wildcard comes after a Top-10 season finish in 2021 and sitting out the entire 2022 campaign thus far due to injury. The 2023 Wildcards for each means they’ll be first on deck as injury call-ups for the rest of the 2022 season. Their points earned as wildcards in any of this year’s events will count as rankings points, while the 2023 season wildcard automatically qualifies them for the first half of next year’s World Tour rosters.
