Julian Wilson shook off the rust with a recent QS win in Australia. Photo: Surfest
Josh Kerr hasn’t competed in a Championship Tour (CT) event since 2017. But now, at 41 and seven years removed from a CT lycra, Kerr has stumbled upon a Challenger Series (CS) berth. If the renowned aerialist turned big wave surfer can finish top 10 in the five-event CS series, he’d enter Slater-esque territory as a 42-year-old on tour.
Kerr won’t be traveling alone to the first stop of the CS in Newcastle, Australia. His 18-year-old daughter Sierra will tag along. She finished atop the Australia/Ocean Qualifying Series women rankings and will join her dad in vying for a CT slot.
Sierra’s progressive surfing has been predestined to land on the CT for several years now, and all signs point to 2026 as her rookie year. If Josh can turn back the clock and qualify for the tour too, they will be the first father/child duo to ever surf on tour simultaneously.
Julian Wilson, another Aussie icon, will be joining Kerr on the CS in hopes of re-qualifying. The 36-year-old Olympian and former title runner-up ran a masterclass campaign to convince the WSL to give him a wildcard. After months of commenting on Instagram posts and posting to his Instagram stories, it worked. The WSL gave him a pass onto the CS and breathed life into his career.
Wilson took a break from pro surfing after the Olympics in 2021, citing family time and the difficult pandemic travel restrictions. Now he’s back and, like Kerr, will attempt to defy the odds and become the second-oldest surfer on the CT (Jordy Smith currently holds that honor at 37 years old).
Lastly, on the South American side of the CS qualification, reports have emerged that the wildcard is going to none other than the CT grinder Jadson Andre. Andre, now 35, knows what it takes to claw his way back onto the tour. He has fallen off tour and re-qualified four times – the whack-a-mole that refuses to leave the tour. He last competed on the CT in 2023 but is shooting for a potential 2026 comeback.
Despite the decades of combined tour experience between Kerr, Wilson, and Andre, getting back on tour will be no simple task. They’ll be battling for 10 slots with talented up-and-comers (who have significantly less back pain) as well as other CT veterans like Lucca Mesinas and Carlos Muñoz.
The CS kicks off June 2 in Australia before continuing to South Africa, California, Portugal, and Brazil. The new batch of CT surfers will be determined upon the completion of the Saquarema Pro in October.
