Malibu, the center of the longboarding world this week. Photo: Mike Ito//World Surf League
The 2022 WSL Longboard Tour wrapped up Wednesday with Harrison Roach and Soleil Errico celebrating world titles at Malibu’s famed First Point. The conclusion of the Cuervo Classic Malibu Longboard Championship event put a bow on an otherwise dramatic year, which was headlined by a feud between the League and its previous men’s champion, Joel Tudor.
In February, the WSL had yet to announce plans for the 2022 season, which Tudor took objection to along with a laundry list of other complaints and accusations that eventually earned him a suspension. At the top of his list of gripes was a claim that the WSL was “planning on canceling the longboard tour to a one-event stop,” all the while leaving competitors waiting to learn their plans for the year.
The league is at least going to save itself one headache going into next season, wasting no time in announcing the 2023 itinerary. The new schedule was announced Thursday morning less than 24 hours after the conclusion of 2022. Next year’s schedule will kick off in late August at the Bells Beach Longboard Classic, then move on to the Surf City El Salvador Classic, and back to California in October once more for the Longboard Championship. According to a press release from the WSL, the fourth Longboard Tour event is yet to be announced.
There will also be a major change in the Longboard Tour format, adding a one-day, winner take all championship format similar to the Championship Tour’s Finals Day at Lowers. The highest-ranked eight men and eight women will be seeded into brackets for the Malibu Longboard Championship, with priority going to the higher seeds in the opening round of the day. The winners of the event will be crowned 2023 champions.
“The new Finals format will elevate the Longboard Tour and surfers,” said Kirra Seale, Senior Manager of the WSL Longboard Tour. “We’ve consulted with the competitors and they are excited about the 2023 schedule and new format. We are definitely scaling things up and giving new faces a chance to be seen on the Longboard Tour.”
“The intention of the new structure is to create improved opportunities for surfers to compete. We’ve added more tour stops, incorporated wider qualification, and are committed to crowning world champions in the water with a new one-day Finals format,” added the WSL’s Jessi Miley-Dyer. “We look forward to the 2023 season and beyond to continue to celebrate the world’s best longboarding.”
