WSL Announces 2020 Championship Tour Schedule With Return Of G-Land
The schedule for World Surf League’s 2020 Championship Tour has been announced. Stop 4 returns to legendary Grajagan (G-Land), for the first time in 20 years. Importantly, the CT doesn’t clash with the Olympics or its qualifiers; allowing surfers and fans access to both.
The 2020 WSL Championship Tour will see the world’s best surfers return to G-Land. Credit- Quiksilver Testemale
Press Release: 2020 WSL Championship Tour Calendar Released
- World’s Best Surfers Return to Grajagan (G-Land) After 20 Years
Full 2020 Calendar Release Show Available at WorldSurfLeague.com
The 2020 WSL Championship Tour will see the world’s best surfers return to G-Land.Credit: Quiksilver / Testemale
The World Surf League (WSL) today released its 2020 Championship Tour calendar, taking the world’s best surfers to the most high-performing and exotic locations on the planet and further elevating surfing to new heights.
Crowning World Champions since 1976, the WSL Championship Tour has cemented itself as the benchmark and proving ground for the world’s best surfing, celebrating champions from Mark Richards (AUS) and Margo Oberg (HAW) to Tom Curren (USA) and Frieda Zamba (USA), Wendy Botha (ZAF), Kelly Slater (USA), Lisa Andersen (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Layne Beachley (AUS), Mick Fanning (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRA), Carissa Moore (HAW), John John Florence (HAW), Tyler Wright (AUS), and many more.
“The WSL Championship Tour is the home of the world’s best surfing and 2020 is poised to be a major year with the Olympic Games and our strongest calendar to date,” Sophie Goldschmidt, WSL CEO, said. “The performance levels seen in recent seasons, and especially in 2019, continue to go to new levels and excite an ever-growing global audience. Further highlighted this season by both the men’s and women’s title races coming down to the final events in Hawaii with multiple contenders on both sides.”
The 2020 WSL season will once again deliver the world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves across Australia, Brazil, South Africa, French Polynesia, California, France, Portugal and Hawaii. The Championship Tour will also be returning to the iconic world-class lefthander of Grajagan (also known as G-Land) for the Quiksilver Pro G-Land.
“The goal in designing the WSL Championship Tour calendar is to ensure we’re elevating the world’s best surfing in the live arena,” Pat O’Connell, WSL SVP Tours and Competition, said. “There are some unique challenges around the Olympic opportunity in 2020, but we’re really pleased with where we landed with on the schedule in terms of variety in world-class waves.”
2020 Men’s Championship Tour Schedule:
Corona Open Gold Coast: March 26 – April 5, 2020
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: April 8 – 18, 2020
Margaret River Pro: April 22 – May 2, 2020
Quiksilver Pro G-Land: June 4 – 14, 2020
Oi Rio Pro: June 18 – 27, 2020
Corona Open J-Bay: July 7 – 19, 2020
Tahiti Pro Teahupo’o: August 26 – September 6, 2020
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Freshwater Pro: September 15 – 20, 2020
Quiksilver Pro France: October 1 – 11, 2020
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal: October 14 – 25, 2020
Billabong Pipe Masters: December 8 – 20, 2020
*NOTE: the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan – featuring surfing for the first time – will be held from July 24 to August 9, 2020.
“The world’s best surfing happens on the WSL Championship Tour,” Adrian Buchan, CT surfer and Surfers’ Representative, said. “Never before has that been more apparent than in recent seasons and the 2020 calendar looks amazing. Off the back of our extended agreement between the surfers and the WSL, it’s a really exciting time to be on tour. G-Land was where the Dream Tour was born and it’s so exciting to be heading back there. I grew up watching the likes of Kelly (Slater) and Tom Carroll compete there, and I can’t wait to see how this generation of surfers approach the wave.”
2020 Women’s Championship Tour Schedule:
Corona Open Gold Coast: March 26 – April 5, 2020
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: April 8 – 18, 2020
Margaret River Pro: April 22 – May 2, 2020
Quiksilver Pro G-Land: June 4 – 14, 2020
Oi Rio Pro: June 18 – 27, 2020
Corona Open J-Bay: July 7 – 19, 2020
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Freshwater Pro: September 15 – 20, 2020
Roxy Pro France: October 1 – 11, 2020
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal: October 14 – 25, 2020
Hawaii Pro: November 25 – December 6, 2020
*NOTE: the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan – featuring surfing for the first time – will be held from July 24 to August 9, 2020
“The WSL continues to elevate, and support women’s surfing and the 2020 CT calendar is the best I’ve seen,” Tatiana Weston-Webb, CT surfer and Surfers’ Representative, said. “The 2020 schedule will be exciting with the return to G-Land, the first ever Olympics and the new Challenger Series. I think it’s going to be the most compelling year in surfing ever.”
Surfing in 2020 will be further elevated by its inclusion into the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. As such, the holistic WSL schedule – Championship Tour, Qualifying Series and Pro Junior Series – has accommodated both the Olympic Games and the qualifier event to ensure the world’s best surfers from the Championship Tour have the opportunity to represent their respective countries next summer.
Another major component of the 2020 season will be the implementation of the WSL Challenger Series.
The 2020 Qualifying Series – the development and qualification tier for the CT – will feature two primary segments: the Challenger Series (events that award 10,000-points towards a surfer’s QS ranking) and the QS 5,000, 3,000, 1,500 and 1,000 events that will all contribute to a surfer’s year-end QS ranking as they work towards qualifying for the CT.
The Challenger Series will increase the number of 10,000-point events from six to seven for men and from two to four for women, offering equal prize money for men and women. A full Challenger Series calendar will be released at the end of November.
A full breakdown on the 2020 WSL Championship Tour calendar can be enjoyed via WorldSurfLeague.com.
