Photography: Pedro Mestre
The World Surf League (WSL) has already released the 2022 Championship Tour (CT) and Challenger Series (CS) calendar to the public, having revealed some news. One of Ericeira’s most iconic waves, Ribeira d’Ilhas, will be the scene of action for the world’s best surfers in October.
From the 1st to the 9th of October, Ericeira World Surfing Reserve will host the fifth stage of the Challenger Series 2022, after Huntington Beach, in the United States, and before Landes, in France.
In 2022, for the first time, the women’s and men’s events will have the same calendar and there will be a mid-season cut, after five stages, reducing the men’s CT from 36 to 24 surfers and the women’s from 18 to 12. The eliminated will compete in the Challenger Series – CS, the division of access to the elite that has a total of eight stages.
the fifth stage of the WQS will be held in Ribeira d’Ilhas
In the CS, there will be 96 male athletes and 64 female athletes, qualified through one of the seven regional circuits of the QS “WSL Regional Qualifying Series” held in Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.
If an athlete qualifies to compete in the CS, they will have the opportunity to advance to the CT in 2023. The top 10 male surfers and the top five female surfers will be classified at the end of the season.
Another novelty for this year is the confirmation of the return of traditional stages, such as Sunset Beach, G-Land, J-Bay, Bells Beach and Peniche.
The World Tour that brings together the surfing elite began in Pipeline, Hawaii, starting on January 29, with Pipe Masters. After the mid-season cut, the surfers will return to G-Land, Indonesia, for a stage that hasn’t happened in 24 years.
2022 WSL Championship Calendar:
Pipeline, Hawaii – January 29 to February 10
Sunset, Hawaii – February 11 to 23
Peniche, Portugal – March 3 to 13
Bells Beach, Australia – April 10 to 20
Margaret River, Western Australia – April 24 to May 4
Mid season cut:
G-Land, Indonesia – May 28 to June 6
Trestles, United States – June 15 to 22
Saquarema, Brazil – June 27 to July 4
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa – February 9 to 18
Teahupo’o, Tahiti – August 11 to 21
WSL Finals (Lower Trestles, USA) – September 8 to 16
Challenger Series 2022 Calendar
Gold Coast, Australia – May 7 to 15
Manly, Australia – May 17 to 24
Ballito, South Africa – June 20 to 27
Huntington Beach, United States – July 30 to August 7
Ericeira, Portugal – October 1 to 9
Landes, France – October 15 to 23
Piha, New Zealand – November 5 to 13
Haleiwa, Hawaii – November 26 to December 7
Esta publicação também está disponível em | This article is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)
