Photography: Jorge Matreno / ANSurfistas
The best national surfers are getting back to competition at the beginning of April, for another year of the MEO Surf League (the main surfing event in Portugal and the one that defines the titles of national champions), which will pass through Ericeira between the 10th and 12th of June with Allianz Ericeira Pro.
The calendar for this new season holds the return to the Azores as the big news, in a foray into the autonomous regions that hasn’t happened for 13 years, that is, since 2009.
the summer leg of the MEO Surf League will start in Ericeira
MEO Surf League 2022 Calendar
League#1 – April 1st to 3rd – Allianz Figueira Pro
League#2 – 23rd to 25th of April – Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro
League#3 – June 10th to 12th – Allianz Ericeira Pro
League#4 – June 24th to 26th – Allianz Ribeira Grande Pro
League#5 – October 28th to 30th – Bom Petisco Peniche Pro
The spectacle of the best national surfing will return with Figueira da Foz opening the race for the maximum titles of Surfing in Portugal, with the Allianz Figueira Pro from 1st to 3rd of April, where the national champions in title, Vasco Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko, will wear the yellow lycras of headliners of the Go Chill Ranking.
The MEO Surf League will then travel to the north of the country, with Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro, scheduled to take place from April 23 to 25, in Porto and Matosinhos. In the “summer leg”, the MEO Surf League will pass through Ericeira from the 10th to the 12th of June and will go to Ribeira Grande, on the island of São Miguel, from the 24th to the 26th of the same month. Finally, Peniche closes the circuit for the second consecutive year, from the 28th to the 30th of October.
For Francisco Rodrigues, president of the National Surfers Association, “It is with great pride and strong expectations that we present another edition of the MEO Surf League, in the certainty that its role has been decisive for the evolution of national surfing. This will be an equally special season as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the institutional agreement between the National Surfers Association and the Portuguese Surfing Federation, but also for the 25th anniversary of ANSurfistas. And to crown this special occasion, we have great news that is the return of the League to the Azores, something that expands the national spectrum of the MEO Surf League 2022 and reinforces its contribution to the evolution of Surfing in Portugal.”
The MEO Surf League counts, for the fourth consecutive year, with Jerónimo Martins Group as a sustainability partner. The Group thus reinforces the importance it attaches to preserving the biodiversity of the oceans, the “natural habitat” of surf competitions. With its “Amar o Mar” program, Pingo Doce joins this partnership in the scope of beach cleaning actions, awareness and pedagogy actions for the younger public regarding this issue.
In addition, public participation with the choices of their favorite surfers in the Fantasy Surfer, with a Rip Curl’s GPS watch The Search 2 for the winner of each stage and a Polen Surfboards board for the most scored at the end of the year, inviting everyone to register on fantasy.ansurfistas.com.
the Allianz Triple Crown will award the best surfers in Figueira da Foz, Ericeira and Ribeira Grande stages
As an indicator of its relevance and maturity, the MEO Surf League will continue to count on the vast majority of its usual partners in 2022, reinforced now with Corona Extra, a brand with strong affinity with the surfing community at a global level, in the form of its claim ‘this is living’.
In terms of side trophies, we highlight yet another edition of the Allianz Triple Crown, which awards the best surfers in Figueira da Foz, Ericeira and Ribeira Grande stages. Joaquim Chaves Saúde group will award the best wave of each stage, while the Bom Petisco Girls Score continues to distinguish the best female score per stage. All stages will also feature the Go Chill Expression Session, both for men and women. To the total amount of prize-money, there are also the prizes awarded by the Municipal Councils to the best local surfers in the stages of Figueira da Foz, Ericeira, Ribeira Grande and Peniche.
The expectations of Vasco Ribeiro, national champion in title, for this new season “are good, as always. I come from the conquest of the fifth national title and I leave for this year with the goal of winning another title. My goal is always to win. Looking at the calendar, I think the changes are great. Returning to the Azores is very important. It’s a place I love, so I’m looking forward to competing there again”.
The expectations of Kika Veselko, national champion in title, for this year “are to defend the title with the same desire that I wanted to attack it. I train for it daily and it’s one more goal in addition to my international ones. I liked the change in the schedule because it’s always good to vary and compete in different places. I’ve competed in the Azores several times, it’s a place I really like to go to and I think it’s great to have this change in the circuit. I am super motivated for another year of MEO Surf League and very happy for the last stage to be in Peniche, where I will remember a moment so happy and special for me, which was winning the title last year.”
National Champions 2017 to 2021
2021 – Vasco Ribeiro and Kika Veselko
2020 – Frederico Morais and Teresa Bonvalot
2019 – Miguel Blanco and Yolanda Hopkins
2018 – Miguel Blanco and Camilla Kemp
2017 – Vasco Ribeiro and Carol Henrique
On television, all stages can be watched live on Sport TV, as well as on other official media: MEO facebook, MEO app – available at position 810 of the MEO channel grid, and at www.ansurfistas.com and social media at @ansurfistas.
The MEO Surf League 2022 is an organization of the National Surfers Association and Fire!, sponsored by MEO, Allianz Seguros, Joaquim Chaves, Bom Petisco, Go Chill, Somersby, Corona Extra and Rip Curl, sustainability partners Jerónimo Martins , local support from the Municipalities of Figueira da Foz, Porto and Matosinhos, Mafra, Ribeira Grande and Peniche, and technical support from Figueira da Foz Surfing Association, Onda Pura, Ericeira Surf Clube, Azores Surf Club and Península de Peniche Surf Club and the Portuguese Surfing Federation.
More information at www.ansurfistas.com.
Esta publicação também está disponível em | This article is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)
