The year 2023 was a rollercoaster ride for the surfing community. There were a couple of controversies that took a toll on the sport, one of which was the judging dispute at the Surf Ranch Pro 2023. While there were also some wave-riding sensations who rose to fame and took the surfing world by storm, surfers like Caroline Marks and Jack Robinson claimed the titles in the recently concluded Shiseido Tahiti Pro.

The Rip Curl WSL championships featured fierce competition, adding to the season’s highs and lows. Despite these fluctuations, the World Surfing League has now released the jam-packed schedule for the 2024 season, exciting fans and surfers worldwide.

An electrifying 2024 surfing season ahead

On September 20, the World Surf League took to Twitter (now X) to share the schedule for the 2024 season. In the table of contents of the “Championship Tour 2024 Schedule,” the season will kick off on January 29 with the Banzai Pipeline in the hearts of Hawaii, USA.

Then the nine regular-season events will reach Sunset Beach in Hawaii from February 12 to February 23, and then the competitions will reach Europe, where Peniche, Portugal, will host a ten-day event starting March 6. In the same month, Australia will host the championship from March 26 to April 5 at Bells Beach and then April 11–21 at the Margaret River.

Then there will be a midseason cut where 36-man and 18-woman fields will get reduced to 24-man and 12-woman fields. Following that the wave riders will head to the surfer’s paradise, Teahupo’o, Tahiti, starting from May 22 to May 31. Punta Roca and Saquarema will be the final two stops before the commencement of the Olympics, where the surfing events will be scheduled between July 27 and August 5.

Ahead of the major WSL finals in September, Cloudbreak is set to be the penultimate stop in August, taking place from August 20 to August 29 in Fiji. With the schedule in place, many surfers who made their mark this year are expected to be the ones to watch in the coming year.

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Some faces to watch out for

Caroline Marks is one of the surfers who has had a great impact this season. The Florida-based surfer was declared the winner of the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, Rip Curl WSL Finals, and Surf City El Salvador Pro.

Marks’ compatriot and the reigning Olympic champion, Carissa Moore, will also be looking to redeem herself as she lost the WSL finals to Marks; nonetheless, she still managed to win Surf Ranch Pro, Margaret River Pro, and Billabong Pro Pipeline. The other surfer to keep an eye on will be Caitlin Simmers, who fixed her spot in the Olympics recently.

On the men’s side, the Brazilian surfing prodigy Gabriel Medina, who did not have an ideal 2023 season, will be looking to make a staunch comeback with all that experience under his belt.

The world number 5 Australian, who made headlines recently after winning the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, the winner of the Rip Curl WSL Finals, Joao Chianca, and the world number 1 Filipe Toledo of Brazil, who claimed the victory in the Rip Curl WSL Finals, will also be looking to make 2024 their season. In addition to these surfers, numerous well-known names will compete in the waves in 2024.

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