COOLANGATTA, Queensland, Australia (Wednesday, 30 November 2022) - The World Surf League Asia Pacific (APAC) region is excited to announce its schedule of events for 2023 with the action-packed season set to commence in February. The Australia / Oceania region will host 15 events, from Pro Juniors to the Championship Tour, and everything in between.
Bells Beach will celebrate it's 60th anniversary in 2023 a it welcomes the world's best back for the Aussie leg of the CT season. - WSL / Sloane
"2023 will see the busiest and most action-packed WSL Australian leg we've ever seen," said WSL APAC President, Andrew Stark. "We've got events at all levels across the country from grassroots Junior events to elite level Championship Tour events. It's set to be an extremely exciting few months for surf fans and competitors alike. This bumper WSL schedule is a true testament to our incredible partnerships and the growth the sport is experiencing across Australia and the world. This is true to Asia as well, where we have exciting news to come on that region's calendar for 2023. We're looking forward to delivering a fantastic run of WSL events once again in the coming months for our members, fans and partners."
The 2023 Aussie Leg of WSL events will kick-off with a series of men's and women's regional Qualifying Series and Pro Junior events. These events will see the best up and coming talent from Australia, New Zealand and Asia duke it out for a spot at the Challenger Series and World Junior Championship levels respectively.
This back-to-back run of regional events will return to a series of classic locations while giving aspiring professional surfers a unique opportunity to focus their energy and ambitions into a short, intense run of competitions. The QS run will be bookended with two QS 5,000 events, starting with the Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro then culminating at the iconic City of Newcastle Pro QS 5,000. After these events, the top seven men and top four women on the Australia / Oceania regional rankings will be awarded a spot into the Challenger Series as well as one men's and one women's wildcard.
Pro Junior Events
- February 10 - 12 - Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro Junior, Tweed Coast NSW
- February 25 - 26 - Lake Mac City Pro Junior, Redhead Beach NSW
- May 3 - 5 - Harvey Norman Gold Coast Pro Junior, Gold Coast Queensland
- May 13 - 14 - Harvey Norman Sydney Surf Pro Junior, Manly NSW
Qualifying Series Events
- February 12 - 16 - Oakberry Tweed Coast Pro QS 5,000, Tweed Coast NSW
- February 17 - 19 - Gold Coast Open QS 1,000, Burleigh Heads QLD
- February 21 - 24 - Great Lakes Pro QS 3,000, Boomerang Beach NSW
- Feb 27 - Mar 1 - Port Stephens Pro QS 1,000, Birubi Beach NSW
- March 3 - 5 - Mad Mex Maroubra Pro QS 1,000, Maroubra NSW
- March 13 - 18 - Vissla and Sisstrevolution Central Coast Pro pres. By Mad Mex QS 3000, Avoca NSW
- March 20 - 26 - City of Newcastle Pro QS 5,000, Merewether Newcastle NSW
Jarvis Earle is currently leading the rankings but with plenty morep points up for grabs his job isn't done yet. - WSL / Tim Hain
In 2023, the Great Lakes Pro has been upgraded from a QS 1,000 to a QS 3,000 event, meaning there are more points on offer than ever before on this region's Qualifying Series.
2023 will also see the Central Coast Pro QS 3,000 and City of Newcastle Pro QS 5,000 being co-sanctioned with the Asia Region, giving competitors from Asia more opportunities to compete for higher points as well as welcoming more international competitors back to two of Australia's most established events.
At the end of the QS run, the focus will then shift to the elite Championship Tour which will land in Australia for the fourth stop of the season, the iconic Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach which in 2023 will be celebrating its 60th year as a professional surfing event. The CT will then continue on to the picturesque Margaret River for stop 5 of the 2023 season, the Margaret River Pro, which will decide who will be relegated from the CT by the mid-year cut.
- April 4 - 14 - Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach CT, Bells Beach, Victoria
- April 20 - 30 - Margaret River Pro CT, Margaret River, Western Australia
North Narrabeen will host the second stop of the 2023 CS Season. - WSL / Matt Dunbar
The action won't stop there either as 7 women and 12 men competitors that miss the mid-season cut in WA will join the best up and coming competitors from around the globe for the opening event of the 2023 WSL Challenger Series, the Gold Coast Pro at Snapper Rocks. Taking place at one of the world's most perfect waves, this event will set the stage for the 2023 Challenger Season which will continue the following week at the Sydney Surf Pro, which will take place at North Narrabeen, one of the global hubs of high-performance surfing. The remaining 2023 Challenger Series competitions will be announced in the coming months.
- May 6 - 13 Gold Coast Pro Challenger Series, Snapper Rocks, Coolangatta, Queensland
- May 17 - 24 Sydney Surf Pro Challenger Series, North Narrabeen, New South Wales
- The full 2023 Challenger Series schedule will be released in the coming months.
Stay tuned for more exciting news to come around what is set to be a blockbuster Australian leg from February through May 2023 as well as information on the upcoming events in the Asia region.