After a run of pretty epic winter swells in California the past couple weeks, the World Surf League has no shortage of big events coming down the pipeline. By the time you read this, the World Junior Championships will be well underway in Oceanside, while up north, the Qualifying Series’ SLO CAL Open at Pismo Beach is ramping up. And at the end of the month, the Championship Tour kicks off with the Pipe Pro in Hawaii. If you’re a fan of pro surfing, there’s plenty to get fired up for this month.
The World Junior Championships will feature 24 men and 24 women of the best under-20 surfers from around the world. As far as local talent goes, San Clemente’s Jett Schilling, Taj Lindblad and Bella Kenworthy are all in the draw and will be looking to etch their names on the world title trophy. Other surfers in the draw include fellow Americans Levi Slawson, Alyssa Spencer and Zoe Benedetto, as well as rising stars Erin Brooks and her bestie, Sky Brown. They’ve made their way into the event either by regional qualifiers or by one of the 10 wild cards selected by the WSL Tours and Competition team. Besides the cash and notoriety, the 2023 World Junior Champions will be awarded spots on the 2024 Challenger Series. The waiting period for the WSL World Junior Championships runs from January 9-14, 2024.
“I’m really excited to compete in the World Junior Championships again, and I’m excited it’s in Oceanside,” Brooks said in a press statement. “I’ve spent a lot of time here, so I’m really confident at the wave, and hopefully I can put on a good performance. I’m honored to be among so many amazing up-and-coming surfers. If I were to win, it’d give me the confidence to try and make the CT and hopefully win world titles someday.”
After that, the SLO CAL Open at Pismo Beach kicks off on January 22 on the Central California coast. Again, Slawson and Benedetto are going to be among those to watch, but local legend Kolohe Andino is also riding high on the North America Qualifying Ratings. A favorite in any Qualifying Series event he surfs, Andino’s been surfing tack-sharp lately, and there’s no reason he can’t go the distance at the Pismo pier.
Finally, the month wraps up with the start of the 2024 Championship Tour in Hawaii. With world No. 3 Griffin Colapinto leading the charge, he’s got a whole crew of fired-up rookies behind him, including his younger brother Crosby, Cole Houshmand, Kade Matson and Sawyer Lindblad. The crew has been working hard throughout the offseason to get their boards, bodies and minds ready for the big year ahead. Between time in the gym and trips to Hawaii, they look ready. This is the most exciting rookie class to join the Championship Tour in years, and with the WSL Finals returning to Lowers at the end of the season in September, it’s time to get fired up.
To have so many local surfers doing such amazing things at the highest levels of the sport, it illustrates just why this area in South Orange County is such a hotbed for American surf talent and how deep that talent runs. From the World Junior Championships to the Championship Tour, it’s time to start cheering and showing those local surfers just what they mean to the community.
It’s on in 2024.