2021 World Champions Will Be Decided At First-Ever Rip Curl WSL Finals

COMP off for the day

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, California (Thursday, September 9, 2021) – The holding period for the first-ever Rip Curl WSL Finals, the final event of the 2021 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), officially opened today with a promising swell forecast for September 11 onwards. The competition will be OFF for today and the next call will be tomorrow, September 10, at 7:30 a.m. PDT.

“Looking at the forecast, we’ll definitely have really good waves for this event,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. “It feels so good to be back at Trestles, this wave is amazing, it’s such a high-performance break. So, we’re going to wait for the perfect conditions. There is a pretty good swell coming on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Make sure you guys tune in!”

• Holding Period Started on Thursday 9th and ends Friday 17th at Lower Trestles …We’ll likely need to wait a few days as the surf’s looking best Monday-Tuesday the 13-14th for this one day, 1st ever event! Mahalo, SNN

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, California (Wednesday, September 8, 2021) – The 2021 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) will be soon see the World Champions crowned as  the Top 5 men and women have arrived  in San Clemente, California for the first-ever Rip Curl WSL Finals. This historic event will await the best surfing conditions, running over one day, between September 9 – 17 in the new, winner-take-all event to decide the undisputed 2021 World Champions.

“To win the third World Title is my biggest goal,” said two-time WSL Champion and World No. 1, Gabriel Medina (BRA). “It’s amazing to win the title. All the surfers I look up to have won 3 titles, so I really want to do that. I know it’s gonna be hard, but I’ve been training hard, surfing everyday and I just want to make it happen.”

“It would be really special to win a World Title in this new format, here in Lower Trestles” said four-time WSL Champion and Olympic gold medalist, Carissa Moore (HAW). “I have four amazing women in the showdown, so I really have to put my head down and work for this one, but if it works out it will be super special.”

“It’s been a very special year for me,” said reigning WSL Champion, Olympic gold medal winner, and World No. 2, Italo Ferreira (BRA). “All these guys here are such a big inspiration to me, and I’m excited to be competing with them for this next challenge of my career.”

“It would be an honor to be on that stage with anyone, but with a fellow Brazilian would be even better,” said World No. 2, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA). “For our country, I think that would be a big statement for a female to dominate all around. It’s already happening on the male side with Gabriel, Filipe and Italo. They all inspire me so much, so it would be a big honor to stand aside them on the stage.”

The waves are expected to pick up on September 11 – 12 and the forecast indicates that another strong South Pacific storm will develop over the following weekend, potentially sending a larger SSW swell for the 13 – 15.

The 2021 Rip Curl WSL Finals Format 

The top-ranked male and female surfers, Medina and Moore, will have a major advantage over the other WSL Final 5 contenders as they will be seeded directly into the Title Match, a best-of-three showdown to determine the World Champion. The remaining surfers will enter the Rip Curl WSL Finals bracket based on their year-end rankings. The women will be the first to take the water with Match 1 and will alternate with the men for the remainder of the day.

Match 1 will see Johanne Defay (FRA) take on 7X WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), followed by rookie Morgan Cibilic (AUS) and Conner Coffin (USA). Both matches will have a traditional heat format in a head-to-head competition. The winners will advance to Match 2 where they will face world No. 3 on the WSL Leaderboard: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Filipe Toledo (BRA).

The winner of Match 2 will then face-off against the number two ranked surfers, the Brazilian duo Weston-Webb and Ferreira, in Match 3.. The winners of Match 3 will move on to the best-of-three Title Match, where they will face the World Number 1 Moore and Medina in a head-to-head competition with a traditional heat format. The first surfer to win two out of three heats becomes the undisputed 2021 World Champion.

More information available at WorldSurfLeague.com.

Thank You To The  2021 Rip Curl WSL Finals Partners

The Rip Curl WSL Finals is proudly supported by Rip Curl, Jeep, Red Bull, Super 73, Shiseido, Oakley, DraftKings, Michelob ULTRA, IKEA, Expedia, Sambazon, Flying Embers, and Waterloo.

As the title partner of the event, Rip Curl will be helping WSL make history by crowning the undisputed world champions in this new one day event format. In partnership with Tilly’s, Rip Curl hosted a sweepstakes for a few lucky winners to get an all expenses paid trip to the Finals. Rip Curl will also be running a number of events for the San Clemente community during the event window, including working with Surfrider and WSL PURE on a beach clean up, hosting the Lineup Live, Rip Curl team signings and a live mural painting at the Rip Curl San Clemente retail location, and running surf and mentor sessions with the local boardriders youth club and Bethany Hamilton.

Long-standing WSL partners, Jeep and Red Bull, will also be activating on-sit. Jeep will feature the all new Jeep Wrangler 4xe, and fans will be able to experience the vehicles up close and personal and learn about the power of electrification. As they do at every stop, Red Bull will build the Red Bull Athlete Zone on the beach – bringing a beautiful, isolated locker room area and warm up area plus an area for friends and family of each Finalist to relax and watch the contest. Red Bull also gifted each finalist custom Super73 electric bikes to enable the athletes to get to and from the break more efficiently.

To celebrate the first ever Rip Curl WSL Finals Oakley will be outfitting water safety and their ambassadors in eyewear, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold will be on tap for event VIPs, Waterloo will keep fans hydrated by offering a selection of premium sparkling water and DraftKings, WSL’s first ever sports better partner, will be upping the stakes with a prize pool to be raised from $1K to $10K.

IKEA will have an activation in San Clemente showcasing select products from their new Kaseberga product line. The Kaseberga product line was designed for surfers in collaboration with the WSL. The Kaseberga products will be available in IKEA stores in April 2022.

Watch LIVE 
The event window for the one-day Rip Curl WSL Finals runs September 9 – September 17. The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and YouTube, as well as the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

COVID-19 Updates
The health and safety of athletes, staff, and the local community are of the utmost importance and the WSL has been working closely with local authorities to put a robust set of procedures in place. This includes testing and advance screening protocols, physical distancing and limited personnel on-site.