WSL Archives - Page 3 of 6 - New Zealand Surf Journal

World Surf League In Pre-Season Countdown Mode With Charity Events

Derek MorrisonSep 3, 2020July 25, 20240

World Surf League bridges the competition abyss caused by Covid-19 with its pre-season Countdown events. Upcoming competitions will take place in Australia, France, Portugal and Brazil, with nothing on the cards yet for New Zealand’s World Qualifying Series surfers. The idea of these WSL contests is to bring world-class competitive...

Watch: Jordy

Derek MorrisonJul 28, 2020July 25, 20240

Filmmaker Morgan Maassen teams up with South Africa’s Jordy Smith to bring this insight into one of the World Surf League’s most stylish surfers. “My longstanding attraction to surfing has always been through the elegance of style,” offers Morgan. “Watching the way someone can navigate a wave, connecting moves, making...

Special Feature: The Ratso Story

Derek MorrisonJul 27, 2020July 25, 20240

I’m standing in the garage with him as he sniffles back the taps and shuffles through a rack full of surfboards, his long hair hanging flat. He pulls one after another out and they’ve all got stories: he’s made a bunch of them, rode others to world titles and has...

WSL Unveils New Championship Tour Format For 2021

Derek MorrisonJul 18, 2020July 25, 20240

On the back of cancelling the 2020 World Championship Tour and Qualifying Series seasons, World Surf League has today unveiled a radical new format for the Championship Tour. To be introduced for the 2021 season that starts at the end of 2020, the WSL Championship Tour will see key format changes....

WSL Cancels 2020 Championship Tour

Derek MorrisonJul 18, 2020July 25, 20240

The World Surf League has today announced the cancellation of the 2020 Championship Tour season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing the health and safety of athletes, fans, employees, and local communities as the WSL’s top priorities, along with the challenges of international travel, the organisation has today cancelled the...

WSL Redesigns 2021 Tour, Suspends 2020 Events Until July

Derek MorrisonApr 29, 2020July 2, 20200

The World Surf League has today announced a totally revised 2021 Championship Tour, Challenger Series, and Qualifying Series. It has also confirmed that due to the continued evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, WSL is postponing or canceling all events, at all levels of competition, through to the start of July....

Piha Pro Now Cancelled For 2020

Derek MorrisonApr 17, 2020July 2, 20200

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Surf League (WSL) has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Corona Piha Pro Challenger Series event in Auckland. After postponing the event in the days before it was due to commence in mid-March, it has become clear that the inaugural Piha event...

Piha Pro Postponed

Derek MorrisonMar 13, 2020June 11, 20200

The 2020 Corona Piha Pro has been postponed as World Surf League puts into action its sweeping reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic, halting all of its March events throughout the world. The Corona Piha Pro organisers apologised to stakeholders, residents, surfers and fans in a statement released today. “We ask...

Piha Pro: A Spectator’s Guide

Derek MorrisonFeb 17, 2020July 2, 20200

Here’s the cheat sheet on how you can best soak up the atmosphere of the Corona Piha Pro when it rolls into Piha from March 15-22. Firstly, there is a Piha Pro Junior that takes place on March 14 for the men and women. It’s stop number 7 on the...

Billy Stairmand: Inside The Mind Of Our Olympic Hope

Derek MorrisonFeb 14, 2020July 2, 20200

He’s New Zealand’s Olympic hope for 2020, but only a few short years ago, Billy Stairmand was struggling to light his competitive fire. Now he’s in the best form of his life. This is how the 30-year-old Raglan surfer rebuilt his career. As the World Surf League Qualifying Series came...