As the WSL Championship Tour reaches half way and we are hit with the newly formatted mid-season cut, here are some key attributes to the WSL's integrated three-tier tour format.
The tiers are - the regional Qualifying Series (QS), the Challenger Series (CS) and the elite Championship Tour (CT).
Qualifying Series - This is a regional series split into 7 areas, adapted to help alleviate the high costs associated with world tours like the CS and CT. It is the entry level WSL series and the top 10 riders across all regions will automatically go to the CS, along with the top riders from each region in specific numbers as below;
Africa: 5 men and 3 women
Asia: 6 men and 6 women
Australia/Oceania: 10 men and 8 women
Europe: 10 men and 8 women
Hawaii: 7 men and 6 women
North America: 10 men and 8 women
South America: 10 men and 5 women
Challenger Series - This is the 'launchpad' for the CT made up of the winners of the QS and the men and women in the bottom half of the CT that are dropped from the mid-season cut, as well as wildcards for each event. The 6 event CS is scheduled right after the mid season cut, this year starting May 6th, and goes on to the end of October, so the two tours (CT & CS) are intertwined and run simultaneously together.
Championship Tour - The elite tour has seen some big changes, with the introduction of the mid-season cut and 'the WSL Finals' closing the years schedule. After the Margaret River event exactly half way through the tours season the field will be cut in half for both the men and the women, with the top ranking riders going on to the second half of the season and the bottom half battling out with the CS athletes. The next 5 events of the season will determine who goes to the WSL Finals at Lower Trestles, California. The top 5 men and women will go head to head in a new surf-off format, a one day surf event to crown the king and queen of the World Surf League.
The redefined tiers and mid season cut are in place to heighten competitiveness, as well as ensure the heats are the best for viewers and for the surfers giving the most optimum windows of swell. One drawback that can be seen is that if a rider performs poorly in the first half of the season there isn't a chance to pull it back in the later events, but this will only encourage top performance from all surfers, and hopefully create a better field of athletes in the latter half of the season, meaning head-to-head super-heats are much more likely.
The WSL have been pushing equality in a number of areas, not only do the men and women surf the same breaks and have the same length season, the podium places and winning prizes are the same across the board. This year the ladies will be surfing at the very challenging SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, in French Polynesia for the first time in the Championship Tour.
Follow all the action at WorldSurfLeague.com or through their YouTube
As the final half of the season is under way, who do you want in your top 5 finalists for the WSL Finals event, September 8-16??
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