- WSL / Kelly Cestari

The Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Rumble at the Ranch will feature 16 of the world's top surfers competing in a bracketed, mixed-doubles format for one afternoon of live, perfectly-groomed rippage.

Teams will consist of one male and one female surfer, to be determined by a blind draw as performed by the WSL Tours and Competition office.

Rumble At The Ranch Format - WSL

The Rumble will begin as a bracketed quarterfinal, with each team getting four waves to surf -- one right and one left for each surfer on the team. However, some teams may not use one left and right per surfer (see "Rebate Example" below for details).

Judges will watch and score the heats remotely. The top score from each male and female surfer on the team will combine to create the team's overall score for the heat, and the team with the best score will advance to the next round.

Sage Erickson (USA) has a heat total of 14.07 points (out of a possible 20.00) after her Qualifying Run 1 at the 2018 Surf Ranch Pro in Lemoore, CA, USA. Sage Erickson, confirmed for the Rumble, looking comfortable in the barrel during the 2018 Surf Ranch Pro - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Team members will begin at opposite ends of the basin. This means the first waves surfed by each team will be a Right and a Left respectively.

This is where strategy will play a role, because after the first wave is surfed by each member of the team -- a Right and a Left -- the second wave can be given away to a teammate for a rebate surf.

Rebate Example:
Let's say Team A's male surfer blew it on his Right, scoring at 3.33, but Team A's female surfer smoked it on her Left, scoring a 9.17. In this scenario, Team A's female surfer would be able to give her remaining Right to her male partner for a rebate surf to try and improve on his initial score.

The maximum number of waves a single surfer can surf in a heat is three -- their two original waves and a rebate wave from their teammate. Rebate waves are not bonus waves -- there are still only four waves available per team, per heat.

Think of this this way: Teams will either surf two waves each, or one teammate will surf three waves to their teammate's single ride.

LEMOORE, CA, UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 21: Filipe Toledo of Brazil is runner-up of the 2019 Freshwater Pro for the second time in his career on September 21, 2019 in Lemoore, CA, United States. (Photo by Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images) Filipe Toledo, a two-time finalist at the Surf Ranch CTs, seen here boosting an alley-oop the 2019 Freshwater Pro - WSL / Kelly Cestari

We'll be updating our Confirmed Athlete Page regularly, so don't forget to check back through August 4th to see who will be rumbling at the Ranch.

For all the details on health and safety procedures, please see our Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Rumble at the Ranch announcement page.

The Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Rumble at the Ranch will be broadcast live on WorldSurfLeague.com starting at 3 p.m. ET. / 12 p.m. PT on August 9, 2020.

In the US, FOX Sports will telecast the event live on FS2 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET and then will continue on FS1 live from 5 - 7 p.m. ET. Check local listings for details of additional broadcasters.

The WSL Surf Ranch venue will be closed to spectators and the production and event will be run by the WSL.

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