LOS ANGELES, Calif., USA (Tuesday, November 8, 2022) - Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced plans to host competitions in wave basins worldwide. Similar to natural wave venues around the world, the WSL has created guidelines for evaluating and hosting competitions in wave systems across the Pro Junior, Qualifying Series, and Longboard tiers and will start to roll out new competitions in these wave basins later this year.
"Wave technology is at an inflection point, and the level playing field of a wave basin provides a unique opportunity for competitors," said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. "I'm excited about the potential for progression now that we are opening up the door to hosting official WSL competitions in wave basins around the world and, although the ocean will always be our home, we believe this technology has an important role to play in the future of competitive surfing."
"We've had great success hosting events at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore, and we feel like this is the right time to take everything we've learned and start to open the door to hosting certain WSL events at other wave basins in a careful and measured way," said Erik Logan, WSL CEO. "We see the value they bring to competitions, and the opportunity for competitors, and we look forward to working with other facilities to both sanction and run WSL events there, as well as continue to host elite-level WSL Championship Tour events at the WSL Surf Ranch."
In parallel to the inclusion of wave-basin-based competitions around the world, the WSL will continue its long-standing relationship with the Kelly Slater Wave Company, whose technology produces the longest, open-barrel, high-performance, human-made wave in the world. Kelly Slater Wave technology will be the only wave systems to earn the WSL Certified designation, meaning the waves are fit for WSL Championship Tour (CT) competition.
The Surf Ranch, the world's largest high-performance, human-made wave 100 miles from the ocean in Lemoore, Calif., will return to the CT schedule in 2023 for Stop. No 6 from May 27 - 28, 2023.