CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Monday, May 1, 2023) - The World Surf League (WSL) 2023 Challenger Series is the battleground where surfers compete to qualify for the elite Championship Tour (CT), surfing's most prestigious competition tier. Across the six-competition series, promising young talents and hungry veterans will face off in high-performance waves for their shot to earn a spot on the CT. Following the CT's Mid-season Cut, the Challenger Series will feature competitors hoping to return to the elite CT in 2024, as well as new faces looking to achieve their dreams and qualify for the first time.
With the WSL Africa Qualifying Series (QS) wrapped up, the region's Challenger Series athletes have been confirmed. The top four men and top two women on the WSL Africa QS rankings automatically qualified and a regional wildcard was awarded for one male and one female.
WSL Africa Regional 2023 Challenger Series Athletes - WSL
Challenger Series Regional Qualifiers
The lists below includes all regional qualifiers eligible to compete in the 2023 Challenger Series season. The confirmed list of competitors will be released ahead of each Challenger Series event.
Africa
Natasha Van Greunen (RSA)
Jessie Van Niekerk (RSA)
Sarah Baum (RSA) Regional Wildcard
Luke Thompson (RSA)
Adin Masencamp (RSA)
Connor Slijpen (RSA)
Daniel Emslie(RSA)
Joshe Faulkner (RSA) Regional Wildcard
This will be the second year on the CS for Adin Masencamp, Joshe Faulkner, Natasha van Greunen and Sarah Baum, after competing in the 2022 season while the rest of the South African field will make their CS debut.
Natasha van Greunen - WSL / Sean Thompson
"I'm really happy to be back on the Challenger Series, I feel I didn't bring my full potential last year and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to compete at this level," Natasha van Greunen said. "I'm feeling confident in my surfing and I have been training mentally and physically for this year and I am ready to compete. I think it is going to be a good full year of competition and I can't wait to put the jersey on."
Luke Thompson - WSL / Beatriz Ryder
"I can't wait for the year ahead competing on the Challenger Series," Luke Thompson reacted. "I loved competing against the best surfers in the world at J-Bay last year and I can't wait to learn and gain more experience from this year. I am looking forward to the Ballito Pro in South Africa. It's the event where I feel most comfortable at and I would love to be able to win it in front of my home crowd."
Following the 2023 Challenger Series season, the Top 10 men and Top 5 women on the Challenger Series rankings will qualify for the 2024 Championship Tour season. Out of the six Challenger Series competitions, only the top four results will count toward their end-of-year rankings.
2023 Challenger Series Schedule
Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro Presented by GWM (Queensland, Australia): May 6 - 13, 2023
GWM Sydney Surf Pro Presented by Bonsoy (New South Wales, Australia): May 17 - 24, 2023
Ballito Pro Presented by O'Neill (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa): July 2 - 9, 2023
US Open of Surfing presented by Pacifico (Huntington Beach, USA): July 29 - August 6, 2023
EDP Vissla Pro Ericeira Presented by Estrella Galicia (Ericeira, Portugal): October 1 - 8, 2023
Corona Saquarema Pro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): October 14 - 21, 2023