- WSL / Tim Hain

The World Surf League (WSL) Asia Pacific (APAC) is excited to announce the Asia Regions 2024 season will launch with back-to-back events in the Philippines. The La Union International Pro will return to Urbiztondo Beach from January 22 to 28 and be followed by the inaugural Baler International Pro from February 1 - 7.

Both events will host Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 events and Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) events to help decide the WSL Asia Region's representatives on the 2024 Challenger Series and Longboard Tour.

"The WSL APAC is excited to be returning to the Philippines this January, this time for back-to-back events," said WSL APAC Tour Manager Ty Sorati. "We ran a super successful event in La Union last year and are looking forward to returning to that spot again this year. We're really happy to be adding an event to the schedule in Baler, which, from all accounts, has world-class waves for longboarding and shortboarding. Adding an event in this part of the world signifies the strength of the relationship between the WSL and UPSA, and we can't wait to see it continue to develop off the back of these two events."

The first event will return to the high-performance righthander of Urbiztondo Beach before heading to Baler for the first-ever WSL event at this location. Sabang Beach, Baler, offers up high-performance beach-break peaks which allow for tube rides, big turns and bigger airs.

"I am very happy that a world-class WSL event is happening here again at La Union," said Ian Saguan, President La Union Surf Club (LUSC) & UPSA National Coach. "We really feel that the Philippines' surfing is levelling up. Competitions like this provide a great opportunity for the younger generation of surfers to experience and test their skills at a higher degree on their home break without spending a lot to travel outside the country."

"It's always great to have WSL back here in La Union as we are pushing more of our Pinoy surfers to get enough points to qualify, just like how JR Esquivel (WLT) and Marama Tokong (Challenger series) have done it," said Luke Landrigan UPSA National Coach. "We are continuously learning from WSL on how to improve our events and our judging for national competitions. We are forever grateful that WSL has given us the opportunity to come back here and hopefully, many more years to come."

The La Union International Pro will return to Urbiztondo Beach from January 22 to 28 and be followed by the inaugural Baler International Pro from February 1 - 7.

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