WSL World Junior Championships Coming To California This January
The WSL has announced that the World Junior Championships will take place in Oceanside, California, from January 9 through January 14, 2024. Featuring the top next-generation surf talent from around the world, the event has a long history of showcasing the surf stars of tomorrow.
“Last year’s event was a true showcase of what the next generation is capable of and we’re excited to bring this event back to Southern California again this year,” Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL Chief of Sport, explained in a press statement. “Some of these competitors are making a name for themselves on the Challenger Series right now. We even have a rookie CT athlete in the mix, Alyssa Spencer. This event is a great way to kick off the new year.”
Oceanside is only about a 30-minute drive south from San Clemente, where the WSL Finals have been held and world champions crowned the last 30 years. Home to a vibrant surf community, last year's WSL Finalist Caity Simmers and longtime Championship Tour journeyman Taylor Knox have both emerged from the town's expansive breakbreak setups.
As far as who's in the event, there will be 24 surfers in both the men's and women's draw, which interestingly makes it more equitable than the Championship Tour. Two surfers from the WSL's seven different regions will qualify to compete. The The Hawaiian Islands HIC Haleiwa Pro, running on Oahu over the next week, will be the last chance to qualify for the World Junior Championship.
Competitors have competed in these regional qualifying events over the course of the last year, which explains why the WSL is calling this the 2023 World Junior Championships even though the contest will actually take place in 2024.
Winners of the 2023 World Junior Champions earn a spot on the 2024 WSL Challenger Series, where they'll compete for a spot on the elite Championship Tour the following year.
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With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.