Revealed: the Aussie surfers moving one step closer to world tour qualification
The Australia/Oceania leg of the WSL Qualifying Series wrapped up over the weekend with some stunning results shaking up of the final standings. Find out who qualified for the Challenger Series.
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After nine months, more than a dozen events and in excess of 1000 heats, the Australia/Oceania leg of the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series (QS) has finally come to a close.
The final event, the QS 5000 City of Newcastle Pro at Merewether Beach, wrapped up on the weekend, with some surprise results throwing a spanner in the final rankings as some surfers enjoyed a surprise rise up the rankings and others missed the cut by the narrowest of margins.
Known in surfing circles as the ‘grind tour’ on account of the gruelling schedule, relatively low prizemoney and the often underwhelming waves on offer, the QS is divided between different regions and is classified as the third tier of world surfing.
It is made up of a series of events classified as either 1000-, 3000- or 5000-point contests, and often consists of an exciting mix of experienced competitors looking to get back on the CT and young guns cutting their teeth on the regional tour.
The top eight men and top four women, plus a regional wildcard for both, on the Australia/Oceania leg secure automatic qualification to the second-tier Challenger Series, where competitors from around the world fight it out for spots on the WSL Championship Tour (CT).
With the Challenger Series set to kick off on the Gold Coast in May, we’ve taken a look at the surfers from the region who have qualified for the next stage.
Men
1) Reef Heazlewood – Moffat Beach, QLD (10,891)
As a surfer considered to be one of the best Australian chances to break through to the CT, it’s perhaps no major surprise to see the 23-year-old top the QS rankings.
An incredible aerial surfer with all the tricks in the book, Heazlewood showed his class on the QS, picking up huge results at high-ranking events in Taiwan (second), Newcastle (third), Tweed Coast and Krui (both fifth).
After booking his ticket for the Challenger Series, there will be plenty of expectation and anticipation to see whether the Sunshine Coast kid can take another step and qualify for the top-tier of world surfing, the CT.
2) Jarvis Earle – Cronulla, NSW (10,107)
The next big thing in Australian surfing, the 18-year-old has drawn comparisons to another blond-haired goofy-footer from the Shire – the great Mark Occhilupo – with his hacks and rail game.
Earle blasted out of the blocks during this season’s QS and led the rankings for much of the tour on the back of big results in Taiwan (first), Krui (third), Great Lakes (third) and Nias (13th).
But the QS hasn’t been Earle’s only success in the past year, with the Cronulla lad following in the footsteps of world champions Andy Irons and Gabriel Medina by taking out the WSL World Junior Championship in San Diego, California, in January.
That win saw him automatically qualify for the Challenger Series, which meant that an extra spot was allocated to the Australia/Oceania group.
3) Alister Reginato – Alexandra Headland, QLD (9887)
Mr Consistent on this season’s QS, the 21-year-old Sunshine Coast local has barely slipped up at any of the high-rating events, with two second-place finishes at Avoca and Maroubra, a third at the Tweed Coast Pro and fifth in Taiwan setting him up nicely heading into the final event in Newcastle.
A fifth-place finish in Newcastle consolidated his spot on the podium in what was a chaotic final event in the terms of the rankings, and will ensure that he is one of the top Aussie hopes heading into the Challenger Series.
4) Joel Vaughan – North Shelley, NSW (9698)
If anyone had have told the 19-year-old Central Coast shredder one week ago that he would have finished the QS in fourth place and comfortably qualified for the Challenger Series, he would have laughed at them in the face.
While the North Shelley surfer had been enjoying a solid season to date, with a third-place finish at the Central Coast Pro and fifth at the Great Lakes Pro at Boomerang Beach, he wasn’t in the top 15 heading into the season-ending event.
However an incredible win at the 5000-point event in Newcastle saw Vaughan catapult up the rankings on the back of some scintillating aerial manoeuvres, with the win to give the young charger plenty of confidence heading into the Challenger Series.
5) George Pittar – North Steyne, NSW (8940)
The other big winner from the weekend, the AGE went on a stunning run in Newcastle, knocking out CT surfer and local favourite Jackson Baker, as well as CS campaigners Kalani Ball and Jacob Wilcox on his way to the final.
While he might have gone down to Vaughan in the final heat, the Manly boy left Newcastle with a huge grin on his face as the result launched him up to fifth place, which complemented his four ninth-place finishes at Nias, Cabarita, Boomerang Beach and Taiwan.
6) Billy Stairmand – New Zealand (8280)
The experienced Kiwi entered Surfest in Newcastle sitting precariously in seventh position, but did enough with a 13th-place finish to ensure that he booked his ticket for the CS.
While it might not have been the most spectacular result, the 33-year-old took down some close rivals at Merewether, knocking hopefuls Mikey Clayton-Brown and Xavier Huxtable in the round 64 and 32, respectively to ensure he wasn’t going to be pushed out of the top eight.
7) Mikey McDonagh – Lennox Head, NSW (8257)
The 21-year-old was another to break into the qualification spots after the final event in Newcastle, where he finished in ninth place.
McDonagh showed that he can clearly match it with the big guns on the QS, picking up two wins at the Great Lakes and Maroubra Pro events, including a dramatic last-minute victory at the former, along with fifth at the Tweed Coast Pro at Cabarita Beach.
The results meant that he mirrored his seventh place finish from last year’s QS. Now a year older and with another 12 months of competitive surfing under his belt, the Le-Ba Boardriders gun will be out to improve on his 47th-place finish on last year’s Challenger Series.
8) Te Kehukehu Butler – New Zealand (8046)
Butler will surely be looking to buy Jarvis Earle a beer after securing the last automatic qualification spot for the CS, with Earle’s World Junior victory subsequently resulting in another qualification spot being allocated to the Australia/Oceania region.
After an impressive second at the 5000-point Tweed Coast Pro in February set the Kiwi up for qualification, the 23-year-old picked up a fifth at the Central Coast Pro and then scraped out a 17th in Newcastle to just make the cut.
Booking the ticket for his second-consecutive Challenger Series, Butler will be hoping to improve on his 55th place last year.
Women
1) Kobie Enright – Coolangatta, QLD (11,766)
When it comes to consistency, none come close to the 23-year-old, whose worst result was incredibly a ninth-place finish at the 5000-point event in Krui.
With three third-place finishes at the Nias, Newcastle and Great Lakes Pro events, as well as a fifth at the Tweed Coast Pro, the Gold Coast surfer has been clinical during the current QS season, and is likely to give the Challenger Series a real shake this year.
2) Paige Hareb – New Zealand (11,720)
One of a number of strong performers from New Zealand on this year’s tour, the 32-year-old led the rankings for much of the season, before an early exit in Newcastle allowed Enright to pip her at the post.
With a victory at the 5000-point Nias Pro and two fifths at the Krui and Great Lakes event, Hareb produced some of her best surfing over the course of the QS season.
As the first New Zealander to qualify for the women’s CT, on which she spent seven years between 2010 and 2019, Hareb will be hoping to resume her place among the world’s best.
3) Ellie Harrison – Barwon Heads, VIC (9347)
Still just 17, there is incredible hype around the young Victorian, who surfed well beyond her years on this year’s tour to comfortably qualify for the Challenger Series.
While picking up a victory at the QS 1000 Cape Naturaliste Pro in Western Australia, Harrison also performed well at the high ranking events, finishing second at the Great Lakes Pro, third at the Taiwan Open of Surfing and fifth at QS 5000 events on the Tweed Coast, Krui and Nias.
After improving on her eighth-place finish on the QS last season, the youngster is on a trajectory that many believe will see her reach the pinnacle of world surfing, sooner rather than later.
4) Nyxie Ryan – Lennox Head, NSW (9220)
It might still only be March, but Nyxie Ryan has her excellent 2023 to thank for securing the final women’s spot on the Challenger Series.
After a solid start to the season that included a victory at the QS 1000 event at Phillip Island and 13th at the 5000-point Krui Pro at the back end of 2022, the Lennox Head surfer really turned it on in the new year, with a victory at the 3000-point Great Lakes Pro in February (alongside Le-Ba Boardriders clubmate Mikey McDonagh) and a second-place finish at the Central Coast Pro at Avoca shooting her up the rankings.
Although her 25th place in the final event in Newcastle meant she had a nervous couple of days waiting on other results, the 20-year-old’s performances throughout the season were ultimately enough to book her ticket to the next stage.
The six-stop WSL Challenger Series kicks off on the Gold Coast on May 6.
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