WSL Challenger Series: meet the 22 Australians hoping to qualify for surfing’s world tour
They’re a mix of experienced campaigners and up-and-coming stars. As the WSL Challenger Series kicks off this weekend, meet the Aussies fighting it out for a spot on surfing’s coveted world tour.
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One of the most exciting events in world surfing will kick off this weekend with the first leg of the WSL Challenger Series to take place at the Gold Coast’s iconic Snapper Rocks.
The second-tier of world surfing, the Challenger Series will feature a broad mix of surfers hoping to win their way onto the Championships Tour (CT).
They include seasoned pros looking to get back to the top, regular challengers hoping to take that final step and up-and-coming stars ready to shake up world surfing.
Some 80 men and 48 women will battle it out over the six-stop tour, with the top-10 men and top-five women earning spots on next year’s world tour, the CT.
Ahead of the first event on the Gold Coast, which starts on Saturday 6 May, we’ve profiled all 22 Australians taking part in the tour.
The Campaigners
With the WSL incorporating the mid-season cut into its top-tier CT in recent years, a slew of surfers have been relegated back to the Challenger Series to try and win back their spots for 2024.
After narrowly missing out on the chance to stay on the CT, the following surfers will be hungry to show why they belong at the top.
Jackson Baker – Merewether, NSW
Instantly recognisable with his bushy moustache and bright pink boards, the larrikin from Newcastle is one of the most popular characters in world surfing.
After making the mid-season cut on last year’s world tour by the narrowest of margins, the 26-year-old unfortunately fell to the other side of the cut line on this year’s tour, missing out by one spot.
However after recently recording his best ever result on the CT – a ninth-place finish at Bells Beach last month – ‘Jacko’ is in good form, with his powerful hacks making him one of the favourites to get straight back into surfing’s top tier.
Sally Fitzgibbons – Gerroa, NSW
Without a doubt the biggest name in the women’s draw, Fitzgibbons is considered by many to be the greatest female surfer to have never won a world title, having finished second three times and third and incredible four times during her illustrious career.
Despite finishing fifth in the most recent CT event at Margaret River, the 32-year-old missed out on securing her spot on the top tour by just one place.
However with her incredible skill and experience, the south coast surfer will undoubtedly be a favourite to win back her spot for 2024.
Macy Callaghan – Avoca, NSW
One of the next generation of world-class surfers from the Central Coast, Callaghan missed out on the cut after a disappointing final event at Margaret River last month.
However after finishing third in the world tour event in Portugal earlier this year, the 22-year-old North Shelly Boardriders surfer has shown that she can well and truly match it with the best, and will go into the first event at Snapper with plenty of confidence.
Sophie McCulloch – Alexandra Headland, QLD
One of the unluckier surfers to find herself back on the Challenger Series, McCulloch missed two of the first five world tour events this year through injury, which made her attempt to make the mid-season cut incredibly tough.
The 24-year-old performed well in the final three events, recording a fifth in Portugal and two ninth-place finishes at Bells Beach and Margaret River, which should give her plenty of confidence heading into the season-opening Challenger Series event on the Gold Coast.
Isabella Nichols – Coolum Beach, QLD
If anything, consistency is the only issue for the supremely talented Nichols, who when at her best can match it with any surfer in the world.
She demonstrated just how good she can be last year when she took out the Margaret River Pro on the CT, and went close again this year by finishing third at Bells Beach. However her results in the other events meant that she missed the mid-season cut.
On top of her incredible ability, another thing that might work in the 25-year-old’s favour in this year’s Challenger Series is the absence of her bogey surfer – the Central Coast’s Molly Picklum – who remarkably knocked her out in four of the tour’s first five events.
The Challengers
The following bunch of surfers have booked their spots on the Challenger Series thanks to their efforts either last year or in previous seasons.
As a consolation to narrowly missing out on CT qualification last year, these surfers have been rewarded with a ticket on this year’s series – and will all be hoping to go one better.
Nikki Van Dijk – Phillip Island, VIC
Aside from Fitzgibbons, Van Dijk would just about be the most accomplished surfer in the women’s draw of this year’s Challenger Series, boasting seven years of experience on the top-tiered CT, including a famous victory at the Cascais Pro in Portugal back in 2017.
After falling off the world tour in 2021, the 28-year-old narrowly missed out on winning her spot back in last year’s Challenger Series, finishing just outside the automatic qualification spots in ninth.
However with a wealth of experience and incredible talent, the Victorian is considered to be a great chance to do well this year.
Bronte Macaulay – Gracetown, WA
Another surfer with an incredible set of achievements behind her, Macaulay’s story is similar to that of Van Dijk’s.
After seven years on the CT, the 29-year-old fell off the tour last year and then narrowly missed out on qualification through the Challenger Series at the back-end of 2022.
Despite those setbacks, Macaulay – the daughter of iconic Western Australian pro surfer from the 1980s and 1990s, Dave – recently showed that she can still match it with the world’s best, finishing third at her home event, the Margaret River Pro, just two weeks ago.
India Robinson – Jan Juc, VIC
The Victorian will be looking to win her way back onto the CT after an impressive rookie season in 2022. Despite finishing fifth twice and recording three ninth-place finishes, the 22-year-old was a victim of the tour savage mid-season cut and fell off the tour.
Not just a talented surfer, Robinson has one of the more interesting approaches to her job. As surfing has become more corporatised and commercialised in recent decades, Robinson is one that goes against the grain, rejecting sponsorship in order to just concentrate on her surfing.
She’s also an advocate for brain injury awareness, having suffered some serious concussions while competing in events.
Morgan Cibilic – Merewether, NSW
The last couple of years have been a wild ride for Cibilic, who has already experienced both the highs and lows of professional surfing in his short career.
Breaking onto the world tour in 2021, the Newcastle local showed up some of the world’s best to finish in an incredible fifth place and claim the rookie of the year award.
But instead of kicking on, the 23-year-old suffered a case of second-year syndrome in 2022, struggling to recapture the form from his debut season before falling off the tour at the mid-season cut. There was more heartache, with Cibilic then narrowly missing out on qualification through the Challenger Series, despite putting in a series of consistent performances.
But with an extra year behind him to work on his surfing, many are tipping ‘Morgs’ to break back onto the CT.
Dylan Moffat – North Narrabeen, NSW
Perhaps the unluckiest bloke in men’s surfing, the 23-year-old missed out on his dream of qualifying for the world tour by the narrowest of margins last year, finishing one place outside the automatic qualification spot after a disappointing season-ending event in Hawaii.
However the North Narrabeen local has shown that he has the quality to make the step up, and even had a taste of life on the CT recently with a respectable 17th-place finish at the iconic Bells Beach Pro.
Jacob Willcox – Margaret River, WA
One of the most popular characters in Australian surfing, ‘Chippo’ has been knocking on the door of the world tour for a couple of years, narrowly missing out on cracking the big time last year after finishing just behind Moffat and Cibilic in 13th on last year’s Challenger Series.
Growing up with the heavy waves of Margaret River, the 25-year-old goofy footer is more than comfortable in waves of consequence, with many tipping him to finally make the leap into the big time this year.
The Qualifiers
This following list of surfers have certainly earned their spot on the Challenger Series after making their way through the tough and perilous Qualifying Series (QS).
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.
Battle-hardened and super keen, the following bunch of young surfers will be looking to make their mark on the world stage.
Reef Heazlewood – Moffat Beach, QLD
Considered to be one of the best Australian chances to break through to the CT, Heazlewood comes into the Challenger Series with plenty of confidence after winning the Australia-Oceania leg of the QS.
An incredible aerial surfer with all the tricks in the book, the Sunshine Coast kid showed his class on the QS by picking up huge results at high-ranking events in Taiwan (second), Newcastle (third), Tweed Coast and Krui (both fifth), while he recently had a taste of life on the world tour by earning a wildcard to the Margaret River Pro, where he finished 17th.
Jarvis Earle – Cronulla, NSW
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.
While certainly a name in Australian junior surfing circles for a while, Earle burst onto the world stage in January when he took out the WSL World Junior Championships in San Diego, California, following in the footsteps of world champions Andy Irons and Gabriel Medina.
Although the win saw him receive a wildcard for the Challenger Series, Earle continued his good form on the QS, ultimately finishing second behind Heazlewood.
Alister Reginato – Alexandra Headland, QLD
Another one of the Sunshine Coast crew, the 21-year-old was Mr Consistent on this season’s QS, enjoying a breakthrough season that saw him finish third on the tour.
Reginato barely slipped up at any of the high-rating events, recording two second-place finishes at Avoca and Maroubra, a third at the Tweed Coast Pro and two fifths in Taiwan and Newcastle, to ensure that he’ll be going into the Challenger Series with plenty of confidence.
Joel Vaughan – North Shelly, NSW
The 19-year-old Central Coast shredder will be back for another crack at the Challenger Series thanks to his season-ending heroics on the QS, where he took out the final event in Newcastle with some scintillating aerial surfing to skyrocket up the rankings and book his spot on surfing’s second-tier tour.
Coming back a year older and with plenty of confidence under his belt, Vaughan will be hoping to improve on his 28th ranking in last year’s Challenger Series.
George Pittar – North Steyne, NSW
The other big winner from the final QS event in Newcastle, Pittar went on a stunning run at Surfest, 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.
And although he went down to Vaughan in the final, the Manly boy left Newcastle with a huge grin on his face as the second-place finish catapulted him from outside the top 15 into fifth place – and onto the Challenger Series.
Mikey McDonagh – Lennox Head, NSW
One of two Le-Ba Boardriders members pushing for a spot on the world tour, the 21-year-old snuck into one of the final qualification spots after the final QS event, mirroring his seventh-place finish from last season.
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.
With this form behind him, he’ll certainly be looking to better his 47th-place finish on last year’s Challenger Series.
Kobie Enright – Coolangatta, QLD
The 23-year-old was the outstanding surfer on the Australia/Oceania QS, with incredible consistency seeing her win the tour.
Incredibly, Enright’s worst result was a ninth-place finish at the 5000-point event in Krui, while she recorded a hat-trick of thirds at the Nias, Newcastle and Great Lakes Pro events, as well as a fifth at the Tweed Coast Pro, in what was an incredibly clinical QS season.
The Gold Coast surfer was recently given a taste of life on the world tour by receiving a wildcard for the Bells Beach Pro last month, where she came up against five-time world champions Carissa Moore, and will be hoping it won’t be her last chance to surf against such high-quality opposition.
Ellie Harrison – Barwon Heads, VIC
Still just 17, the young Victorian is one of Australian surfing’s hottest young prospects, performing well beyond her years to comfortably book a spot on the Challenger Series thanks a third-place finish on the QS.
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.
Set to turn 18 later this month, a strong performance at Snapper would be the perfect early birthday present for a surfer who many believe will reach the pinnacle of world surfing, sooner rather than later.
Nyxie Ryan – Lennox Head, NSW
2023 has been an incredible year so far for the Le-Ba surfer, with a string of excellent results on the QS seeing her jag the final automatic qualification spot for the Challenger Series.
After a solid back end to 2022, the 20-year-old really turned it on in the new year, with victory at the 3000-point Great Lakes Pro in February (alongside Le-Ba Boardriders club mate Mikey McDonagh) and a second-place finish at the Central Coast Pro at Avoca seeing her shoot her up the rankings.
The Wildcards
Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to make it through, and the WSL have allocated two wildcard spots to surfers who they think have the potential to cause some upsets.
Just like the jokers in the pack, these lucky two surfers will be looking to shake things up on the Gold Coast.
Kalani Ball – Stanwell Park, NSW
Powerful, innovative, with a good rail and aerial game, the 26-year-old has all the ingredients to make it on the world tour.
And although he had already been granted a wildcard for the Challenger Series, the boy from Stanwell Park on the south coast certainly made his presence felt on the QS, finishing in 12th place despite only competing in four events.
This included a victory at the Central Coast Pro at Avoca, fifth on the Tweed Coast and ninth at Newcastle.
After struggling to get going in last year’s Challenger Series until the final two events, Ball will be hoping for a much better start at Snapper.
Zahli Kelly – Pumpenbil, NSW
There aren’t too many surfers who can say that they grew up on a farm an hour from the coast, but that’s exactly the case for Zahli Kelly, who was brought up on a property at Pumpenbil in the Tweed Coast hinterland.
The distance between her and ocean certainly hasn’t had an impact on her surfing though, with the 19-year-old establishing herself as one of the most exciting young prospects in Australian surfing.
After an excellent season on the QS, which saw her finish just outside the automatic qualification spots in fifth, Kelly was awarded a wildcard for the Challenger Series, and will be hoping to improve on her encouraging 18th-place from last year.
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