2026 Championship Tour Schedule
...and just like that, it's as if the Final Five format never happened.
Overnight the Wozzle released the 2026 Championship Tour schedule and, as promised, the season ends, not in September with a five-way surf off, but during December in Hawaii with a full-tilt showdown at Pipeline.
Of course, we already knew that from past updates - scan the infographics below for specifics in how it will work - but today we get the full tour calendar.
Changes from 2025...?
Bells is the opening comp of the year - which is the first time it's occupied stop #1 since 2001 when it was won by Mick Fanning.
In fact, the Australian leg goes back to its traditional place at the beginning of the season.
Punta Roca has been pushed back from early April to late May, which should increase south swell possibilities.
Abu Dhabi remains though in October not February - seasons play no part obviously.
That said, Peniche reverts to season, switching to late October - N Hemi autumn - which it always did up till 2020 when it was brought forward.
And, of course, the season closes with Pipe with exactly the same dates as it was in 2019 which was the last time it ran before the nonsense began.
2026 Championship Tour Schedule
- Stop No. 1 - Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 - 11
- Stop No. 2 - Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 17 - 27
- Stop No. 3 - Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 2 - 12
- Stop No. 4 - Punta Roca, El Salvador: May 28 - June 7
- Stop No. 5 - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 12 - 20
- Stop No. 6 - Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 10 - 20
- Stop No. 7 - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 - 18
- Stop No. 8 - Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 - September 4
- Stop No. 9 - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 - 20*
- Stop No. 10 - Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 - 18
- Stop No. 11 - Peniche, Portugal: October 22 - November 1
- Stop No. 12 - Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii, USA: December 8 - 20**
Comments
I like it except for pipe where I think there are 4 rounds before the top 8 surfers get started. It’s great advantage for them to win the championship but means they get far fewer opportunities to surf pipe. I guess on the plus side some of the weaker surfers will have plenty of chances to improve their skills there with multiple heats.
First event doesn't kick off until April!
Its a great strategy though.. no major breaks through the year so the whole tour will maintain momentum.
Cleverly avoiding the best swell window on the East Coast...Why not start earlier with Snapper?
The last CS event is in Newcastle in March that year!!!! I guessing the following year Snapper will open late March early April like it did traditional then onto Bells at Easter long weekend!!
Yep totally agree, they are nearly guaranteed waves in March at snapper, they risk the banks getting belted again before the circus turns up .
Nice effort..and it Could just me, but after all that surfing has gained out of Indonesia over the years and the role it has played in the foundations of exploration in the sport should the tour not go there and give back a little to a country that needs it?
And seriously....the Pool in the UAE which clearly is a $ grab really should just go.
2 dedicated lefts, on a planet chock a block full of world class left handers...
Snapper in March and add Indo even in early/mid May, that's then looking like the Dream Tour again
Major sport redefining changes, not necessarily for the better. The message it sends is that Portugal and The Tub are "special" waves that must be included to decide the championship.
This does not sit well with me. if the "post-season" was Cloudy and J-Bay, that would produce a champion of the sort we expect, irrespective of when the contests are held. They should be the results that should be mandatory to include in a Championship contender's season aggregate.
Actually, on review (and assuming most will include their Pipe result due to 1.5x weighting), one of two post-season results will be included, so a lot hinges on Supertubos for those like me who find the wave pool an aberration, or indeed an abomination.
It's a much better time of the year for Portugal.
Of course, a venue change would be welcome but that appears unlikely given the primary funding source.
It doesn’t have to be included. But they are
Likely to score better points in those two events due to smaller field size. They use the best 7/9 events to make the cut to the post season events but the championship will be best 9 of any events during the year. That had me confused until I read the wsl original release.
Possibly they might swap the order and have Margs first when Easter is later in April e.g. April 16, 2028 or April 21, 2030.
I think Snapper & Bells should be swapped based on Seasonal swell activity
Its time to let go of having Bells at Easter....
Its never going to be perfect, but otherwise OK
I think Snapper & Bells should be swapped based on Seasonal swell activity
Its time to let go of having Bells at Easter....
Its never going to be perfect, but otherwise OK
As someone that surfs bells and winki at fair bit through winter nah, get it out of the way early and give us the carpark back
With all the reversion to a previous schedule I half expected Hossegor to be making a return.
For better or worse, surely that has to be a consideration?
Meo rip curl Peniche pro......
Can I have a trade for canaries?
So, no losers round anymore.
The bottom 12 get cut from the 2 post season events.
Then back to all in for Pipe.
Am I reading that right?
Also, what's the single & double asterisk on the dates for Trestles and Pipe?
In an era where we’ve collectively largely shunned the major surf companies and they’ve abandoned large WSL marketing budgets, we’ve got a lot to be grateful for. Not perfect, but there’s fair potential for epic waves at a few of these stops and whoever ends up at the top after Pipe is legit. Better than a tennis tour in my books.
have they said anywhere what the requirements are for requalification??
Best waiting period for supertubos we’ve had in a while.
Congrats to WSL for the overhaul. What a relief they have got rid of the Final Five format. I want to see the Triple Crown return too. This schedule is good (but swap out the Tub and Peniche for Hossegor and Indo?). I agree with Gowsa et al that they should open with Snapper then Bells and Margs or Margs/Bells because of seasonal concerns. There are other Swellnet contributors with far more knowledge than me but here in the West the autumn season has been getting later each year. The offshore cycle arrives but there has been very little swell. Sorry for being a dumb arse but can someone explain why there is a 'postseason'? what is its purpose? Is this to sort requalification for the following season?
Fiji in September
I'm still confused over here .................?
How about a lotto tour, put 50 freesurfers balls in a machine spit out 8
Then have wild card, world champ , previous winner.2 people
Then have all contestants pick another surfer.
Put em on a boat, in indo,
Have 4 different events
Indo
Hawaii
Aust
Tahiti
Lotto tour.
Great change from the current system, portugal is at a much better time of year to score better conditions.
The tour is definitely missing a rippable left, swap El Salvador for a long left point in South America maybe somewhere in Chille.
Get rid of the wave pool for an Indo stop maybe make the indo stop a mobile stop that changes year to year (I think Indo isnt considered because of the corruption, just to much hassle dealing with everyone who wants a bribe)
Chile is plagued by bad winds everymorning
Throughout the day .
No infrastructure , banks get destroyed by july
Better off going to Peru.
I get it they want 2 stops in South America, any consistent rippable left on that side of the world would be a win seeing as the Aussie leg is all rights and the other lefts are thick barrels in the Pacific.
Bodyboarding tour went to Arica for a decade plus and scored epic waves pretty much every time.
Surely wouldn't be going to Chile for beach breaks.