The World Surf League (WSL) announced the launch of a new competition that will increase the chances of surfers of reaching the Championship Tour (CT).
The Challenger Series is a group of premium Qualifying Series (QS) events that will award 10,000-points toward a surfer's QS ranking.
In 2020, the calendar will feature seven Challenger Series competitions for the men's, and four for the women's - equal prize money is guaranteed.
The events will take place in Piha, Ballito, Huntington Beach, Pantin, Ericeira, Phillip Island, Haleiwa, and Sunset Beach.
The QS 5,000, 3,000, 1,500 and 1,000 events will continue to contribute to a surfer's year-end ranking, i.e., will also work toward qualifying for the elite of surfing.
The CT Antechamber
WSL says that, in the future, the Challenger Series will grow to a maximum of ten events per season.
The professional surfing circuit wants premium stages to become the antechamber of the CT.
The organization led by Sophie Goldschmidt will boost the investment in these events by implementing additional marketing and content initiatives.
"We expect the Challenger Series to further enhance the career path for future CT surfers, but also to become commercially positive," underlined the CEO of WSL.
"We also want to allow a greater number of regional athletes to develop through the WSL Qualifying Tour system," adds Travis Logie, the tour manager of WSL.
2020 Challenger Series | Schedule
Piha, New Zealand | Men's and Women's | March
Ballito, South Africa | Men's | July
Huntington Beach, USA | Men's and Women's | August
Pantin, Spain | Men's and Women's | September
Ericeira, Portugal | Men's | September
Phillip Island, Australia | Women's | November
Haleiwa, Hawaii | Men's | November
Sunset, Hawaii | Men's | December