The World Surf League (WSL) announced the official athlete lists for the 2022 Championship Tour (CT) season.
The surfing elite will feature 36 male competitors and 18 female surfers determined by the top-ranking finishers on the 2021 CT and 2021 Challenger Series (CS) leaderboards.
The men's and women's rosters also reflect the season wildcards defined by the professional surfing circuit.
The 2022 CT season will kick off with a redesigned framework that will see male and female athletes competing at the same venues.
As a result, the world's best female surfers will compete at Pipeline for the first time in CT history, and the tour will return to G-Land after 24 years.
The equal prize money equation remains valid, and after the first five events, the mid-season cut will reduce the field to 24 men and 12 women.
The athletes who miss the cut will be relegated to the CS and will have the opportunity to get back to the CT, competing in the second tier.
Then, five more CT stages get underway before the WSL Finals, a winner-takes-it-all showdown.
For the second consecutive year, five men and women will battle it out for world titles and a place in history at a high-performance surf break.
The WSL Championship Tour Class of 2022
The men's 2022 Championship Tour features 36 athletes.
The list showcases the top 20 on the 2021 CT rankings, the top 12 on the 2021 Challenger Series, and two WSL wildcards.
They are as follows:
Top 20 Qualifiers from 2021 CT Rankings
Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Italo Ferreira (BRA)
Conner Coffin (USA)
Morgan Cibilic (AUS)
Griffin Colapinto (USA)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
Yago Dora (BRA)
Frederico Morais (PRT)
John John Florence (HAW)
Jack Robinson (AUS)
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Deivid Silva (BRA)
Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Ethan Ewing (AUS)
Kelly Slater (USA)
Jadson Andre (BRA)
Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Seth Moniz (HAW)
Top 12 Qualifiers from 2021 CS Rankings
Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Liam O'Brien (AUS)
Connor O'Leary (AUS)
Jake Marshall (USA)
Callum Robson (AUS)
Samuel Pupo (BRA)
Nat Young (USA)
Imaikalani Devault (HAW)
Lucca Mesinas (PER)
Joao Chianca (BRA)
Jackson Baker (AUS)
Carlos Munoz (CRI)
Season Wildcards
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Owen Wright (AUS)
Replacement
Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
The women's 2022 Championship Tour features 18 competitors.
The list showcases the top 9 on the 2021 CT rankings, the top 6 on the 2021 Challenger Series, and two WSL wildcards.
Top 9 Qualifiers from 2021 CT Rankings
Carissa Moore (HAW)
Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Johanne Defay (FRA)
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
Caroline Marks (USA)
Tyler Wright (AUS)
Isabella Nichols (AUS)
Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Top 6 Qualifiers from 2021 CS Rankings
Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
Brisa Hennessy (CRI)
Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)
Caitlin Simmers (USA)
India Robinson (AUS)
Luana Silva (HAW)
Season Wildcards
Lakey Peterson (USA)
Malia Manuel (HAW)
Replacement
Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
WSL also assigned one replacement for the men's competition (Matthew McGillivray) and one for the women's competition (Bronte Macaulay).
They will have the opportunity to surf against the world's best whenever a CT campaigner withdraws from an event.
However, these replacement spots are only available before the mid-season cut, i.e., at the first five stages of the season.
The first stop on the 2022 WSL Championship Tour is the Billabong Pro Pipeline. The iconic event runs from January 29 through February 10, 2022.