Fiji To Host 2025 WSL Finals Day
In one of the worst kept secrets in surfing, the Woz have confirmed Cloudbreak will host the 2025 Finals Day. It's a move that will be widely welcomed, however it's not locked into the slot the way Trestles has been for the last three years.
Fiji’s presence on the CT is thanks to a three-year partnership with the Fijian Government, which began this year and will continue through 2026. Fiji's placement within the tour schedule will be determined each season. The 2026 WSL Finals location will be announced next year.
New Woz CEO Ryan Crosby made the announcement overnight:
“Cloudbreak is truly one of the best waves in the world, and hosting the Finals at such an iconic break is going to be incredible. As our surfers continue to push the limits at every event, Cloudbreak will be the perfect place to showcase their progression and crown our World Champions next year.”
The 2024 CT will host Cloudbreak as the last event of the regular season to determine the WSL Final 5. The 2024 Fiji Pro will hold a competition window from August 20 - 29, 2024.
Comments
I’m starting to warm to this Cryan Rosby fella
showing his core surfer credentials
So the last regular season event is at Cloudbreak and then the Finals is at Cloudbreak?
Back to back Cloudbreak?
Thats insane.
Edit: may not be.
And mid September … can be a bit flukey
Mixing years.
This year it's the last event of regular season, next it's Finals.
I'll get a back to back cloudbreak, with a slice of chopes please...also can we have a table that has a view of palm trees please !
there you go, you worked out the answer halfway through the question like my son does ( the slow one , not the brainiac), of course that isn't gonna be the case.
That would be so epic if it was!!
Toled0.00 will be pissed he's missing his last chance at a title this year
Interesting to see how this pans out
Cloudy is open ocean and fickle sometimes
Personally I find this decision an odd call.
It's almost off season...
Nowhere near off season, Sep is still prime time.
Including for big swells.
Scardy's big bomb was Sep.
Yeah , I love your optimism when regarding cloudbreak
I do hope it pumps, just seems weird cause you can only go left maybe they should make it roving in fiji.... search style.
Trestles is a right.
You can count on two hands the number of scoring lefts over the last 3 years.
So that argument is moot.
Only Pipeline offers up a true left/right.
If the goal is to create an even playing field, run it at sultans & honky's - one heat at each break per round, scores aggregated?
(might need more than one day to run it...)
For pure entertainment, cloudbreak all day.
feel lighter? congrats on your liberated moniker OG Pops!
I feel like I've missed something?
Pop Down is now 'Devine Madness'. I think he changed it for you. kinda nice gesture : )
Huh, I completely missed that one.
Yeah, that is a nice gesture. Though I didn't really mind.
mad as a hatter, so not being mistaken for him is a blessing.
True dat.
Second that JUN-OCT is pump time
So what replaces Fiji for the regular season event? Hoping Indo, expecting tub.
Hopefully trestles.
Then Cloudbreak advantages the tube riding goofies
Not really, every competent backsider in contention will not be disadvantaged with modern techniques.
Using one wave to choose the world champ is not representative of all the other waves on tour
Of course- thats the argument about not having a Final 5 comp.
I agree with that.
But if they do insist in running the concept then Cloudbreak is a far superior venue than Trestles.
Better viewing for fans, more challenging to the surfers.
Having man on man heats is not representative of real life surfing
Competitions have never been representative of real life surfing, they don’t have to be , but a world champion should be judged on all the different waves on the world tour
Yeah they really stuffed it up with this Final 5 and the mid season cut.
The commentators during Liam Obriens elimination heat at Rio , both concurring that goofy footers would have an advantage at Cloudbreak, due to its long fast nature, easier to pump down the line, and the tube there is often higher up and not always so open, with better vision front side.
Beats Trestles
Great news as Trestles has never sat well as the title deciding venue however I still reckon Pipe is the sentimental favourite for the finals in my books.
I'll forever back the pipeline
I watched the 2013 title live....
Sitting on the steps .... twas crazy. # micktory
Sentimental yes but on practical I like Cloudy better mainly because its a bigger, longer playing field with opportunity for barrels and turns and even airs if you are that way inclined. Much better viewing and wider range of skills required
The finals concept is still a bit odd when the tour has an array of different waves, but this is a massive improvement on Trestles
Probably the next best thing to holding it at Pipe. Consistent, powerful and a good mix of tubes and turns. Also doesn’t really favour backside or frontside. All the big dogs on the men’s side will fancy their chances, except of course Felipe.
Good news but agree with others... Pipeline for the finals.
Start the year at pipeline & finals day at pipeline.
Bainimarama Bro-Down!
Better than Trestles, but...
I still hate the whole Finals Day concept. Has it resulted in any big viewer spike? Sponsorships? It's only added big asterisks to the 'Champion,' where none existing previously.
To avoid one possible dead-rubber event, the whole back of the year is now pointless for many of the surfers, either locked in to the 5, or no chance of making it. Why would JJF even go to Brasil?
Can't think of any sport it works for other than basketball (two-teams)
You know Bainiarama is currently sitting in Fiji jail ?
I'm outa date! Interesting.
Onya Steve, wsl are listening. Croso appealing to the core audience. That's a positive but the final five is a dog of a concept. Scrap it now.
Finals atmosphere in Fiji? No crowds on the beach, very few could afford to be there ?
Pipeline ticks every box, in February
Paywall for finals day on the cards perhaps??
If it was pumping, I'd pay.
Can you delete that comment before someone from WSL see's it
I did say 'if'.
If they just crowned a legit world champ first as per usual based on the world tour points that would be great. Then got creative with a post season format. Something like The Eddie. Invitational, in pumping waves. Might consider forking out
And a conveniently good timezone for Australians to watch
Still not a fan of the five, but if it has to be, then this is def better than Trestles. Agree @Le_Reynard, who could blame JJF for pulling a Kelly/Parko "illness" and ducking that shit hole?
getting towards the back end of the trade belt season maybe not the best call though
whole final five concept sux anyway....the sooner it goes......and it will go......the better
Way better than Trestles if there's waves. Still don't agree with final 5 especially if someone is clearly way ahead of the pack and still has to prove themselves / defend their lead / beat the next best 4 surfers on earth in a couple of heats on one given day. In those cases the leader must feel that they have it all to potentially loose after a year of taking chance out of the game and the rest have everything to gain. It stinks unless all final 5 are within reach of each other to clamber across the finish line.
Or gets food poisoning or a broken ankle
or multi-drug resistant syphilis
Or a broken mangina
I wonder if the final 5 will fall over if someone who is miles ahead on points is sick or injured for the finals?
I wonder if they will change the format of competition to include lots of surfers in the lineup and hassling for best three waves in 2 hour period
Agree with the comments above, final 5 not great and Pipe is the home of the season ender.....but.....they now have no excuse to not run it if they get another thundercloud swell. Plenty of warning to prepare boards, plenty of time to run over the one swell.... and ....they are the best 5 in the world. That might make the final 5 actually worth watching. See who the last man/woman standing is.
THIS IS FUKN AWESOME!!
The Finals concept is a straight up kook move, based on the whims of nouveau surfers. The only reason it gets a guernsey is one of the nouveau surfers owns the Wozzle.
'We wanted to see the first and second-placed surfers battle it out in the water,' sez Diff confused after the league he bought in 2012 decided its 2013 champ without even facing the second-place getter at Pipeline. What had been tradition and working fine for forty years had to be messed with so nouveau surfers like he and Elo could make sense of it. It helped of course that the second-place getter, not coincidentally, was Kelly Slater, who demurred in Diff and Elo's favour (yet stayed shtum about all the times he'd wrapped it up in Brazil, Portugal, and Puerto Rico)
Piss it off, kick it to the kerb, admit the blunder, blame Elo if you have to, but one-day world champ-deciding comps went out in the sixties.
Funny, it seems to be an Aussie/US thing in most sports. Who remembers who won the home and away season? It's the team who won the flag that is lauded. In the UK and Europe it's the other way around.
But all football grounds are equal
The cattery disagrees
Well cats sit at home all day, and they don’t even like water, so they probably wouldn’t know
@ Stu: Hear hear
Maybe top two would work better - you have to finish second to get a crack at the title.
Top two men surf three heats, top two women do the same, third and fourth battle it out for the scraps and we all sit home with a bowl of savs and some sauce and cheer
Cloudbreak is awesome; thick, fast, open walls & barrels.
WSL elite surfers deserve a descent break.... rather than a wambam closeout to show their skillset.
Maybe WSL volunteers only should apply to surf this reef...., & before the final 5 is decided next year.
Maybe the 10 highest scoring rides at Teahupoʻo .... get to surf Cloudbreak in the finals?
If this something the new CEO cooked up, then he's off to a cracking start.
The final five concept is Ziffs baby though, and unfortunately, I can't see it see it going away anytime soon.
It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong. Dirk is not a big man.
Thank god might actually watch wsl for once. Rather watch shark island challenge
I've posted this before, or something similar.
Now I agree, Cloudbreak is far superior venue to Trestles for finals if that's the way it has to be.
But, traditionally it's heavily favoured the goofies.
This is regarding the mens side only, sorry.
14 comps
Winners: 10 Goofy, 4 Natural
8 different goof surfers (Medina 2x, D Hobgood 2x)
2 natural winners (Kelly Slater 3x, Andy Irons 1x)
Runners up
11 to the Goofs and 3 to the naturals
Have a look at the list of goofs vs naturals that have made the final and compare.
The naturals have been Kelly, Andy, Mick Fanning, and Julian Wilson.
Julian the only one not to win a title.
A lot more journeymen on the goofy side if you look at the list.
There's a few of the current crop of natural contenders who I think aren't hindered, or are even favoured by cloudy - JJF, JRobbo, Griff
I think Ethan is unproven out there and would prefer a right.
Jordy definitely would prefer a right as he has competed out here many times.
I'm not saying they are bad out there but it does disadvantage their strengths.
you only get better by practice.... muscle memory / timing, confidence, boards, sunburn & reef protection....
Now there is a WSL motivation to encourage a good sponsor & surf Tavarua; cloudbreak & restrau'rants... in between the two turn, closeout, comps...
The new CEO has provided a new way forward... bula vinaka vaka levu (wish you life, thanks very much...) Fiji, WSL & sponsors....
https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/fiji/articles/18-fijian-phrases-you-…
https://www.kokomoislandfiji.com/videos/bula-vinaka/
Dirk.Ziffs other interests include .Robin Hood...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_Foundation
"After Hurricane Sandy, the 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief concert also provided funds for the foundation's efforts.[13] Artists including The Rolling Stones, Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation, Shakira, John Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, The Who and Aerosmith have performed at the group's annual fund raising galas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rise Up New York! telethon provided funds to those impacted by the pandemic. "
someone has to cough up the coin to keep things happening..... in free enterprise, low tax states
About time it was held in a wave of consequence
Good job
Hawaii or Fiji. Either way top notch spots to close out the season. The true great news will be the WSL passing the final 5 concept right off the books, transcripts and verbal diarrhoea during broadcasts. Peace can be once again restored to flat days and lully heats.
I watched some cloudbreak heats last night
Replays.
He's hoping I'm still interested in a year and a bit.
If you want to be a world champ trips to Fiji between events a must.
Kind of weird season finishing up end of August. Even in its current format, the CT crew get a pretty good offseason these days
this JBay classic looks sick, anyone got a forecast for it ?
Whoever has the most points after all competitions is the genuine world champ.
Yes, Fiji better, but entire final 5 concept is wrong, IMO.
"people come and go so quickly.., here...."
"very good, butt ,.very mysterious....."
for those that missed the original story (quoted above)
"some place where you wont get into any trouble....."
three proud pro's performing live... in sync.
Crosby is a breath of fresh air. Maybe hes listening?
Ethan better get ya wrap happening at Trestles, this year is probably your best shot.
Cloudbank keeps being whittled away from Full CT > Reduced VIP Cut CT > Final 5 surf off!
If CT Judges work load keeps reducing to now just the one big day out...Why not a one day Pontoon?
Cloudbank Judges stomp twice as many legs to stamp out twice as many turtles for a 1 day event?
World went spazz over excised > Cut Channeled 60 year multi hacked up Teahupoo Reef...
But Not one Protest over Larry's 15 legged Alien Beastie stompin' over pristine endangered Reef turtles!
https://www.fijijournal.com/cloudbreak-tower-rebuild-fiji-pro/
Marriott VIP Crew Opening / Closing ceremonies of course!
https://fhta.com.fj/fiji-marriott-momi-bay-partners-with-wsl-2024-fiji-…
Do International Pro Surf Tour Comps even need Judge's Towers...err...Nope!
Fiji Surf Pro (Broadcast Live) from Judges Tower Tripod Mount / Drones / Vessels
Here's how yer cousins roll on the fly... + (Check 20 part Behind The Scenes DIY series!)
A lot of natural Surf Stoke similar to early ASP Start Up Dream Tour
https://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=7156…