Event Guide - Rip Curl WSL Finals 2022

EVENT GUIDE

RIP CURL

WSL FINALS AT LOWER TRESTLES

SEPTEMBER 8–16, 2022 Filipe Toledo. Photo: Heff/WSL

San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

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RIP CURL WSL FINALS | LOWER TRESTLES | SEPTEMBER 8–16, 2022

THE INAUGURAL RIP CURL WSL FINALS MADE HISTORY

Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore. Photo: Nolan/WSL

With a record audience and all-time surf, the 2021 WSL Finals was one for the books

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uesday, Sept. 14, 2021 was a historic day in surfing. In absolutely pumping conditions at Lower Trestles, Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Hawaii’s Carissa Moore were crowned the 2021 World Champions at the first-ever Rip Curl WSL Finals.

With all-time, 6- to 8-foot southern hemi bombs pouring through the Lowers lineup and stellar, glassy, blue-bird conditions from start to finish, the performances of all the WSL Final 5 surfers were inspired and elevated.

They met the moment. The vibes on the beach were simply electric. It would ultimately go down as the most-viewed contest in the history of pro surfing.

For Moore, it marked her fifth world title and a successful defense of her 2019 title, effectively making this the first time in her already-storied career that she won back-toback championships. It also capped off what may be one of the most successful seasons in the history of professional surfing, which also saw her capture the first-ever Olympic gold medal for surfing.

The accomplishments put Moore in an elite class of competitors, as she became only the third woman in the sport’s history to have earned five World Championships (Australians Layne Beachley and Stephanie Gilmore both have seven world titles to their names).

For Medina, his third world title put him among some very heavy company. Joining surfers such as Tom Curren, Andy Irons and Mick Fanning with three world titles, the only other surfers with more world titles are Mark Richards’ four and Kelly Slater, who holds San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

surfing’s record with a remarkable 11 world titles.

For 40 years, surfing’s world titles have been decided by the accumulation of points accrued from competing in events around the world. But that all changed in 2021. At the end of the “regular season,” the top five men and top five women—dubbed the WSL Final 5—would move on to compete in a one-day, winner-take-all bid for the world title.

Upending decades of precedent, it was a controversial decision to make at the time. There’s a fair argument to be made that the world title should go to the surfer who performed the best and most consistently in a variety of conditions and wave types during the year. After all, that’s how it had always been done.

But too often the world title was clinched before the season even finished, which inevitably ensured the action fell flat at season’s end. What’s a surf contest without stakes?

Looking to end the season with a bang and give surf fans something to get fired up about, the WSL introduced the Finals concept. And, for all intents and purposes, it worked.

The No. 1-ranked surfers—Medina and Moore—won the titles, the waves were as good as they get at Lowers, the beach was packed from Uppers to San Onofre, and the audience that tuned in online was record-breaking. It was a perfect storm.

As part of a three-year deal, the Rip Curl WSL Finals will return to Lowers this year and again in 2023. The waiting period has been strategically decided upon as the most consistent, dependable week of the year based on Surfline’s voluminous records.

Can the action and waves meet the moment once again? That remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure, the way surfing’s world champions are crowned has changed forever.

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RIP CURL WSL FINALS | LOWER TRESTLES | SEPTEMBER 8–16, 2022

THE 2022 RIP CURL WSL FINALS: HOW IT WORKS The format for how the 2022 World Championship winners will be crowned at Lower Trestles

run from Sept. 8-16. There will be a nine-day waiting period during Lowers’ peak season to maximize potential for epic surf.

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he Rip Curl WSL Finals is the ultimate day in competitive surfing. With the men’s and women’s world titles decided in a one-day, winner-take-all event, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

After chasing waves and points all year long on the 2022 Championship Tour, it comes down to this: the top five men and top five women in the world battling it out for surfing’s ultimate prize, the world title.

Coming to Lower Trestles in San Clemente this September, here’s how the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals works: THE BASICS The Rip Curl WSL Finals will feature the WSL Final 5, which comprises the top five men and top five women on the WSL’s Championship Tour leaderboard at the end of the 2022 regular season.

Photo: DIZ/WSL

The WSL Final 5 is decided based on points accrued during the regular CT season.

The venue for the Rip Curl WSL Finals is Lower Trestles in San Clemente. It is the famed cobblestone point that is considered

WHO TO WATCH

one of the top high-performance waves in the world. A world-class A-frame peak with perfect lefts and rights, it’s the ideal venue for both goofy- and regular-footers.

The Rip Curl WSL Finals waiting period will

THE FORMAT At the end of the regular season, the No. 1-rated male surfer and No. 1-rated female surfer will both receive a bid directly into the Rip Curl WSL Finals’ Title Match, a best-of-3 showdown to determine the World Champion.

The remaining surfers will enter the Rip Curl WSL Finals bracket based on their yearend rankings.

Match 1: The No. 5-ranked surfer will compete against the No. 4-ranked surfer in the first Match of the day in a head-to-head heat.

Match 2: The winner of Match 1 will then face off against the No. 3-ranked surfer in a head-to-head heat.

Match 3: The winner of Match 2 will then face off against the No. 2-ranked surfer in a head-to-head heat.

Title Match: The winner of Match 3 will move on to the best-of-3 Title Match, in which they will face the World No. 1. The first surfer to win two out of three heats will be the undisputed 2022 World Champion.

Featuring the top 10 surfers in the world, the Rip Curl WSL Finals has an all-star lineup with world title stakes Photos: Courtesy of WSL

After chasing the 2022 WSL Championship Tour around the world, it all comes down to this: the Rip Curl WSL Finals. A one-day, winner-take-all sprint for the 2022 world titles, it features the top five men and top five women at the end of the regular season. Based on year-end rankings, the No. 1 seeds go to San Clemente resident Filipe Toledo and defending 2021 World Champ Carissa Moore.

Boasting an international field of exceptional talent, here are the qualifiers:

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FILIPE TOLEDO

The world title has never been this close within reach for Filipe Toledo.

A constant contender for the title, this time he goes into the finals with the No. 1 seed and a whole lot of momentum. Considered one of the best Lowers surfers in the world, he moved his family to San Clemente just to be closer to the wave. The fact that he’ll be competing in his backyard with family and friends supporting him on the beach should give him an added boost. Beating him in the best-of-3 heats Championship Match is going to be a tall order.

San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

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JACK ROBINSON

Enjoying a breakout season in 2022, Jack Robinson won back-to-back events this year at Margaret River, where he’s from, and the idyllic Indo left of G-Land. One of the hardest-charging barrel riders on tour, he also has a high-flying air game. Robinson doesn’t have a ton of experience competing at Lowers, but climbing the ranks as a child surf star, it’s a break with which he’s plenty familiar.

The pressure and stakes will be more than he’s ever experienced, but his natural talent and ability to block out the noise will definitely be an asset.

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ETHAN EWING

Ethan Ewing is a machine. His surfing is tack-sharp, his mindset is unflappable, and he’s one of the most prepared surfers on tour.

Modeling his approach and technique after world champ icons Mick Fanning and the late Andy Irons, his well-honed rail game could be a huge point of differentiation between him and the other surfers in the draw. He’ll face the winner of the first match of the day featuring Italo Ferreira and Kanoa Igarashi.

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ITALO FERREIRA

After storming his way to the world title in 2019, Italo Ferreira is well-positioned to contend for his second title. As the only other surfer in the draw with WSL Finals experience besides Toledo, expect Ferreira to leverage that veteran status. He will also have local shaper Timmy Patterson’s magic shapes under his feet, a big bonus when it comes to a one-day, high-stakes event like this.

Ferreira’s biggest asset is his air game, especially on the Lowers left.

If the surf is in the 4- to 6-foot range he’s going to be tough to beat.

KANOA IGARASHI

Growing up in Huntington Beach, Kanoa Igarashi is no stranger to Lowers. Spending copious time at the cobblestone point over the years, he’ll have the benefit of local knowledge when he paddles out for his first WSL Finals appearance. He’s also no stranger to Ferreira. The two faced off in the gold medal heat at surfing’s Olympic debut in Japan.

Ferreira got the better of Igarashi to win the gold, so it’s a safe bet Kanoa wouldn’t mind getting Italo back.

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RIP CURL WSL FINALS | LOWER TRESTLES | SEPTEMBER 8–16, 2022

THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF FILIPE TOLEDO

The time is now for the Brazilian No. 1 seed to win his long-sought world title

By Jake Howard rowing up in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, Filipe Toledo’s trajectory to surf stardom was already well in place before he uprooted his family and moved to San Clemente in 2014. Since then, the lightning-fast regular-footer has been a near constant world title contender, finishing in the top five on the WSL’s Championship Tour rankings a remarkable four out of six times. Of course, it hasn’t come easily.

The surf world first acquainted itself with Toledo’s boundless abilities when he won the U.S. Open Pro Junior in Huntington Beach in 2011. A relative unknown at the time, he squared off against San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino, Santa Barbara’s Conner Coffin and Hawaii’s John John Florence—all of whom were considered to be the future of American surfing at the time. But the skinny, unknown kid from Ubatuba showed up with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. He aced the final to take the win, and a mere three years later was back on top of the podium in Huntington, this time winning the U.S. Open main event.

“I’m just super stoked and excited—I’m shaking, bro,” a beaming Toledo said at the time.

If his performances in Huntington Beach put everyone on notice, his dominance on the Championship Tour in 2015 let everyone

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know he’d arrived. Having settled into his new life in San Clemente, he took on the world’s best with a new confidence and seemingly unstoppable drive. Toledo started the ’15 CT season with a win on the Gold Coast of Australia. He backed that up with another win in his native Brazil and rounded out the year with another victory in Portugal. He’d finish the season ranked No. 4 in the world. Toledo was promptly billed as the fastest, most dangerous surfer on the planet.

“The hard work is definitely paying off, and the injury last year really made me reflect and see just how much I want it,” Toledo said after the spray had settled. “I really broke everything down and why I do what I do. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing right now, and I’m so happy to be able to surf in these events and give it my best performance.”

After dealing with some injury issues in 2016, Toledo was back at the top of his game in 2017. Redefining how South Africa’s premier pointbreak, Jeffreys Bay, could be approached, he took to the skies and came down with a historic win.

“Pure carving has always been the best way to ride [J-Bay]. But Filipe Toledo has brought an acceleration, like he’s on a superbike,” explained 1977 world champ Shaun Tomson, who pushed the performance barrier himself in his native South Africa. “He’s got a burst of speed off the bottom turn and a carve off the top that’s really unique. And then his

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CARISSA MOORE

Can anybody stop Carissa Moore at Lowers? That’s the big question on the women’s side of the draw.

Moore has had a stranglehold on the title since 2019, and she doesn’t seem too eager to give it up. If Moore can win the 2022 world title, it will be the sixth world title in her illustrious career and put her one away from tying the record of seven held by Layne Beachley and Stephanie Gilmore. Already an Olympic gold medalist, she may ultimately go down in history as the winningest woman to every pull on a jersey.

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JOHANNE DEFAY

A strong, powerful surfer with an ever-present smile on her face, France’s Johanne Defay loves what she does—and does it really well.

Remarkably consistent, she finished in the quarterfinals or better in every event in 2022 except one (the final of the year after she’d already clinched her WSL Finals spot). In a testament to her versatility, she won the Roxy G-Land Pro earlier in the year, and she also finished second at the Oi Rio Pro (won by Moore).

Perfect left barrels or shifty beachbreaks, Defay rips in anything.

San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

aerial maneuvers: I never thought I’d see two 10-point aerials for one wave. He could have gotten a 20 yesterday.”

But Toledo wasn’t done yet, he came into the 2017 event at Lower Trestles with a head full of steam and plenty to prove. Lowers has long been a spot that’s ushered in seismic generational shifts. The site of Kelly Slater’s seminal “Black and White” performance in 1990—where he inked surfing’s then-biggest contract on the famed cobblestones more than 30 years ago—the Momentum Generation was born here.

In 1989, local rat Christian Fletcher showed the world that a contest could be won by flying above the lip at the Body Glove Surf Bout.

Generations apart, Shane Beschen, Chris Ward, Cory Lopez and Co. would fly even higher a generation later. By the early 2000s, the world’s best surfers were back competing at Lowers, and surfers such as Andy Irons, Luke Egan and Mick Fanning brought the power game back to the Southern California A-frame. Now, it was Toledo’s turn.

With his eyes on the prize, Toledo and fellow countrywoman Silvana Lima led the “Brazilian Storm” to the top of the podium.

“This is very special,” Toledo would say, tear in his eye, baby girl in his arms.

Toledo was back in the winner’s circle again in Rio in 2019, but this time there were some dark clouds hanging over the victory celebration. The perennial world title contender

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TATIANA WESTON-WEBB

Tatiana Weston-Webb gave Moore a run for her money at the inaugural WSL Finals last year. A fierce competitor, she grew up splitting time between surfing in Brazil and Hawaii and has the chip on her shoulder that every champion needs. Consistency was a bit of an issue in 2022, when she won two events but finished ninth five times.

There’s no room for inconsistency in the one-day WSL Finals. She’ll have to show up ready to surf if she’s to win the title.

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Photo: Nolan/WSL

opened up about struggles with mental health that he’d been having.

“There’s the good part and the hard part of it. The best part: you’re always going to beautiful places, clear water, white sand beaches, and everything. So, everything looks amazing—on social media, and in photos and everything,” Toledo explained after the win.

“There’s a part that you want to be home; you want to be with your family. In my case, I want to be with my wife and my kids and actually to have a normal life sometimes.”

“Being on the road for so long, it sometimes can get you crazy,” he admitted. “You’ve got to make heats, you’ve got sponsorships, you’ve got all the media, everyone that’s cheering for you, you’ve got a world title—it’s more pressure than you actually think, but it’s the price.”

Regaining his groove in 2021, Toledo was again in contention for his first title when he finished second in the world at the inaugural Rip Curl WSL Finals. And now, he’s back—and he’s hoping to win the world title that has so long eluded him.

Rolling into the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals as the No. 1 seed, he’ll have the benefit of having watched everyone surf all day long before finally meeting his challenger in the best-of-3 Championship Match to decide the title. Given how much time Toledo’s spent in the water and the sacrifices that he’s made to be there, you have to like his chances.

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BRISA HENNESSY

Clinching her spot in the WSL Finals at the last event of the year in Tahiti, Brisa Hennessy’s enjoyed a Cinderella season. She won in Margaret River at the start of the season and just finished runner-up at Teahupoo.

She’s definitely earned her spot at the ball. Representing Costa Rica, the country’s pura vida stoke will be behind her when she paddles out and competes for her first world title.

STEPHANIE GILMORE

The owner of seven world titles, Stephanie Gilmore is the seasoned veteran of the WSL Finals. If she can run the table and win the event, she’ll have claimed her eighth title and the record of most titles by a woman. She had a bit of a shocker in her Finals debut last year and never really found her rhythm. Having won at Lowers earlier in her career, she hopes she can harness that motivation and have a good run at the history books.

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RIP CURL WSL FINALS | LOWER TRESTLES | SEPTEMBER 8–16, 2022

EARLY DAYS AT THE TRESTLE

How Phil Edwards and Miki Dora charted new surfing territory when they decided to see what was up the coast

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By Jake Howard etween the surf-cams and e-bikes, if the thunder doesn’t get you, the lighting will down at Trestles. One of the most well-utilized surf zones on the West Coast, to say Trestles is crowded is an understatement. Cotton’s, Uppers, Lowers and Middles all attract more than just a flock of seagulls, because they really are magic. Between the perfect waves and pristine beauty, there really is nowhere else like it in Southern California. And, of course, it does have those blessed little windows when nobody’s around, and it’s just you and a handful of folks in the water.

Of course, Trestles wasn’t always crowded.

In fact, as the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals come to town, it’s worth revisiting its discovery as a surf spot. If Rip Curl’s the company that brought the world The Search—a surfing ethos dedicated to seeking what lies beyond the horizon—then Trestles makes a ton of sense … and not just because of its wave quality.

“Miki [Dora] and I spent one summer

together at San Onofre, and we’d look up at the point and ask these old guys what it was like up there. ‘Oh, well, we went back up there in ’38 and Peanuts Larson got this big wave … blah, blah, blah,’ ” Phil Edwards once told the San Clemente Times. “Anyway, Miki was 16, and I was 13. He had a car, so we drove the car up there and walked through the railroad tracks and around the swamp, and that’s how we started surfing The Trestle. And we didn’t tell anybody for awhile. So, we had it all to ourselves for awhile; it was kind of neat. I graduated high school in ’56, so it would have been before that.”

Nearby San Onofre had originally been surfed in the 1920s and ’30s, most notably by California pioneer Lorrin “Whitey” Harrison, but Trestles offered a new, high-performance location for a new generation of surfers.

Edwards and Dora were at the forefront of this modernized wave-riding, and for one blissful summer, they would have Trestles all to themselves.

But once word got out, it didn’t take Trestles long to become an epicenter for

Phil Edwards at Trestles in a photo taken by Mickey Muñoz.

“Surfers were always browning the train back then, and the folks at the railroad got together with the folks in the military, and that’s really what started the problems down there.”

Jean “The Fly” Pierre Van Swae

progressive, state-of-the-art surfing. In 1964, Harbour Surfboards released their “Trestles Special” model, which continues to be one of the top-selling designs in their lineup.

The mystique of Trestles was ratcheted up a notch later in the ’60s, when President Richard Nixon took office. Moving into the “Western White House,” which is strategically located above Cotton’s Point, the northernmost surf break in the Trestles zone, surfing was promptly banned from Lowers.

“Everybody thinks it was because of Nixon that surfing Trestles in the ’70s was illegal, but that’s not exactly the whole story,” says Jean “The Fly” Pierre Van Swae, who grew up building surfboards in the area and was married to one of Harrison’s daughters. “Surfers were always browning the train back then, and the folks at the railroad got together with the folks in the military, and that’s really what started the problems down there.”

By “browning the train,” Van Swae clarifies that surfers were showing their bare rear ends San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

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to the trains. Whatever the cause, surfing at Trestles was banned for a period. But surfers being surfers, they tried all means imaginable to sneak onto the beach and catch a few waves. More than a few boards were confiscated by the military police.

“The trick to getting into Trestles was to drive to the bottom of a nearby arroyo, leave your car in the jungle of willows, then sneak down to the beach,” recounted Mike Doyle in his book Morning Glass. “If the Marines came while you were in the water, you could paddle so far out, they couldn’t get you, then turn north and paddle to San Clemente State Park, where they didn’t have the authority to arrest you. That really infuriated the Marines. Several times after I worked that trick on them, they fired their automatic weapons in the water all around me. Sometimes, the bullets would hit as close as 10 feet away. Other times, I would come back to my car and find that they had slashed my tires. It was a real war between surfers and Marines, and it went on for years.”

But once out of office in 1971, Nixon made good and created the San Onofre State Park, protecting nearly three miles of exquisite Southern California coastline.

While a bit more crowded than it once was, Trestles still stirs the imaginations of surfers around the world. It is one of the most surfed areas in North America—and will hopefully remain that way for generations to come. sanclementetimes.com

San Clemente Times September 8-14, 2022

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