With six women to qualify through the Challenger Series and one event left to go -- the Haleiwa Challenger -- we're about to see some new faces on the Championship Tour in 2022. Here's who is knocking on the door of the Dream Tour.
To date, Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy and Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan have clinched their qualification thanks to their results in the first three Challenger Series events run so far this year. For Hennessey it's a return, while Bryan will be a true rookie in 2022.
That means there are still four Championship Tour spots up for grabs at Haleiwa. A powerful, often unpredictable right-hand reef on the North Shore of Oahu, anything can and usually does happen here.
When Vahine Fierro makes the CT, spare a thought for whoever draws her in their heats at Teahupoo. - WSL / Damien Poullenot
One contender who certainly won't be phased by the heavy water is Tahiti's Vahine Fierro. Fierro, currently in equal fifth place on the rankings, is on the verge of qualification at a time when waves such as Pipeline and Teahupoo have been added to the Championship Tour schedule. The timing couldn't be better.
It was only last season that women had their first Championship Tour event at Pipe, while the return of Tahiti to the women's CT had to be delayed due to COVID restrictions. All the while, 21-year-old Fierro has been charging her local spot of Teahupoo and honing her chops in waves of consequence. She just dropped a cooking new edit from The End of the Road which demonstrates exactly how comfortable she is in heavy barrels.
If she's on Tour when it rolls into Tahiti, she'll be a clear favorite. Even in a field of World Champions, she'll have by far the most experience at what is one of the scariest waves in the world. All she needs is a good result at Haleiwa to lock in her rookie year on the CT.
There is also a very good chance we'll see a new cohort of young athletes from the U.S. who are pushing the realms of progressive surfing. In the current top six are Oceanside's Caitlin Simmers and San Clemente's Sawyer Lindblad, two of the brightest prospects American surfing has produced. Both surfers are barely old enough to drive but represent the future of high-performance, barrier-shattering wave-riding.
With talent and style honed at Lower Trestles, Sawyer Lindblad is among a ripping group of next-generation American young women looking to storm the 2022 Championship Tour. - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Then there is Alyssa Spencer and Kirra Pinkerton who are both well within striking distance at 8th and 15th, respectively. This could be a big, generational moment for the American women.
Same goes for Australia. India Robinson is currently at Number 4, while Molly Picklum is just below the cut line at Number 8. They're two athletes long considered future Championship Tour surfers, and now they're close to making that a reality.
There are still so many ways the qualification scenarios can play out -- a win would send someone rocketing up the rankings, even if they're not currently in the conversation. But one thing is certain -- the Championship Tour is about to get even more exciting with a new generation of talent about to make their presence felt.
There's A Shake Up Coming To The Women's 2022 Championship Tour
Ben Collins
With six women to qualify through the Challenger Series and one event left to go -- the Haleiwa Challenger -- we're about to see some new faces on the Championship Tour in 2022. Here's who is knocking on the door of the Dream Tour.
To date, Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy and Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan have clinched their qualification thanks to their results in the first three Challenger Series events run so far this year. For Hennessey it's a return, while Bryan will be a true rookie in 2022.
That means there are still four Championship Tour spots up for grabs at Haleiwa. A powerful, often unpredictable right-hand reef on the North Shore of Oahu, anything can and usually does happen here.
One contender who certainly won't be phased by the heavy water is Tahiti's Vahine Fierro. Fierro, currently in equal fifth place on the rankings, is on the verge of qualification at a time when waves such as Pipeline and Teahupoo have been added to the Championship Tour schedule. The timing couldn't be better.
It was only last season that women had their first Championship Tour event at Pipe, while the return of Tahiti to the women's CT had to be delayed due to COVID restrictions. All the while, 21-year-old Fierro has been charging her local spot of Teahupoo and honing her chops in waves of consequence. She just dropped a cooking new edit from The End of the Road which demonstrates exactly how comfortable she is in heavy barrels.
If she's on Tour when it rolls into Tahiti, she'll be a clear favorite. Even in a field of World Champions, she'll have by far the most experience at what is one of the scariest waves in the world. All she needs is a good result at Haleiwa to lock in her rookie year on the CT.
There is also a very good chance we'll see a new cohort of young athletes from the U.S. who are pushing the realms of progressive surfing. In the current top six are Oceanside's Caitlin Simmers and San Clemente's Sawyer Lindblad, two of the brightest prospects American surfing has produced. Both surfers are barely old enough to drive but represent the future of high-performance, barrier-shattering wave-riding.
Then there is Alyssa Spencer and Kirra Pinkerton who are both well within striking distance at 8th and 15th, respectively. This could be a big, generational moment for the American women.
Same goes for Australia. India Robinson is currently at Number 4, while Molly Picklum is just below the cut line at Number 8. They're two athletes long considered future Championship Tour surfers, and now they're close to making that a reality.
There are still so many ways the qualification scenarios can play out -- a win would send someone rocketing up the rankings, even if they're not currently in the conversation. But one thing is certain -- the Championship Tour is about to get even more exciting with a new generation of talent about to make their presence felt.
Caitlin Simmers
Relive the historic progression in women's surfing at one of the world's most critical waves, Teahupo'o
North County San Diego's Caity Simmers burst onto the scene at 13, alongside a generation of female surfers unlike any before them,
The current World No. 1 Caitlin Simmers stormed her way through Finals Day to notch back-to-back wins in Saquarema in an all-Southern
The 2023 World Title contender Caitlin Simmers secured her spot back to Lower Trestles after defeating Gabriela Bryan in a nail-biting
The defending event victor and current World No. 1 Caitlin Simmers stretches her Rio campaign into the semifinals yet again, with a matchup
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa Challenger
Two South Africans will be making their Championship Tour debuts at the Corona Open J-Bay. As the highest-rated Africans on the Challenger
With the next generation announcing their arrival, Carissa Moore and Lakey Peterson got a taste of what it's like to compete on the CT in
Bettylou Sakura Johnson upsets 5x World Champ Carissa Moore at Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa Challenger, while three more surfers
John John Florence drops Perfect 10 in the Final, 16-year-old local Bettylou Sakura Johnson leads the charge heading into finals day.
Florence, Lau, Coffin, O'Leary among other CS standouts drop serious hammers as waves turn on at the Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Haleiwa