Surfing Republica - What's happening with WSL world competitive surfing?
World elite athletes consider the option of building a sports career in the World Surf League to be unfair and offering few opportunities.
World Surf League surfing has been, is, and perhaps always will be the most competitive sport in existence. However, for various reasons, recent changes have diminished the motivation of some athletes, or perhaps all, to continue striving to remain at the top, leading some to retire at a young age.
Restructuring of the CT qualification methods with the emergence of a new division such as the Challenger series, regional events that appeared initially to minimize the impact caused by the pandemic and that, despite the fact that practically everything has returned to how it was before, these continue.
This is in the pre-CT part, because if we start to look at the modifications in the top circuit, it would certainly demotivate any athlete who has fought for many years to enter the Dream Tour and who, because of a decision that appeared overnight, changes their entire work perspective.
Everything changed on the CT: a mid-year cut that significantly impacts and minimizes an athlete's opportunity to showcase their skills on the tour's diverse waves, an unfair final that disregards the effort of an entire season, and wildcards that are awarded practically at random and offer no chance of earning a spot on the tour, instead leaving it to the executives' discretion who can and cannot be on the tour, as if it were a video game.
In the men's division, qualification is difficult with the addition of 10 athletes to the tour, who must strive to make the mid-year cut while competing against the best and most established surfers in the world, who have the financial and technical resources to compete for a spot in the second stage of the tour. If it's difficult for men, imagine the complexity in the women's division, where the opportunity is reduced to just 5 annual spots to join the CT; it's undoubtedly a nearly impossible task.
Now imagine being a junior and dreaming of the Championship Tour; if it was difficult to get in before, imagine how hard it is now. Without a doubt, these slight changes could harm the career of a future talent.
Many athletes, including elite ones, have taken breaks or indefinite retirements, such as Gabriel Medina or Julian Wilson, who retired and has now returned to competition. Others have decided not to continue their careers in WSL competitions, as recently announced by Hawaiian Malia Manuel and Australian Keely Andrew, who already know what it is like to compete to stay on the world tour and who decided to step aside this year.
Changes aimed at improving well-being in sports are not inherently bad; however, they must be implemented gradually and without negatively impacting those aspiring to a place in the world elite. On the contrary, instead of helping them progress, these changes are hindering their athletic development.