World Surf League cancels 2020 season for COVID concerns; Kelly Slater's future in limbo

Surfers across the globe will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to compete as the World Surf League announced Friday morning the cancellations of the 2020 men's and women's seasons due to protecting the health of athletes from COVID-19 and the uncertainty of worldwide travel.

Also canceled were the secondary CT level events and the qualifying series (QS).

“After careful consideration and extensive discussions with key stakeholders, we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Championship Tour and Qualifying Series seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said WSL CEO Erik Logan in a video released on WSL channels Friday.

“While we firmly believe that surfing is amongst the sports best suited for competition to be held safely during the age of unresolved COVID, we have huge respect for the ongoing concerns of many in our community as the world works to resolve this.” 

The cancellation puts 11-time world champion Kelly Slater's future in doubt, although 11 months rest could be the elixir for the Cocoa Beach superstar.  It would be his 30th season on the world circuit.

After picking up momentum late last year on what was originally billed as a "farewell tour," Slater — who turns 49 next February — announced he'd give it another spin.

He missed out by just one spot (to Kolohe Andino and John John Florence) to qualify for one of the two men's spots on the USA Olympic team, registering a perfect 10 at Hawaii's Pipeline and also putting on an incredible comeback earlier in that event.

Slater finished eighth in the world rankings, led by champion Italo Ferreira and runner-up Gabriel Medina, both from Brazil.

Shut down mostly in Australia, where he had been anticipating the start of the 2020 season, Slater hasn't had too many full practices with beaches being closed in that area.

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There was no immediate word if Slater would come back, but his broken foot suffered two seasons ago should be well-recuperated by now.

But the 2021 season will actually start in December in Oahu, Hawaii, subject to the approval from the state and local government agencies, as well as effective protocols that allow for safe international travel.

The women's 2021 tour will start in late November in Maui, Hawaii, and features Olympians Carissa Moore, who was going to sit out the full 2020 season anyway to rest, and Melbourne Beach native Caroline Marks, who made Team USA at the age of 17.

The Olympics are still on for late July and early August of 2021.

Marks has been at her family's home in California also hungry for a return, but beaches near her home have been shut down, then reopened, and then shut down again.

The 2021 Championship Tour season will finish with "The WSL Finals," a new single-day World Title Event in September 2021. The top five men and women in the standings will compete in a one-day surf-off, likely televised nationally at one of the world's best wave locations.

Cocoa Beach's Ron Jon/Quiksilver Pro in March was, eventually, the final worldwide surf event of 2020 before the coronavirus shutdown. 

The 2021 WSL Championship Tour will see key format changes.

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The 2021 CT season will include 10 events each for both the women and the men, with the women joining the men to surf at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, one of the world’s most iconic and demanding waves, for the first time since 2006.

There will be distinct seasons between the CT and the Challenger Series (CS). Starting in 2021, the CS will run from August to December. The QS will run through to the end of June 2021 and determine who has qualified for the Challenger Series. Points from QS events that were completed in 2020 will carry over into 2021.

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"The WSL format, timeline and location updates will make for a very exciting and intense 2021 tour and world title chase,” said Florence, a two-time WSL champion.

The WSL also plans to host a series of regional, preseason exhibition events featuring CT surfers in the USA, Australia, France, and Portugal called The WSL Countdown. 

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In the U.S., Surf Ranch, designed by Slater in California, will host Rumble at the Ranch, a special mixed-gender team format event in August. 

All events will be broadcast on WorldSurfLeague.com. 

Contact Grossman at 321-242-3676 or hgrossman@floridatoday.com. Support our work by subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY.