Surfing’s big showdown will once again be at Lower Trestles next year.

The World Surf League announced the world champions will be decided in 2024 at the famed surf spot just south of San Clemente. The last three finals have been held there, bringing the world’s best surfers and a big buzz to the region.

The finals are a winner-takes-all contest where the top five men and top five women go head-to-head for the world title. For next year, the waiting period will be Sept. 6 to 14, “which is the ideal time of year for favorable Southern Hemisphere swells at one of the most high-performance waves in the world,” WSL officials said in their announcement of the upcoming season’s schedule.

This year’s finals, held on Sept. 9, shattered the record for the most-watched day of professional surfing in WSL history, officials said.

There were 10.7 million video views on the single day, surpassing the previous year by 29%.

Ahead the contest, WSL delivered 25 million video-on-demand views, marking a 58% increase from the previous year, the Santa Monica-based company said.

Having the event in San Clemente’s backyard at San Onofre State Beach “solidifies our position at the center of the surfing universe,” said the beach town’s mayor, Chris Duncan.

The city, this year, ramped up its efforts to promote and embrace the event, holding a community party to kick off the waiting period, a press conference and autograph signing at the pier with the athletes and a champions’ parade down the town’s main drag to the beach with men’s winner Brazilian Filipe Toledo and women’s champ Caroline Marks, of Florida, who both now live in San Clemente.

Caroline Marks and Filipe Toledo take the stage to speak during a ceremony following a parade to honor the San Clemente Rip Curl World Surf League champions and residents Caroline Marks and Filipe Toledo in San Clemente on Monday, September 11, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“I’m really proud of the city and the efforts to partner with the WSL to ensure the finals continue to take place again in San Clemente, where it should be taking place – where we have a thriving, young surf community and a history of engagement in the surfing world,” Duncan said.  “This isn’t something that just happens. This is because of the city leaning in, engaging and working closely with the WSL to ensure the finals are the best they can be. We saw this with viewership through the roof, more people watching online and in person and a successful finals event.”

While no official study has been done, the town’s businesses were busy leading up to the finals and big events were held at local companies, including Stance and Los Molinos Beer Co., to tie into the event, he said.

“We believe that led to a significant increase in revenue for our local businesses,” he said.

The WSL did not name sponsors for upcoming contests, so it is unknown if Rip Curl has signed on for the 2024 finals as they have the past three years.

State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall said it’s the largest surf event of any park in the system.

2024 WSL Championship Tour schedule

Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii: Jan. 29-Feb. 10

Sunset Beach, Hawaii: Feb. 12-23

Peniche, Portugal: March 6-16

Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: March 26-April 5

Margaret River, Western Australia: April 11-21

Teahupo’o, Tahiti: May 22-31

Punta Roca, El Salvador: June 6-15

Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 22-30

Cloudbreak, Fiji: Aug. 20-29

WSL Finals at Lower Trestles: Sept. 6-14

“It’s an incredible event, we’re excited to have it,” he said, “It’s a dynamic that seems to get more and more unique and expands every year we’ve had it.”

Between 5,000 to 6,000 people showed up to this year’s event, packing into the sliver of sand or finding a spot on the cobblestones that line the beach. State Parks will be working on a better shuttle system to get people in and out of the hard-to-reach area next year, Pearsall said.

The rest of the year’s Championship Tour schedule was also announced, including a kick off at Pipeline in Hawaii in January.

The schedule also showed a return of Fiji at Cloudbreak to the tour after a seven-year hiatus – it will be the last event leading into the finals.

“It is one of the most awe-inspiring left-hand barrels and can hold waves anywhere from 2-to-20 feet. Due to its fast and powerful nature, it is known as a highly advanced and heavy wave,” WSL officials said of the Fiji shore.

The tour will stop in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, in May – a preview to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games that are also using the French Polynesia location.

The tour will include nine regular-season events, with a mid-season cut after stop No. 5 at Margaret River in Western Australia in April. The field will be reduced from 36 men to 24, and 18 women to 12.

Missing from next year’s schedule are J-Bay in South Africa and the Surf Ranch in Lemoore near Fresno – the artificial wave has been on and off the tour the past few years.

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