Photo: Ryan Miller//Natural Selection
Natural Selection will continue its dive into surfing with the return of NST Surf in September, the organization announced Wednesday. While the inaugural surf event was praised for bringing something fresh to the competitive surf scene, it teased that more changes are coming to the sophomore season.
The 2026 contest will take place in South Africa (2025 was set in Micronesia), and competitors will be dropping their bags at a remote camp for a full week. The objective seems to be challenging them to perform across a range of wave types and conditions, rather than besting the field at a single location and on a single day.
“ The crown goes to the man and woman who prove most versatile across the week,” read a release.
“So excited that NST is coming back for round two! It’s such a special event for me, getting to go on a surf trip with all my idols. Hearing that it’s in South Africa this year is so cool, because it’s another place I haven’t visited yet. Crazy how many new places surfing brings you to,” said Milla Coco Brown, who won the 2025 event.
The men’s 2025 champion, Soli Bailey, will be joining her in South Africa along with 2025 finalists Kirra Pinkerton, Noah Beschen, and Eithan Osborne. A press release from NST says Alan Cleland won’t be competing this year after qualifying for the 2026 Championship Tour. The NST shared no other news or hints of the remaining field other than to promise announcements later this month. It has announced a 12-athlete field in attendance for the upcoming 10-day event.
So, we’ll wait to see what else the 2026 version of NST Surf brings to the fold. No live broadcast or established judging criteria last year seemed curious from the outside looking in, but if the response to the tape-delayed contest was any indication, surf fans will still be intrigued enough to tune in.
