If you’re a surf fan with any sort of memory, this is the day you may have instantly thought of when the WSL announced it was bringing the WSL Finals to Cloudbreak for this 2025 season. Granted, the Fiji Pro has produced some incredible moments in professional surfing over the past decade, with highlights like Owen Wright’s perfect heat(s) sitting near the top of the list. But the 2012 event was different.
The short of it: it was big. So big, in fact, that the contest was put on hold mid-day. The swell was still building, and winds weren’t helping the already treacherous conditions, so heats were put on hold. Winds did eventually back down but it had gotten late enough in the day that the contest was delayed, so naturally, every hellman within paddling distance flooded the lineup. That included some of the Championship Tour surfers themselves. And a legendary freesurf ensued.
“We couldn’t have dreamed of a better contest,” said Volcom’s Richard Woolcott, Volcom was the titles sponsor at the time. “Thank you to everybody, beyond my wildest dreams.”
Needless to say, nobody’s expecting a day like this for the last WSL Finals ever.
