Kauli Vaast is ready to take his Olympic success to the Championship Tour. Photo: Pablo Jimenez//ISA
Gold medalist Kauli Vaast has secured a spot on the 2026 WSL Championship Tour (CT). By advancing into the round of 32 at the Newcastle, Australia Challenger Series event, he’s guaranteed himself a top-10 finish and a chance to compete for a world title this season.
The 24-year-old Tahitian called his qualification a “dream come true” as he looks ahead to the season’s debut at Bells Beach on April 1.
He received congratulations from fellow tour surfers such as Cole Houshmand, Jack Robinson, and Connor O’Leary.
Vaast becomes the first CT surfer to enter his rookie season with an Olympic medal, perhaps a counterargument to those who have lamented the reduced role of the tour in the Olympic qualification system. Vaast qualified for Paris 2024 through the World Surfing Games.
And while some may attribute Vaast’s gold medal to his home-field advantage at Teahupo’o, his Challenger performances show he’s well-adapted to the diversity of waves on the CT. His best results were a second-place in the beachbreak conditions of the first Newcastle event, and a win in right pointbreak conditions at Ericeira, Portugal. He’s proven that he’s more than a Teahupo’o specialist.
In an interview with the French Surfing Federation, Vaast said his CT qualification hasn’t sunk in yet, and he credited his coach, Joan Duru, for helping him achieve his goal.
Thus far in Vaast’s career, nearly all of his CT experience has come via Teahupo’o wildcards. He’s competed in the event four times, finishing runner-up in 2022. He also received a wildcard to the Abu Dhabi wave pool CT event in 2025 where he ended 17th.
As the final Challenger Series event continues at Newcastle, Kauli is joined by Eli Hanneman and George Pittar as the other surfers who have secured their CT slots. There are still seven more spots up for grabs. Given that Vaast already has a CT final and a gold medal under his belt, he’s got to be the favorite for rookie of the year. The CT season kicks off April 1 at Bells Beach, Australia.
