The Challenger Series will come to Pipe in 2026. Credit: WSL / Tony Heff
The World Surf League (WSL) will be adding two new stops to this year’s Challenger Series (CS). The league just announced Pipeline and Newcastle will be added to the schedule as the series’ second-to-last and final events, respectively.
The Challenger Series is the proving ground for those seeking to qualify for the WSL’s Championship Tour (CT). The 2025 schedule, announced in December, originally had five stops (including a season opener at Newcastle). This update brings the total to seven, with the new events taking place at Pipeline in January and Newcastle in March. The entire season will run from June 2025 to March 2026, at the end of which the top 10 men and seven women will earn a spot on next year’s Tour, based on their best five results.
While Pipe is a perennial stop on the CT, this will be the first time the break has been a part of the Challenger Series. That doesn’t mean it’s the first time the wave counted towards CT qualification, though. The last time that happened was the 2020 Volcom Pipe Pro, a QS 5,000 event won by Wiggoly Dantas (That event predated the existence of the Challenger Series, which had its inaugural season in 2021).
The final event of the season will then take place at the 40th anniversary of Newcastle SURFEST – one of the longest-running professional surfing competitions in the world. That means SURFEST will count twice in the 2025-26 season, as both the opening and closing event. This one-off development is a result of the transition into new formats and schedules for both the CS and CT.
“The WSL is super excited to announce that Pipeline and Newcastle will be the last two stops of the Challenger Series this season,” said WSL Senior Tour Manager, Travis Logie. “Pipeline is the ultimate proving ground and one of the most perfect yet challenging waves on the planet. For the next crop of CT surfers to get the opportunity to compete out there is a huge step forward for the Challenger Series, not to mention incredibly exciting for our fans to enjoy two major events at Pipe in just a couple of months. To then finish the season and decide our CT qualifiers at the iconic Newcastle SURFEST is amazing. It’s an event with so much surf history, and the whole town gets behind it, so to see our CS surfers realize their dreams in front of thousands of fans at Merewether will be a huge moment.”
The change to the CS accompanies a major shakeup in the upcoming 2026 Championship Tour. Based on feedback from surfers and fans, the WSL decided to scrap the Final 5 format, along with the mid-season cut and non-elimination rounds. To cap it all off, the season closer will now be at Pipeline, making experience at the world-renowned break all the more valuable for CT aspirants.
The updated 2025-26 WSL Challenger Series Schedule is as follows:
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: June 2 – 8, 2025
Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: June 30 – July 6, 2025
Huntington Beach, California, USA: July 29 – August 3, 2025 (US Open festival window: July 26 – August 3)
Ericeira, Portugal: September 29 – October 5, 2025
Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: October 11 – 19, 2025
Pipeline, Hawai`i, USA: January 28 – February 8, 2026
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: March 8 – 15, 2026
