2024 Championship Tour Heads Down Under for Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy

BELLS BEACH, Victoria, Australia (Thursday, March 21, 2024) – The world’s best surfers are heading down under ahead of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy for Stop No. 4 of the 2024 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). The event holds a competition window from March 26 through April 5. Bells will be the first of two CT events in Australia, with competitors aiming for big results back-to-back ahead of the Mid-season Cut.  

The 2024 CT season has seen an incredible start, with the first three events witnessing plenty of action across the board. Events at Pipeline and Sunset Beach in Hawaii saw the bar raised to new heights on the women’s side, with a new generation emerging and proving what is possible in waves of consequence.

Stop No. 3, the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, saw the return of familiar faces, with Griffin Colapinto (USA) and Johanne Defay (FRA) claiming wins and their first major results of 2024 to rocket up the rankings. All of this and more has set the stage for a fascinating Aussie leg as Mid-season Cut after Margaret River looms. 

Next Up: The Legendary Bells Beach

2024 will be the 61st year the world’s best surfers make the pilgrimage to Bells Beach on Victoria’s Surf Coast in Southern Australia, with the hope of scoring long-period, groomed walls and putting on a performance that will earn them the privilege of ringing the famous Bell Trophy by event’s end.

Unlike the first three events of the Championship Tour, Bells Beach presents a unique challenge to the elite. Its open, powerful walls demand surfers to display the perfect combination of power, precision, patience, and timing. Long-period swells, Southern Ocean cold fronts, and massive tidal movements mean competitors must be ready for anything and have to ensure they can adapt. Several locations are open for the competition within the event site’s footprint, namely, The Bowl, Rincon, or Winki Pop, and each of these waves requires a different approach.  

Surfers are easily exposed at this location, and the importance of clean lines is evident when looking at the list of previous winners, with most of the biggest surfing legends having etched their names on the famous Bells’ stairs. 2024 will see the world’s best return to Bells for a chance to win one of world surfing’s most prestigious events.

Event Wildcards and Injury Replacements Announced

Rip Curl team-rider and former CT competitor, Morgan Cibilic (AUS), will replace Joao Chianca (BRA) as the second-highest Challenger Series-ranked surfer in the Australia / Oceania region. The spot was originally offered to the top-ranked Challenger Series surfer Jackson Baker (AUS), who declined as he recovers from an ankle injury. 

Sophie McCulloch (AUS), who qualified for the 2023 CT but wasn’t able to requalify, continues as the replacement surfer for Carissa Moore’s (HAW) spot up until the Mid-season Cut and will compete at Bells once again in 2024.

The final two spots will be awarded to the Rip Curl Victoria Trials’ winners on both the men’s and women’s sides. This will be a one-day event, which is set to be held at Bells Beach on Saturday, March 23. 

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy Women’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Johanne Defay (FRA), Luana Silva (BRA), Alyssa Spencer (USA) 
HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Sophie McCulloch (AUS) 
HEAT 3: Molly Picklum (AUS), Isabella Nichols (AUS), Trials Winner (TBC)
HEAT 4: Caitlin Simmers (USA), Brisa Hennessy (CRC), Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 
HEAT 5: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), Lakey Peterson (USA), India Robinson (AUS) 
HEAT 6: Tyler Wright (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy Men’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Kade Matson (USA)
HEAT 2: Barron Mamiya (HAW), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Deivid Silva (BRA)
HEAT 3: John John Florence (HAW), Seth Moniz (HAW), Kelly Slater (USA) 
HEAT 4: Jack Robinson (AUS), Rio Waida (INA), Morgan Cibilic (AUS)
HEAT 5: Ethan Ewing (AUS), Matthew McGillivray (RSA), Trials Winner (TBC)
HEAT 6: Griffin Colapinto (USA), Jacob Willcox (AUS), Event Wildcard (TBC)
HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (RSA), Ian Gentil (HAW), Caio Ibelli (BRA)  
HEAT 8: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Imaikalani Devault (HAW), Eli Hanneman (HAW) 
HEAT 9: Connor O’Leary (JPN), Ryan Callinan (AUS), Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 10: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Liam O’Brien (AUS), Cole Houshmand (USA) 
HEAT 11: Jake Marshall (USA), Crosby Colapinto (USA), Callum Robson (AUS)
HEAT 12: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Yago Dora (BRA), Frederico Morais (POR)

Watch LIVE
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Presented by Bonsoy, is the next stop on the 2024 Championship Tour. The competition window opens on March 26 and closes on April 6, 2024. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the free WSL app, and the WSL’s YouTube channel. Also, check out more ways to watch from the WSL’s broadcast partners. For fans watching in the United States, coverage of the competition’s Quarterfinals and beyond will continue co-exclusively on WorldSurfLeague.com and ESPN+.