CONTENTS
- ASP World Tour championship
- Titans of Mavericks
- Billabong Pro Teahupoo
- Vans Triple Crown of Surf
- Cesurfing, the most important surf championship in Spain
Over recent years, surfing has become one of the most recognised and widely practised water sports. Such is its success, and the growth in followers taking it up day after day, that it was even included as a competition sport in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, postponed until 2021 due to the exceptional situation caused by the pandemic.
So, given the growth and popularity of this sport, in this blog we present a list of the best surf championships in the world you can find and, if at the end of this post you feel the urge to try this sport, we've left you a guide on how to learn to surf in just 5 steps. Below you'll find all the information you need to know if you're interested in any of them, along with some facts that might interest you.
ASP World Tour championship
The best surf championship in the world is that of the Association of Surfing Professionals, also known as the ASP World Tour which currently has seven venues around the world, meaning it's held worldwide and takes place simultaneously in different parts of the world. This championship is made up of numerous categories in which both women and men can take part and compete to become the best surfer in the world. If you're interested in taking part in this championship, the men's category includes eleven events and the women's eight. In them, different aspects of the athletes are rated and assessed, based on the speed, power or flow with which they move on the water, while other aspects such as their ability and variety of manoeuvres in difficult situations are also assessed. Depending on the category you enter, the prize may differ.
Titans of Mavericks
Another of the best surf championships, ranking among the most important in the world, is Mavericks which, as its name suggests, is held at Mavericks in Northern California. This championship is also one of the most significant because the best big-wave surfers in the world compete against each other in it. The championship is held at this location precisely because of the weather and water conditions, which make it one of the best places to surf and also one of the most dangerous. In this bay the waves can reach great heights, which is why it's a very difficult championship for its participants, but one of the most fantastic to watch.
Billabong Pro Teahupoo
Continuing our list, we can't forget the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, held in Tahiti, in an area known as one of the most difficult and dangerous to surf, since it has the most treacherous waves in the world and is one of the places where waves have claimed the most surfers' lives, although over the years none has been during the championship.
Vans Triple Crown of Surf
It's also important to highlight the Vans Triple Crown of Surf, which consists of three different events held at Haleiwa, Sunset and Pipeline (Hawaii) and which are among the last events of the professional surfing season. This championship takes place in open-ocean surf zones, which makes the competition harder and requires participants to react quickly to the unusual circumstances that may arise.
- The first stage is the Hawaiian Pro Haleiwa, held in November and characterised by the strength and height of some of the waves, which are always unpredictable, so it requires participants to be in top physical shape.
- The second stage is called the Sunset Beach Surf World Cup. It presents the same difficulty as the first stage of the championship and takes place in late November and early December.
- The last stage of the championship is the Pipeline Masters, held at Pipeline, an area known for its wild surf and huge tube rides close to the shore.
Cesurfing, the most important surf championship in Spain
To round off this list of the best surf championships in the world, let's talk about Cesurfing, the most important surf championship in Spain, which is also one of the most important championships in Europe. More than 250 participants compete in it, across different categories according to difficulty. In recent years this championship has been held in Galicia, one of the best areas in the Peninsula for surfing, which is why it has hosted this competition more than once.
In 2020, some of the events mentioned in this blog were affected by COVID-19 restrictions, which is why some of the championships we've mentioned had to be held only digitally. Even so, let's hope that this year they can all resume their normal activity and be held as a spectacle of this scale deserves.
