Breaking News: WSL Swaps J-Bay for Raglan on Championship Tour
Per an announcement on Sunday, January 25th, the World Surf League revealed a venue swap, in addition to a reconfigured schedule, for the 2026 Championship Tour.
In lieu of the famed righthand pointbreak of Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, the WSL will be heading to another iconic pointbreak – this one, a left – with Raglan, New Zealand. The change comes a few months after the Tour is set to kick off in April in Australia.
See below for the official announcement.
“I’m very happy with the addition of a rippable left on tour,” said Yago Dora, 2025 WSL World Champion. “It’s been a long time asking to have one on the schedule, and we finally got it! I’ve never been to New Zealand, and I'm very happy that I will get the chance to go there for the first time and experience what seems to be a very beautiful part of the world. The place looks amazing so I'm truly excited to go there for the first time and compete at Raglan.”
“Obviously, so psyched to have an event that’s not too far from home,” said Molly Picklum, 2025 WSL World Champion. “We don’t have a rippable left point break on tour, so I absolutely love that I get to bring out the backside attack. New Zealand culture and the way of life there is just a breath of fresh air, which is so appreciated when we are travelling so much. So all in all, I’m excited for that event. I think having NZ on tour brings us a world-class location when it comes to waves and food, which for me is all I ever worry about!”
What’s more, the 2026 Championship Tour schedule will be altered, slightly, to accommodate the new addition. Instead of heading to El Salvador, followed by Brazil, after the opening Australian leg, they will head to New Zealand for the new event.
That means, the El Salvador and Brazil events will be pushed back, in order to give the surfers a break to recoup after a string of back-to-back events.
Jeffreys Bay has long been a fan, and surfer, favorite on Tour, providing memorable moments – like Andy Irons versus Kelly Slater at the peak of their storied rivalry in 2005, Filipe Toledo’s double alley-oop perfect 10 in 2017, and Connor O’Leary’s transcendent backside attack for the win in 2025. Through these highlights, and countless others, the South Africa event has achieved mythical status within surfing over the decades.
However, a new event at a long, fabled lefthand pointbreak should shake things up.
See the updated 2026 Championship Tour schedule below.
Stop No. 1 - Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 - 11
Stop No. 2 - Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 16 - 26
Stop No. 3 - Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 1 - 11
Stop No. 4 - Raglan, New Zealand: May 15 - 25
Stop No. 5 - Punta Roca, El Salvador: June 5 - 15
Stop No. 6 - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 19 - 27
Stop No. 7 - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 - 18
Stop No. 8 - Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 - September 4
Stop No. 9 - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 - 20
Stop No. 10 - Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 - 18*
Stop No. 11 - Peniche, Portugal: October 22 - November 1*
Stop No. 12 - Banzai Pipeline, Hawaiʻi, USA: December 8 - 20**
*Events feature a reduced field
**Full CT fields compete for Pipe Masters Titles
Now, the real question is: Who’s going to dominate in New Zealand come May?
More importantly, how do we feel about this change? Sound off in the poll below.