Predecessors

• 1964 to 1972, International Surfing Federation (ISF) held the World Surfing Championships as a single event every two years and was open to all comers.
• 1973 to 1975, Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships, occasionally referred to as the de facto professional world championship. The International Surfing Federation had been unable to establish a format or sponsorship so no official amateur championships were held between 1973 and 1975.
• 1976 to 1982, International Professional Surfers founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick (IPS) was the original world governing body of professional surfing.

The predecessors of the WSL relates to what organization predominantly represented individual professional surfers at that time. This is an important point because the International Surfing Federation (ISF) still functions to this day as the International Surfing Association (ISA) and also refers to competition winners as world champions (or variants thereof).^[10][11]

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) took over administration of professional surfing in 1983 and crowned world champions until 2015 when the organisation was rebranded as World Surf League (WSL). The ASP/WSL has remained the predominant surfing organization and sanctioning body for professional surfers since its formation.^[12] The ASP's first world champions were Tom Carroll (men's) and Kim Mearig (women's) in 1983/84. Split seasons were held from 1983/84 until 1988 when competition reverted to calendar basis. This means that Damian Hardman and Wendy Botha were crowned ASP world Champions for 1987/88, while Barton Lynch and Freida Zamba were crowned ASP world champions for the (shortened) 1988 season. The first WSL world champions were Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Carissa Moore (HAW) in 2015.

In March 2015, WSL launched a free downloadable app, which garnered more than a million downloads in its first year. The app provides real-time updates on competitions and provides personalized alerts, letting fans know when their favorite athletes are about to enter the water.

In April 2016, the World Surf League introduced WSL PURE, its philanthropic initiative dedicated to supporting ocean health through research, education and advocacy. WSL PURE has contributed an initial $1.5 million in funding that will support scientists from the Columbia University Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, as they lead research into ocean health & ecosystems, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and the role the oceans play in climate change.

Equal pay for athletes in 2019

On 5 September 2018, the World Surf League announced equal pay for every female and male WSL event. CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said, "This is a huge step forward in our long-planned strategy to elevate women's surfing and we are thrilled to make this commitment as we reveal our new 2019 schedule...".^[13] The announcement prompted a conversation about equal pay for professional athletes and the world commended the WSL for leading the way. 8 x world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore said "I hope this serves as a model for other sports, global organizations and society as a whole. My fellow women athletes and I are honored by the confidence in us, and inspired to reward this decision with ever higher levels of surfing.".^[13]

COVID-19 impact

On 14 March 2020 the WSL cancelled all events "for the remainder of March", including the opening event of the 2020 Championship Tour (CT) on the Gold Coast in Australia, and the Papara Pro Open.^[14] On 16 March the cancellations were extended to the end of May.^[15]

More events were cancelled in January 2021: Sunset, the Big Wave Jaws Championship Pe'ahi, and the Santa Cruz Pro.^[16]

Promotion and relegation

WSL World Ranking determines the promotion or relegation of surfers.^[27]

Judging^[27]

In contests surfers are scored on a scale of 0.1 to 10.0. These scores are awarded in increments of one-tenth. The following scale can be used to relate descriptions to the scores:

• 0–1.9 = Poor
• 2.0–3.9 = Fair
• 4.0–5.9 = Average
• 6.0–7.9 = Good
• 8.0–10.0 = Excellent

Judging criteria^[27]

Judges base the score on how successfully surfers display the following elements in each wave:

• Commitment and degree of difficulty
• Innovative and progressive maneuvers
• Wave selection
• Variety of maneuvers
• Speed, power and flow

These elements may be weighted differently from day to day and event to event, depending on the surfing conditions and the type of breaking wave at each event location. These criteria are different from in longboarding competitions. All is focused on creating some type consistency that can be seen throughout the many different events.^[27]

The events themselves are previously declared QS 1,000 - QS 10,000 events; among other things this ranking shows how many judges are required at the event. QS 1,000 - QS 3,000 Qualifying Series events are required to have a six judge panel with four judges on each heat. A QS 4,000 - QS 6,000 Qualifying Series event requires seven judges with five on each heat. At QS 5,000 - QS 10,000 Qualifying Series events there are only allowed to be 3 judges from any one region. This is then limited to two at any world championship events. All events also require an WSL approved head judge who has the ability to make corrections to errors or any other events that may have affected the results.^[27]

Rules

There are many rules out in the water that all revolve around the idea of right of way. A surfer has the right of way if he or she is closer to the area where the wave is breaking, this is more commonly referred to as having the inside position. If another surfer takes off in front of the surfer that has the inside position, then interference will be called, and penalties will be enacted. In most circumstances it does not matter who stood up first but who has the inside position.^[27]

A surfer can also be found guilty of interference if they catch more than their maximum number of waves in a heat and that this takes away from the other competitors ability to catch waves. A competitor is also not allowed to interfere with another competitor's paddling and maneuvering for a wave.^[27]

The rules of right of way vary slightly with the type of break. Point Breaks will always have a consistent direct of what is inside, that is, the person further up the line will have right of way. In a single peak situation where there is both a left and a right two people are able to be on the wave at the same time, provided that one goes left and one goes right and that neither crosses the path of the other to go one direction. If this does happen then, the surfer who stood up first will get the right of way. On a multi-peaked wave where the wave eventually comes together, both peaks can be surfed until the surfers come together. When they do the surfer who stood up first has right of way, and the other must maneuver to get off the wave without interrupting the other surfer.^[27]

In a one-on-one competition, priority can be declared by the Head Judge. Once the person with priority has paddled for a wave priority is then turned over to the next person until that person does the same. The person with second priority can paddle for waves as long as it does not interfere with the other person who will lose their priority only if they catch a wave.^[27]

A surfer who has already taken off or obtained possession of a wave maintains this position until the end of their ride. If another surfer takes off on the inside of this surfer, then this person does not obtain priority and is considered to be snaking. If this surfer does not hurt the other surfers ride, then both people can be scored based. If the judges determine that the snaking did interfere then the person will be penalized. Interference penalties are called by the judges and must have a majority to be declared an actual penalty. Interference are shown as triangles on the score cards in various different ways depending on when or where in the heat they were made. If three or more waves are being scored than one wave will be dropped off the score card. If only the top two waves are being scored, then 50% of the second best-scored wave will be taken off. If a surfer has more than one then 50% of the best waves score will be taken off also. The surfer who has been interfered with will be allowed an additional wave to their maximum as long as it is within the time limit. If a surfer interferes more than twice in a heat then they must leave the competition area.^[27]

Surfers with the most World Tour wins (Men)

Position	Name	Nation	Steps Won
1°	Kelly Slater	United States	56
2°	Tom Curren	United States	33
3°	Tom Carroll	Australia	26
4°	Mick Fanning	Australia	22
5°	Andy Irons	Hawaii	20
6°	Damien Hardman	Australia	19
7°	Gabriel Medina	Brazil	18
8°	Barton Lynch	Australia	17
8°	Mark Richards	Australia	17
8°	Filipe Toledo	Brazil	17
10°	Martin Potter	United Kingdom	16
12°	Joel Parkinson	Australia	12
12°	Mark Occhilupo	Australia	12
12°	Cheyne Horan	Australia	12
12°	Shaun Tomson	South Africa	12