Sky Brown, Erin Brooks, Sierra Kerr Headline 2023 WSL World Junior Championships
It’s right down to business in the New Year as the WSL World Junior Championships are coming to Oceanside, California. Featuring the best Under 20 surfers from around the world, the list of competitors was just announced, and it’s wildcards like Olympic medalist and Dancing With The Stars winner Sky Brown and her buddy Erin Brooks that immediately standout. The two proteges are fast friends and live right by each other—when they’re not on the road chasing fortune and glory, obviously. Brooks has been on a hot one this year, winning Challenger Series events and the latest Qualifying Series comp at Haleiwa. Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem like there’s much Sky can’t do and her push into surfing is a natural evolution given how talented she is on a skateboard.
There are plenty of other worthy surfers in the draw, including California’s Alyssa Spencer, who will make her full-time debut on the Championship Tour a couple weeks after the Junior Championships. The contest is right in her backyard and she’s a proven beachbreak grinder that should be able to capitalize on her local knowledge and deep experience. Motivated by the idea of being able to win two world titles in the span of a few months, ISA gold medalist Sierra Kerr will also be on the hunt. While she hails from Australia, she’s spent ample time in California and will have no problem in the playful Oceanside surf.
Brazil Wins Gold At World Junior Surfing Championship, USA Takes Silver
On the men’s side, an eventual final featuring Jett Schilling and Joel Vaughn sort of feels inevitable. It certainly would be entertaining if it happens. Other guys like Taj Lindblad and Marlon Harrison are also ones to watch.
“It means so much to make it to the World Junior Championships,” explains Hawaii’s Nora Liotta, who was one of the last to qualify for the Junior Championships. “I feel so grateful to be able to represent Maui and feel so much support from everyone there. I have so much more belief in myself and my abilities after this year, and it has helped me compete so much.”
As far as the event breakdown goes, there will be 24 men and 24 women competing. They’re arriving in Oceanside either by regional qualifiers or by one of the ten wildcards selected by the WSL Tours and Competition team. Besides the cash and notoriety, the 2023 World Junior Champions will be awarded spots on the 2024 Challenger Series. The waiting period for the WSL World Junior Championships run from January 9-14, 2024.
WSL World Junior Championships Coming To California This January
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.