With three events now completed on the 2024 Championship Tour, the world’s best are now heading back to the legendary and storied venue of Bells Beach. While barrels typically aren’t on offer at Bells, they happen occasionally. If you’re tuning in for Bells, you’re undoubtedly paying attention to a surfer’s rail game. You can expect a typically regularfoot-dominated event, as goofyfoots have typically played second fiddle on the walls down in chilly Victoria–but don’t count them out entirely (remember Italo’s win against Fanning back in 2018?)
It’s also important to remember that Winkipop can be used as a backup venue in the event that the competitors aren’t blessed with a massive Easter swell. Winki can offer a bit more of a high-performance stage than Bells, so when picking your Fantasy Surfer teams, be sure to consider both venues into the equation. Continue reading for some relevant stats and then select your teams here.
WHO: The Men’s WSL Championship Tour Top 34 plus two wildcards, and the Women’s WSL Championship Tour Top 17 + one wildcard.
WHAT: Event no. four of 10 on the 2024 World Championship Tour.
WHEN: Event waiting period begins on March 26th, at 8am local time. Event waiting period ends on April 5th, 2024.
WHERE: Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia
HOW TO WATCH: Tune in to WorldSurfLeague.com for live event coverage and come back here to Surfer.com for daily event wrap-ups.
PAST EVENT WINNERS COMPETING:
Men’s – Kelly Slater (1994, 2006, 2008, 2010), Jordy Smith (2017), Italo Ferreira (2018), John Florence (2019), Ethan Ewing (2023)
Women’s – Sally Fitzgibbons (2011, 2012), Tyler Wright (2022, 2023)
INJURY UPDATE:
As of today (March 23), Joao Chianca is the only injured surfer to withdraw from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. He has been replaced in the draw by former ‘CT competitor Morgan Cibilic.
WILDCARDS: Kelly Slater and Brisa Hennessey have been given season-long wildcards for all of 2024. Event wildcards have yet to be determined, which are typically decided with a locals trials event.
HEAT DRAW:
MEN’S 2024 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
Heat 1: Kanoa Igarashi, Ramzi Boukheim, Kade Matson
Heat 2: Barron Mamiya, Miguel Pupo, Deivid Silva
Heat 3: John Florence, Seth Moniz, Kelly Slater
Heat 4: Jack Robinson, Rio Waida, Morgan Cibilic
Heat 5: Ethan Ewing, Mathew McGillivray, TBA
Heat 6: Griffin Colapinto, Jacob Willcox, TBA
Heat 7: Jordy Smith, Ian Gentil, Caio Ibelli
Heat 8: Leo Fioravanti, Imakalani deVault, Eli Hanneman
Heat 9: Connor O’Leary, Ryan Callinan, Samuel Pupo
Heat 10: Gabriel Medina, Liam O’Brien, Cole Houshmand
Heat 11: Jake Marshall, Crosby Colapinto, Callum Robson
Heat 12: Italo Ferreira, Yago Dora, Frederico Morais
——————–
WOMEN’S 2024 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
Heat 1: Johanne Defay, Luana Silva, Alyssa Spencer
Heat 2: Caroline Marks, Gabriela Bryan, Sophie McCulloch
Heat 3: Molly Picklum, Isabella Nichols, TBA
Heat 4: Caitlin Simmers, Brisa Hennessey, Sawyer Lindblad
Heat 5: Bettylou Sakura Johnson, Lakey Peterson, India Robinson
Heat 6: Tyler Wright, Tatiana Weston-Webb, Sally Fitzgibbons
* – Wildcard
** – Injury replacement