The Championship Tour’s 2024 season is about to experience a changing of the guard. Two of professional surfing’s greatest are stepping down and leaving room for a new generation of champions to step on the podium.
Five-time world champion and Olympic Surfing Gold Medal Winner, Carissa Moore and Eight-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore will not be competing during the 2024 season.
Hawaii’s Champ, Carissa Moore Steps Down
In a recent New York Times article published on January 19, Moore stated she is ready for a new chapter. The 31-year-old legend is an Olympic Gold Medal Winner and five-time surfing World Champion.
Moore posted a message to her fans via Instagram on January 19, “Surfing is a part of who I am, and it always will be. This is by no means the end. I’d like to think of this instead as an evolution, the start of the next chapter, a new beginning. —Riss.”
The World Champ later stated in a follow up post that this year’s Pipe Pro event, running from January 29 to February 10, will be her last event on tour.
Moore, who lost the last two World Championship finals, told her fans that her losses had nothing to do with her retirement. “Running away could be the farthest thing from my truth,” she wrote in a social media post. The Hawaiian surfer then remarked, “It’s from these losses that I’ve found my strength and somehow felt the deepest sense of love and support.”
The End of an Era or Just a Pause for Stephanie Gilmore?
On January 23, Eight-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore stated to the World Surf League that she, too, was stepping down for the 2024 season. “I am planning to take this time as a refresh for myself physically, mentally, and enjoy following swells and free surfing in new places,” she said.
Gilmore, who has been competing on the championship tour since 2007, followed up by saying that she will prioritize new projects and dreams for the new year. “I’m excited for this year to activate those and I look forward to returning in 2025,” she said.
The WSL (World Surf League) said that they will grant her a Wild Card Spot for the 2025 season. Brazil’s Luana Silva and Australia’s Sophie McCulloch will replace Moore and Gilmore on the Championship Tour for the 2024 season.