Tuach the region’s third best surfer

Barbados’ most decorated surfer, Chelsea Tuach, has ended the World Surf League’s (WSL) 2021/2022 Qualifying Series (QS) season ranked third in the North American region. She is also the only Barbadian to qualify for the WSL’s Challenger Series which is open only to the top 10 males and top eight females from the region and which surfs off in May.

The Challenger Series is the ultimate battleground for surfers to showcase their talents and qualify for the elite Championship Tour and features the world’s top 96 men and 64 women from the five WSL regions – North America, South America, Australasia, Europe and Africa.

“I am very excited to be competing in the Challenger Series once again this year and to return to the first full season of competition since March 2020.  It is always an honour to see the Barbadian flag flying next to the flags of the world’s top surfing nations.  I’m currently in Australia training with my coach and testing out new equipment to ensure that I am ready to perform at my best and compete against the world’s elite surfers,” Tuach revealed to Barbados TODAY.

Tuach’s 2021/2022 competitive season saw her competing first at the WSL 1000 WRV Outer Banks Pro in North Carolina in early September where she made it to the quarterfinals, ending fifth overall. She then competed at the WSL 3000 Nissan Supergirl Surf Pro held at Oceanside, California, which featured 88 of the world’s best surfers. She battled from the Round of 64 and again made it all the way to the quarterfinals, winning all of her heats along the way. The highlight of the event was Tuach’s victory over World number 2 and the event’s highest seed, Tatiana Weston-Webb in the Round of 32.

In mid-November, Tuach again travelled to the US to compete in the WSL 3000 Jacksonville Supergirl Surf Pro, where she again battled from the Round of 64 and won all of her heats on her way to another fifth place finish.

Coming into the final event of the season, the WSL 3000 Soup Bowl Pro, Tuach was ranked number five in the region and determined to do Barbados proud. She again won all of her heats on the way to the final, taking the win with her powerful front-hand surfing, earning a heat total of 15 (out of a possible 20), and defeating top-rated American surfer, Sawyer Linblad who scored 9.60.

“Winning at home, on my favourite surf break, in front of my family, friends and fans meant the world to me,” Tuach said after her victory. “It truly is a dream come true and pushed my ranking to third in the region, solidifying my spot on the Challenger Series where I hope to fly the Barbados flag high.”

The Challenger Series begins on the Gold Coast of Australia on May 7, then moves to Sydney before changing continents, moving to South Africa in June and then the US in early August.  Surfers then head to Europe for the EDP Vissla Pro in Ericeira, Portugal in early October, followed by the Roxy Pro France in South West France in mid-October. The Tour then stops in Brazil in early November before wrapping up in Hawaii in early December. (PR)