Special coverage presented by Surf City - El Salvador Travel

Between 2011 and 2025, nine WSL events were held at Punta Roca; five of them were QSs and four were CTs.

Of the QSs, three were male and two were female, the CTs had both genders so 13 people were awarded prizes in the events contested.

Until 2023, when Caroline Marks won the CT stage, never in history had a goofy footer won at Punta Roca, and the best that had gone to those who put their right foot forward was a final, that of Alessa Quizon in 2016.

Among men there has never been a victory by a goofy footer, whether in QSs or CTs and the first in history to set foot in the final only happened in 2024: It was Yago Dora.

The United States and Hawaii have had a very special relationship with the wave, and in Hawaii's case, with El Salvador as well. The country's team has won ISAs and crowned champions when the stop was a stage of the longboard tour.

The United States and Hawaii won four championships, Australia two, Brazil two, and South Africa one.

Below is the history of events:

2011: Ezekiel Lau wins

The first event of the World Surf League, formerly known as the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals), took place in Punta Roca between July 6 and 10, 2011.

It was a four-star QS that featured fun and consistent waves, won by the then-promising figure of world surfing: Ezekiel Lau.

The final result was:
1st: Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
2nd: Mitch Crews (AUS)
3rd places: Damien Fahrenfort (RSA) and Shane Beschen (USA)
5th places: Guillermo Satt (CHI), Jeremy Johnston (USA), Caetano Vargas (BRA) and Jason Shibata (HAW)

2012: Gaskell extends Hawaiian dominance on the wave

The following year, the event was repeated, and once again saw Hawaiian dominance and a consistent footer, with Hank Gaskell winning the stage that this year dropped to three stars.

The final result:
1st: Hank Gaskell (HAW)
2nd: Dege O'Connel (HAW)
3rd Shane Beschen (USA) and Miguel Tudela

2013: Peterson Crisanto earned six-star status and Brazil's first win

This QS series had a memorable tournament in 2013 when it became a six-star event that featured epic waves every day that drove competitors crazy.

The very young Brazilian Peterson Crisanto, who in those years looked like a giant promise, defeated Josh Kerr in the final and broke the Hawaiian supremacy of previous years.

What did remain was the dominance of the regular footers: Three events, three regular footer wins.

Event outcome

1st: Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
2nd: Josh Kerr (AUS)
3rd: Fred Patacchia (HAW) and Wade Carmichael (AUS)

2015: QS goes feminine and Sage Erickson wins

The event was discontinued in 2014 and returned in 2015. Perhaps influenced by the popularity of women's surfing, it created a significant event on a women's tour that was already short on tournaments.

She was defeated by the then young Californian Sage Erickson, who earned important points to qualify for the ranking thanks to that victory.

The final was once again 100% regular footers with Australian Keely Andrew placing second.

Complete stage results:
1st: Sage Erickson (USA)
2nd: Keely Andrew (AUS)
3rd places: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) and Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)

 

2016: Keely Andrew gives Australia first victory

The following year the event continued to be held and the person who had finished second the previous year, Keely Andrew, ended up winning.

She defeated the first goofy footer, male or female, to reach a final: Alessa Quizon of Hawaii.

Bronte Macaulay repeated her third place, and Silvana Lima improved her results in the wave and also placed third.

Complete stage results:
1nd: Keely Andrew (AUS)
2nd: Alessa Quizon (HAW)
3rd: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) and Silvana Lima (BRA)

2022: The CT era begins

WSL events disappeared from Punta Roca from then on until the shocking news in 2022 that the first division of the world circuit would debut in Latin America with a fixed date (there were movable stages in Mexico, Chile and Puerto Rico), but not as a fixed part of the tour.

2022: The results of the first event

1st: Griffin Colapinto (USA)
2nd: Filipe Toledo (BRA)
3rd places: Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Italo Ferreira (BRA)

1st: Steph Gilmore (AUS)
2nd: Lakey Peterson (USA)
3rd places: Johanne Defay (FRA) and Caroline Marks (USA)

2023: Results of the second event

Filipe Toledo exacted a measure of revenge for last year's result, and Caroline Marks began her reign; the East Coast native also became the first goofy footer in history to win a WSL event at Punta Roca.
1nd: Filipe Toledo (BRA)
2st: Griffin Colapinto (USA)
3rd places: Ian Gentil (HAW) and Liam O'Brien (AUS)

1st: Caroline Marks (USA)
2nd: Tyler Wright (AUS)
3rd places: Steph Gilmore (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW)

John John connected to Punta Roca in 2024

Among the men, John John made his debut as a finalist, after having had a poor performance the previous year, and was completely in tune with the waves at Punta Roca, which showed his best form.

He reached the final with the first goofy footer man to get into a decision in the history of all WSL events at Punta Roca: Yago Dora.

In the women's category, Marks repeated that killer attack, which goes hand in hand with the perfect waves of Punta Roca:

1st: John John Florence (HAW)
2nd: Yago Dora (BRA)
3rd: Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Matthew McGillvray (RSA)

1st: Caroline Marks (USA)
2nd: Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
3rd places: Caitlin Simmers (USA) and Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)

 

Jordy acted like Jeffreys with hot water in 2025

In what were probably the best conditions of the CTs era at Punta Roca, two right-hand point specialists, Jordy Smith and Gabriela Bryan, won at Punta Roca.

The South African, who had been critical of the comparison that the wave is like JBay, finally had to accept that it is valid, and said so at the awards ceremony.

Smith managed to connect tubes with some strong maneuvers over a couple of days when the sea had offshore winds and powerful right-handers. Bryan did the same.

It was also an all-South African final, something that Shaun Tomson later said hadn't happened for several decades.

Below are the results of the best in the stage.

Men
1st: Jordy Smith (RSA)
2nd: Matthew McGillivray (RSA)
3rd places: Griffin Colapinto (USA) and Cole Houshmand (USA)

Women
1nd: Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
2nd: Isabella Nichols (AUS)
3rd places: Caitlin Simmers (USA) and Molly Picklum (AUS)