Cover photo: Tilly at 17 winning the 2015 world title at 17 years old. By WSL/Hayden Smith 

Caitlin Simmers' 18 years and 316 days make her the youngest WSL World Tour shortboard champion in history.

It should be said all this: WSL World Tour and shortboarding, well, there was a younger world champion on the WSL tour and another, even younger, in what was the ISA before, the ISF, for International Surfing Federation. As Joel Tudor pointed out in a post after Caity Simmers won the title.

“The youngest world champion in history! 15-year-old Margo Oberg! She won her first world title in 1968 at Domes, Puerto Rico on a Mike Doyle mini model… Margo would go on to win four more world titles spanning the longboard to shortboard era, making her the third most-titled female world champion behind Layne Beachley’s seven world titles and Steph Gilmore’s eight,” Tudor wrote.

Meanwhile, in the world of longboarding, Rachael Tilly won the WSL World Title in 2015. She was 17 years old at the time and is, as far as we know, the youngest A-tour (i.e. non-QS) or WSL division world champion in history.

More than one Internet user wrote reaffirming what Tilly herself states on her personal website: “I am a world champion surfer and I left my name in history when I became the youngest to win the world title at 17 years old.”

Rachael Tilly was born on 31 March 1998 and won her first world title on 7 December 2015. At the time, she was 17 years, eight months and five days old, which meant she was more than a year younger than Caitlin Simmers.

Another important fact is that it was also said that Simmers is the first Californian champion since Kim Mearing (champion in 1983/1984). The young Tilly is also from California, so this clarification is pertinent.

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