Cover photo by WSL/Nico Diaz

The World Surf League's junior world championships will return after more than three years away from being held at a beach to be announced in California between January 9 and 15, the WSL announced in a recent statement sent to competitors, which was accessed by DUKE.

If the tournament's performance is repeated in the last edition, the event will feature the best 24 men and 18 women in the world, ranked by the seven regional offices of the WSL.

The best two men and the best two women will qualify for South America. With two events still to be held in the regional pro-youth tour, Heitor Muller leads the men's event and Diego Aguiar is second; Sol Aguirre is first in the women's event and Tainá Hinckel is second.

The two U20 competitions that remain to be held are the Saquarema Surf Festival Pro Junior in a few weeks in October and the Punta Rocas Open Pro from November 15 to 20.

The best three results from four events held will be added to the ranking.

This is the current South American top 10: