Cover photo: WSL 

The WSL Junior World Championships will be held in the waves of La Union, Philippines, from January 13-19, the WSL announced today in a press release.

This event, which was held the last two years in California, returns to Asia, but in a new location since it had never been held on the waves of Urbiztondo Beach, in La Union, Philippines.

The event will feature the 24 men and 24 women classified by the WSL regions and the wildcards awarded by the WSL.

Among them are the Peruvians Arena Rodriguez and Catalina Zariquiey and the Spaniards Annette González Etxebarri and Dylan Donegan; the guests have yet to be defined.

There are four events remaining on the global youth events calendar: one in Indonesia, one in China and two in Australia.

“The Junior World Championships is one of the most prestigious individual events on the World Surf League calendar. It’s an elite event to win and gives the world a real insight into who could be competing for world titles on the Championship Tour in the future. It also gives the field of emerging junior talent an incredible introduction to one-on-one competition in a CT format on the world stage. Competing in and winning this event remains one of the highlights of my professional surfing career,” said WSL Commissioner Jessi Miley-Dyer.

WSL APAC President Andrew Stark said: “The World Surf League is very excited to bring the World Junior Championships to the Philippines. We look forward to seeing it contested in a new location in 2025. The waves at La Union are high-performance and will suit the exciting style of surfing that the world’s best juniors will bring. The WSL would like to thank the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board for their support ahead of this event.”