The intermittent WSL World Masters Championship returns to the Azores Islands of Portugal from September 18-23 after a seven-year hiatus. The organisers announced some details of the event in a press release today.

Three categories will be contested: Masters (+45), men's and women's, and Grand Masters (+55), men only.

To determine the invitees, the world ranking from 76 onwards was used and the following list was reached:

Ladies
1- Beachley,Layne (AUS)
2- Burridge,Pam (AUS)
3- Menczer,Pauline (AUS)
4- Ballard, Rochelle (HAW)
6- Zamba,Frieda (USA)
5- Jodie Cooper (AUS)

Men Masters (+45):
1- Potter,Martin (GBR)
2- Garcia,Sunny (HAW)
3- Elkerton,Gary (AUS)
4- Hardman,Damien (AUS)
5- Hey,Derek (HAW)
6- Curren,Tom (USA)
7- Occhilupo,Mark (AUS)
8- Egan,Luke (AUS)
9- Macaulay,Dave (AUS)
10- Gouveia,Fabio (BRA)
11- Beschen, Shane (USA)
12- Alexandre,Joao (PRT)

Men Grand Masters (+55):
1- Tomson,Shaun (ZAF)
2- Bartholomew,Wayne (AUS)
3- Hey, Michael (HAW)
4- Horan,Cheyne (AUS)
5- Hedemann,Hans (HAW)
6- Winton,Glen (AUS)
7- Anderson,Simon (AUS)
8- Kerbox,Buzzy (HAW)
9- Buchanan,Iain (NZL)

The list is solid, although the criteria leaves out a good number of surfers who at that age could give the aforementioned legends a run for their money. It is worth looking at the last ISA championships, for example, where on more than one occasion several surfers who were not on the tour in the seventies and eighties beat those who were.