Why Jeffreys Bay is not on the 2026 WSL Championship Tour

One of South Africa's most iconic surf destinations will be noticeably different in 2026 after the World Surf League (WSL) removed Jeffreys Bay from its Championship Tour schedule.

In January, the WSL confirmed that the famous J-Bay stop would not form part of the 2026 Championship Tour. According to the WSL, the decision was primarily driven by financial considerations, with CEO Ryan Crosby stating that the organisation was unable to secure the level of support required to make the event viable in 2026. The league nevertheless stressed that it remains committed to finding a way back to Jeffreys Bay in the future. The 2026 event has been replaced by a new stop in Raglan, New Zealand, meaning the world's best surfers will not be competing at Supertubes this year.

For travellers and surfers, however, Jeffreys Bay remains as appealing as ever.

Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest right-hand point breaks, J-Bay continues to attract surfers from around the globe thanks to its long, fast walls, reliable winter swells and laid-back coastal atmosphere. The town's beaches, surf schools, restaurants and outdoor lifestyle remain unchanged despite the loss of the international event.

Interestingly, J-Bay Surf Festival dates of 10 to 20 July 2026 continue to be advertised on tourism and festival channels. However, at the time of writing, limited updated information is available following the WSL's withdrawal, and organisers have yet to publish a detailed programme for 2026.

For visitors, that may not necessarily be bad news. Without the crowds, media presence and accommodation demand typically associated with the Championship Tour, surfers may find more space in the water and travellers may enjoy a more relaxed winter visit.

The loss of the WSL event is undoubtedly a disappointment for South African surfing and local tourism. Yet Jeffreys Bay's reputation was built long before professional surfing arrived, and the legendary waves of Supertubes remain among the best on the planet.

Whether you're chasing perfect winter surf, coastal scenery or simply one of South Africa's most iconic beach towns, Jeffreys Bay remains well worth adding to your travel plans in 2026.

 

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The 2019 Women's & Men's World Surfing Leagues Championship Tour returns to Jeffreys Bay in July!

The 2019 Women's and Men's World Surfing League Championship Tour will once again return to Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in July 2019. The Corona JBay Open Men's and Women's surfing contests will take place at Supertubes from 09 July 2019 - 22 July 2019. Like in the previous years, the event forms part of Jeffreys Bay's famous JBay Winterfest (06 July 2019 - 22 July 2019).



The Jbay Winterfest (06 July 2019 - 22 July 2019) is an annual sports and lifestyle festival in Jeffreys Bay. Besides the World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour and various free music shows aka "Live in the Park", the event also hosts a Skins Fishing Tournament, a Funduro dirtbike event, as well as a Trail Run and more. The details of these events will follow. We'll keep you posted!

The 2018 Men's World Surfing Leagues Championship Tour returns to Jeffreys Bay in July 2018!

The 2018 Men's World Surfing League Championship Tour will once again return to Jeffreys Bay in July 2018. The Corona Open J-Bay will take place at Supertubes in South Africa's surfing capital from 02 July 2018 - 17 July 2018. Like in the previous years, the 6th stop on the World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour forms part of the famous JBay Winterfest (02 July 2018 - 17 July 2018).
This year we will also see the Women's Tour in South Africa for the Corona Open JBay Women's event, set to take place from 06 July 2018 to 16 July 2018.


The Jbay Winterfest (02 July 2018 - 17 July 2018) is an annual sports and lifestyle festival in Jeffreys Bay. Besides the World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour, the event also hosts the Oakley X-Over (05 - 06 July 2018), the Funduro (07 July 2018), the Jbay Windfarm MTB Classic (14 July 2018), Endurade JBay X Trail Run (13 - 15 July 2018), Coldwater Classic (08 July 2018) and Skins Fishing Competition (08 July 2018) as well as 12 live music acts who will be performing for free (5 - 7 July 2018 & 12 - 14 July 2018).

The 2017 Men's World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour returns to Jeffreys Bay in July 2017!

The 2017 Men's World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour will once again return to Jeffreys Bay in July 2017. The Corona Open J-Bay will take place at Supertubes in South Africa's surfing capital from 12 July 2017 - 23 July 2017. Like in the previous years, the 6th stop on the World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour forms part of the famous JBay Winterfest.

The beauty of Jeffreys Bay ?? #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/gmEaFgIZ2P

— World Surf League (@wsl) January 17, 2017

The Jbay Winterfest (12 July 2017 - 23 July 2017) is an annual sports and lifestyle festival in Jeffreys Bay.  Besides the World Surfing Leagues' Championship Tour, the event also hosts a music festival, the JBay Windfarm MTB Classic (22 July 2017), the Cold Water Classic (16 July 2017), Jbay Loggers Classic 2017 (21 & 23 July 2017), the Fishing Skins Competition (22 July 2017), the JBU Supertrial (01 June 2017 - 11 June 2017), the Oakley X-Over Challenge (20-21 July 2017), the Endurade Jbay XTrail Run (21 July 2017 - 23 July 2017), the Funduro (22 July 2017) and the Kite Festival (21 July 2017 - 22 July 2017).

Eastern Cape: The attractions of the Kouga Baviaans Surf & Safari Country! (video)

The Emfuleni Corridor Tourism Association (ECTOUR), an umbrella body of tourism associations from various tourism nodes across South Africa's Eastern Cape, has released a new image video highlighting the attractions of the Kouga Baviaans Surf & Safari Country. The region features Jeffreys Bay, St Francis Bay, Cape St Francis, Humansdorp, Hankey, Patensie, Baviaanskloof and is the southern gateway into the Baviaanskloof Mega Wilderness Reserve.

The 2016 Men's Samsung Galaxy World Championship Tour returns to Jeffreys Bay!

The 2016 Men's Samsung Galaxy World Championship Tour will return to Jeffreys Bay in July 2016. The JBay Open of Surfing will take place at Supertubes from the 06-17 July 2016. Like in the years before, the major surfing event will be part of the JBay Winterfest.



The JBay Winterfest (06-17 July 2016) is an annual sports festival in Jeffreys Bay. The main event of the Winterfest is the JBay Open of Surfing, which draws over 10 000 spectators for the final day. Besides the Samsung Galaxy World Championship Tour, the sports festival also hosts the J-Bay MTB Open, the Quiksilver JBay Junior Pro / Roxy JBay Junior Pro, the JBU Supertrial, the Oakley X-Over Challenge, the Cold Water Classic, the Fishing Skins Competition, the J-Bay X Trail Run and a Kite Festival.

Jeffreys Bay: Dates announced for the JBay Winterfest 2015!

(update 29 July 2015): The World Surf League has released the official trailer of the 2015 J-Bay Open!

The organisers of the JBay Winterfest have announced that the 3rd edition of the event will take place from 08 - 19 July 2015 in Jeffreys Bay. Some of the world's top surfers will be back in the coastal town following the confirmation that the JBay Open of Surfing, which forms part of the JBay Winterfest, will once again be a World Championship Tour event.*

JBay Winterfest 2014 Highlights Package from Silver Bullet Productions on Vimeo.
Video credits: Silver Bullet Productions

At this stage it seems that all the events from 2014 will be taking place again in 2015, with the JBay Mountain Bike Open, the Core Sokkie Jol skate event and the Infood Blu Cold Water Swim Classic all confirmed for 2015. The organisers of the JBay Winterfest are currently also planning to add a junior surf contest to cater for the youngsters to the event schedule.

* The JBay Open of Surfing is event #6 on the 2015 Men's Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour!

Jeffreys Bay: Jbay Open - online live footage

The Jbay Open (10 - 20 July 2014), part of the Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour, are currently taking place in Jeffreys Bay. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is broadcasting live from the event via youtube! Enjoy!

Jeffreys Bay returns to ASP World Championship Tour!

Great news for Jeffreys Bay. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) has announced that the town returns to the elite Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour schedule for the 2014 season. The JBay Open, which will serve as the sixth of 11 stops on the 2014 WCT schedule, will take place from 10 - 20 July 2014 at Supertubes. There has been no WCT event in Jeffreys Bay since 2011, when Billabong withdrew their sponsorship of the now defunct JBay Pro. The JBay Open 2014 will be the major draw card of the JBay WinterFest, which also takes place from 10 - 20 July 2014. Jeffreys Bay will be on the WCT schedule in 2015 and 2016.



2014 ASP World Championship Tour:

• Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast:  01 – 12 March 2014
• Margaret River Pro: 02 – 13 April 2014
• Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: 16 – 27 April 2014
• Billabong Rio Pro: 07 – 18 May 2014
• Fiji Pro: 01 – 13 June 2014
• JBay Open: 10 – 20 July 2014
• Billabong Pro Tahiti: 15 – 26 August 2014
• Hurley Pro at Trestles: 09 – 20 September 2014
• Quiksilver Pro France: 25 – October 6 September 2014
• Rip Curl Pro Portugal: 12 – 23 October 2014
• Billabong Pipeline Masters: 08 – 20 December 2014

Jeffreys Bay - South Africa's surfing paradise

Jeffreys Bay, or just Jbay, is South Africa's surfing paradise. Not just because of its famous  "supertubes" surf spot, the annual Billabong Pro ASP World Tour surfing event during July, or the Billabong and Quicksilver outlet stores, but because of its overall surfing kinda atmosphere. Jbay is simply a super enjoyable little town on South Africa's Garden Route that has some awesome backpackers, great beaches and its very own lifestyle! Watch the short video below and you'll know what I mean. Kudos @ Guy Dvorak for the video!

Jeffreys Bay Tiny Showreel from Guy Dvorak on Vimeo.

Jeffreys Bay is situated just off the N2 Highway, about an hours drive southwest of Port Elizabeth.

South African backpackers - Island Vibe Backpackers, Jeffreys Bay

Set on a dune overlooking the beach and the town of Jeffrey's Bay, Island Vibe Backpackers is kinda ideal setting for a holiday destination. All rooms have fantastic sea views and a quick run down the steps gets you straight onto the beach, in the waves. Campers wake to the splish splosh of dolphins, dorm rooms open on to the garden and double en suites have access to balconies that provide the view of a life time.



Their outside bar and restaurant serves excellent value for money meals and a variety of drinks which could lead you to a good boogie session to end the day! Guests in doubles can even request brekkie in bed... Enjoy!

Island Vibe online booking on Hostelbookers >>

Garden Route info guide, tour & accommodation booking >>

Promotional video: The Cacadu District (Eastern Cape, South Africa)

The Cacadu District, which was formerly the Western district, covers the rural western areas of the Eastern Cape province. The coastal parts of the district have temperate winter rainfall, with around 500 -700 mm of rain per year. The Tsitsikamma and Baviaans parks lie in the west of the district close to the Western Cape. The interior of the Cacadu District is mainly dry Karoo and grasslands comprised of commercial farms. In spite of the barren interior, the Sundays and Fish Rivers maintain large irrigated farming and these rivers are supplied by water from the Orange River. The only eco-system not found in the Cacadu District is the true desert. The district is one of the finest game viewing areas in South Africa. It is the place where major cultures in South Africa came into contact.



Accommodation in the Cacadu District: Tsitsikamma & Langkloof | Addo | Jeffreys Bay & St. Francis | Grahamstown | Sunshine Coast | Baviaans & The Gamtoos Valley | Karoo

View Cacudu District in a larger map

also on this blog: Tsitsikamma Treetop Canopy Tour | Hostelworld podcast: Jeffrey's Bay - A surfer's paradise | Shamwari Game Reserve Conservation Project & much more

new Hostelworld podcast: Jeffrey's Bay - A surfer's paradise

Hostelworld.com is currently releasing a series of podcasts about South Africa. The latest one is about Jeffrey's Bay - A surfer's paradise. The coastal town of JBay, situated about an one hour drive from Port Elizabeth on the famous Garden Route, is one of the top surf spots in South Africa and therefore Hostelworld.com's Rebecca Keenan speaks with Andy Thuysman, Chairperson of the Local Boardriders Surf Club in Jeffrey's Bay. Listen to find out more about top surf spots like Supertubes, attractions like the Surf Museum and about the numerous surf shops found in town.

Previous podcasts:

• Wine Capital of South Africa
• Johannesburg - Gateway to Kruger National Park
• Pretoria - At the Union Buildings
• Port Elizabeth - Highlights of the Garden Route

accommodation in Jeffrey's Bay >>

Garden Route info guide >>

online car hire >>

podcast from & about (Southern) Africa >>

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay 09 July - 19 July 2009

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, held from 9 -19 July 2009 marks the halfway point on the ASP World Tour.

The world's top 45 surfers are currently meeting up in Jeffreys Bay for the 24th edition of the Billabong Pro, Stop No.5 of 10 on the 2009 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour. Supertubes, the 300 meter stretch of coastline universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s top 10 high performance surf breaks, is again the venue for what has become Africa’s most prestigious and lucrative surfing tournament.

Watch it LIVE on www.billabongpro.com

online flight booking >>
rental cars booking >>
accommodation online booking >>
tours along the Garden Route >>

Ubuntu Backpackers, Jeffreys Bay

If you are going to Jeffrey's Bay Ubuntu should be the accommodation of your choice! Great place, brilliant vibe and amazing people from around the world! Check it out!

Ubuntu Backpackers on hostelworld.com >>
Ubuntu Backpackers on hostelbookers.com >>
more about Jeffreys Bay >>