Cloudbreak, Fiji, will be the location for the 2025 WSL Finals, moving from San Clemente California. Photo: WSL/Ed Sloane
The worlds best surfers will battle it out in Cloudbreak Fiji for the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) finals, moving from California.
The wave located off the island of Tavarua is also returning this year as the last regular championship tour stop in August - the last event was held in 2017.
The Championship Tour first hosted a competition at Cloudbreak in 1999.
Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill told RNZ Pacific he was "stoked" by the finals announcement.
"We're really excited about it, obviously it took us a few years of working with the WSL to be able to get the Fiji Pro to come back," he said.
"But the cherry on top was the announcement that the finals are going to be in Fiji."
Cloudbreak has the reputation of being one of the most perfect waves in the world but it's also a serious one breaking over shallow reef.
Hill said it is best to be left to the good surfers.
"It's not a wave that you mess around on. There's a lot of water, a lot of power behind it, it's something else to see it when it's really going.
"It's a beautiful wave and to hear the pros talking about it being their favourite wave in the world, it's just something that Fiji has to capitalise on."
WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby said hosting at Cloudbreak "is going to be incredible".
"As our surfers continue to push the limits at every event, Cloudbreak will be the perfect place to showcase their progression and crown our World Champions next year," he said in a statement.
Hill said as well as surfing becoming a growing part of the tourism sector - matching and maybe even surpassing golf - there's a growing number of local surfers.
He said Fiji gets a wildcard entry both for men and women in the August event.
"We've got a couple of guys that are local chargers that get out there and really rip it so we're hoping that they can do really well.
"Fiji won our first Olympic medal with rugby sevens but really outside of rugby sevens it falls away pretty quickly in terms of our participation but now that surfing is an Olympic sport it's a really aspirational and believable goal that maybe we can get a Fijian into the Olympics.
"We're certainly seeing more young grommets come through who are getting out there which is really good to see."
Hill said his understanding was Cloudbreak stopped being on tour post 2017 because the Fiji government was not willing to make the financial commitment to the event.
"Then obviously Covid sort of came in as well and that sort of really killed any sort of discussions.
"We approach major events very much from a tourism economic activity perspective. I think the critical thing that that is happening this time around that perhaps never happened before is it's much more accessible now to the public.
"For people that are around Port Denarau there'll be a lot of activity whereas I think perhaps previously it was really inaccessible and just out on the island."
The WSL has signed a three-year partnership with the Fijian government, which will continue through 2026.
Fiji's placement within the Tour schedule will be determined each season.
The year's finals will be held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente California in September.
