[rock music playing]
[announcer 1] Welcome back to the finals day.
Surf City, USA, here in Huntington Beach, California.
Sophia Medina taking on Sally Fitzgibbons.
Sally is someone that was on the Championship Tour
for more than ten years.
She's one of the best surfers in the world.
Sally has been someone that I watched my whole life.
So it's a mix of feelings going up against her
To be the best you got to beat the best.
So we're going after her, you know?
[upbeat pop music playing]
[announcer 1] This is Women's Quarterfinal, Number two.
In red, Sophia Medina.
And in blue, Sally Fitzgibbons.
[announcer 2] Great battle here of the veteran and the youth.
[announcer 1] Sally Fitzgibbons.
[announcer 3] Beautiful speed, and then... that around.
Medina.
Beautiful hold of the rail.
Wow, that was a really nice two-turn combo out the back.
Leading her way all the way to the inside.
Really, really like this wave.
[announcer 1] Throws the tail. Does she come out?
[announcer 2] How about that cool-looking carve on the open face?
And hits it off the lip.
Sophia Medina now on the peak.
Got a fun wall in front of her,
going for a big first turn right into a swoop.
And that wave's gonna flatten out.
And with that wave, she will take the lead.
The priority surfer, Sally Fitzgibbons.
Little ledge peak, thin throw reverse.
A much better version of a rotator,
as she had clear liftoff off the top of the wave.
[announcer 3] Wow.
[announcer 1] And look at the score. It's in already.
Sally, 7.5.
Sophia, your requirement now is a 6.74.
Okay, here we go. Look at this.
Medina chasing a 6.74.
Heading towards the pier. Bangs it up on the lip.
And it comes undone.
I don't think that wave's gonna replace the 4.9.
But staying busy.
Further inside!
[announcer 1] Sophia Medina on this right.
Ooh, what an opening turn.
Solid wave for Sophia Medina from Brazil.
Doing well to keep the flow and hopefully connect with something on the inside.
And she does give it up.
Sophia Medina in the red, fighting back there,
looking for a 6.74 on that right.
Whoo!
Nice!
[announcer 1] On the hunt. Will she get it?
All right, a 6.17.
Close, but just under.
[announcer 2] Sophia trying to find some room.
Sally with a decision to make.
She's gonna let the Brazilian take this right.
Chasing a 6.24.
Tries to show off an air reverse there, but she'll get stuck.
Nice try there for Sophia.
Has been working really hard to just give herself a chance.
Good! Good! That's it!
[announcer 2] And now, with 10 seconds to go,
Fitzgibbons will probably just take this one with priority
and take it into the beach for a victory.
-And she'll get the heat win. -[horn blows]
Fitzgibbons moves on to the semifinals.
[pop music playing]
-What can you do? -You did well.
I should have taken it.
-But only on the last one. -I couldn't.
I didn't have the strength.
For her wave... She was able to punt,
because the waves merged.
It happens, but you surfed well.
Thanks, Dad.
-Pity. -Pity.
-She's very good. -The sea was rough.
Yes.
-I tried. -It was taking too long.
I lost to Sal, Sally Fitzgibbons.
I really wanted a better result.
But at the same time, I have improved my rankings to 10th place.
Since there are only two competitions left,
I need to keep making heats to hold this spot.
Portugal is the next competition, and it can be a tricky wave.
[jet engine roaring]
[Francisca] I'm really lucky that I live in Portugal.
I like the culture. The food is great.
Everybody's just so nice and welcoming.
You have some of the best waves in the world.
[Jessie] Portugal is the fifth stop on tour.
Unfortunately, a lot of people would say they don't like that wave.
It's so hard to surf.
This is the coolest water I have been in,
and it's really hard to find the right waves.
[Sophia] It's tricky and unpredictable.
So in this contest, you've got to be careful about your choices.
[upbeat music playing]
[Rodrigo] Looks good.
I think we're gonna have waves every day.
Let's hope it stays like this. Sunny, but a bit of wind.
Because it makes it easier to...
do big turns.
Looks maybe fun here to try the new board and stuff,
and let's pray for pretty good event.
It's been a while since we surfed good waves in a contest,
so that's all we want. Just waves and consistent heats.
Makes it easier when you have a lot of opportunities to surf.
-Yeah. So fun. -Instead of just sitting and waiting...
[Jessie] I'm the 2022 World Junior Champion.
Winning is something special.
It's a feeling that's really addicting,
and I wish I could feel it even more times.
So I need to win the Challenger and stay on top.
Oh!
[upbeat percussive music playing]
-Hello. -Hey.
-How are you? -Good.
Let's go.
[both laughing]
Uh, this is a different cone.
[laughs]
[Ēwelei'ula] I've never had chestnuts before.
Yeah, so you just peel it off and you have to take everything you see
until it gets, like, yellow.
Mm-hmm.
[laughs]
It's dry.
It's good.
This is a really Portuguese thing, too.
I love that one of the stops of the Challenger Series
is in my home country.
-Feeling like something sweet? -[Ēwelei'ula] Yup.
I'm proud to be Portuguese,
and it's fun to show the surfer girls our food and culture.
[Ēwelei'ula] What do you normally get?
I usually get a pastel de nata.
It's really classic here in Portugal.
Surfing in the ocean brings me to all these places
and connects us all.
Seeing what's similar to home, what's super different.
Pastel de nata.
-Did I say that right? -Yeah.
Oh, it's so...
Your teeth are gonna get dirty.
[both laugh]
[loud crunch]
[giggles]
What kind of food do you normally eat?
I love octopus.
The octopus is called polvo à lagareiro.
I've never had, like, a traditional, traditional Hawaiian meal, I don't think.
Have you had poi before?
It's like taro and water,
and you, like, smash it, and it's like a paste.
I've never had it. Okay, you speak fluent Hawaiian?
-Yes. -And you learned it in school?
My mom and dad learned it in college,
and then taught it to me when I was, like, first born.
So English and Hawaiian are my first languages.
-It's a pretty language. -Thank you.
It doesn't seem like it's that close to Portuguese because...
It's very different.
I love Hawaii.
Are you coming back this winter?
[Francisca] Um, yeah, I think so. Yeah.
I always go at a time that's where everything's happening.
-So it's like the most crowded... -Can't get waves.
...to surf pipe and all those scary waves.
Yeah.
Last year's pipe contest, I hit my head really hard
and got ten staples in the back of my head.
-It's very dramatic. -It's no joke.
That was a scary moment.
Yeah, very scary.
I'm always gonna take my helmet, that's for sure.
-Learned my lesson. -[both laugh]
[upbeat rock music playing]
[gasps]
[Sophia] What a beautiful city.
Everything deserves a picture.
We can go here.
My outfit matches.
Aim it more at the blue part.
[Sophia] Pizza.
-Sophia? -Hello!
-What's up?
-Hey, what's up? -How's it going?
-Hello, Sophia. Nice to meet you. -What's up?
-Nice to meet you. -If you wanna eat a nice pizza,
-just come here. -We will.
[Sophia] I love being a Medina.
I'm proud of the name.
But everyone would see me and say, "Oh, Gabriel's little sister."
Now I've been paving my own path.
-Nice! Thank you. -Thank you! Bye.
[Sophia] People are seeing female Brazilian surfing
as a thing now, and that's cool.
[electronic pop music playing]
[ukulele music playing]
♪ Hiding in the dark ♪
♪ Looking at the stars ♪
♪ Wishing one day She could feel like one ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ She's all right ♪
♪ She's right... ♪
[Sol] After Ballito and the U.S. Open,
I felt like I really wasn't flowing with my surfing, you know?
Like I wasn't connecting with myself and the surfboard.
But coming to Portugal here after one month at home,
I think I'm recharged and I have a new approach.
All I know.
You need to be very mentally prepared to battle the challenges
that competition brings you.
To sing and play music makes me release energy.
So having my ukulele's like having a friend.
So every time if I feel alone,
I can play and I feel good.
[strumming]
[pop music playing]
[announcer 1] It's the EDP Ericeira Pro.
Stop five of six on the Challenger Series.
Doesn't feel quite as cold as yesterday.
But not warm by any means.
Having Mom and Tutu here with me is helping to remind me
that I not only want to do well in this competition for myself,
but I also want to make Hawaii and my Lahui proud.
[announcer 1] The world's best challengers are out here to compete
for the glittering prize of spots for the 2025 Championship Tour.
Tea was like the best call ever.
Thank you.
But that means I'm going to have to pee.
Yeah, I know.
In my wetsuit.
Lovely.
[Sol] I think I'm with a new attitude here in Portugal.
I have a new approach in what life and competition means,
but I'm still nervous
because it's been a month since I competed.
So my heat strategy today is to not sink too deep
and trust my surfing.
[announcer 1] Our first heat of the day we're on half an hour for four women.
Try and find scores, try and stay alive.
Here goes Janire.
On the back hand.
And here goes Benedetto with some speed.
Loads up off the top.
Here goes Sol.
It's a smaller wave. No one else wanted it.
She'll go, "All right, let's go."
And she's up.
Keeps her energy in the pocket.
[announcer 2] With the turns, with just a mistake at the end.
Shoot that went really well.
[announcer 1] Seven on the clock here, and the packs scatter.
Benedetto in the lead at the moment.
This is Janire González Etxabarri.
Bang! Into the lip.
There goes Sol. She needs something. She's in fourth place.
There's a carve and snap on a big face.
And that's a great combo.
[announcer 2] That was a great turn.
The first real explosive turn we've seen.
Should be enough to get up in second place.
[announcer 1] The judges love a combo and turn.
Last score comes in for Sol.
It's a 5.73.
Puts her into the top two.
She's straight into action once again.
[announcer 2] Second place finishes blue,
Sol Aguirre...
[announcer 1] So Aguirre, the Peruvian,
with that combination that was dramatic.
[announcer 2] Sol's just picking better waves and making her turns better.
[laughs] I'm happy. Finally.
I'm stoked to make it to second round.
Ericeira day one!
The early bird catches the worm.
We started the day right!
[laughs]
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Lu'ukia] Have fun, babe.
Love you.
[Ēwelei'ula] I've gotten some great coaching in Huntington,
which is helping me go into Portugal with a new mindset.
So I hopefully overcome my hurdle in competition.
And if I do well in competition,
I can hopefully requalify for the Challenger next year.
[announcer 1] We are into round of 48, heat six of the women.
And we are straight into our incredible stacked heat.
[dramatic music plays]
[announcer 1] Ēwe's got one on the inside.
She's up for a first wave.
Nice turn on the pocket.
Oh, that's a great turn.
What?
[announcer 1] Can she hang on? And she can't.
So that is a great two-turn combo.
Beautiful.
[announcer 2] There it is, 7.83. Best wave of the event so far?
-Definitely of the morning. Yeah. Exactly.
Bang on there. She absolutely smashed that wave.
So she is way out in front with a really, really solid heat score already.
Don't go too far out, girl.
[announcer 1] Morning and groove waiting for a bit more spray there.
Calves in the pocket.
Down the line. Waiting for a big finish, if she can. Goes for it.
Oh! That a girl.
Go, go, go.
[announcer 1] Ēwe Wong, the heat leader, she's up.
-[Lu'ukia] Whoo! -[Virginia] Very nice.
-Whoo-hoo! All right. [announcer 2] Now blue, taking a look...
[announcer 1] There's that trademark turn she's shown us already.
It's a bit more frothy, which makes life a little bit harder,
but she's dealt with it well again.
[announcer 2] Free surfing right in the pocket.
[suspenseful music playing]
[announcer 1] Ēwe Wong.
She's not afraid to give it another go.
Nice clean face.
Room to move, a little cut down there.
Go, go, go.
[announcer 1] And another.
She's not able to get any type of steep face.
You're good. Let's go.
[announcer 1] And there's plenty of swell filling in.
Kemp chasing a 4.34.
Not a big number.
She knows she has to put it on the line.
Second turn's gonna be crucial.
So, sweeping car, but just cannot get the finish.
Meanwhile, heat leader Wong.
She's had the best waves
and has surfed the best on them, hence the lead.
And she's looking really sparky,
getting nice connections
and just always a little bit more sort of...
Good job, baby.
Whoo-hoo!
[announcer 2] Congratulations, Ēwelei'ula Wong.
A surfer from Hawaii advances to the next round.
I just surfed my first heat and I won.
It feels really good, and I felt like myself.
So I'm just staying busy, and I just was having fun, honestly.
This is Mom's first event with me of the year,
and I think that was, like, one of my best heats that I surfed all year.
So, good to have her here in person.
[pop music playing]
[Kenzy] Do you want to do blueberries?
[Jessie] Yeah, I did it the other day and it was amazing.
[Kenzy] All right.
-It's ready. -[Jessie] Go.
-It's so pretty, I think. -Nice.
Right.
Let's give grace.
All right, so hold hands, Jessie.
[all laugh]
Sorry.
[Beto] God, thanks so much for this food. Thanks for the beautiful day.
Thanks so much for Jessie being here with us.
Bless her, the heats that she has to surf.
And, uh, yeah, hope to have a good day today.
In your precious name, amen.
-Amen. -Amen.
-Thank you so much. -Right, let's go!
[Jessie] I met Beto and Kenzy through the Christian Surfers network,
which allows me to connect to amazing people all over the world.
And they open their homes to surfers like me
so we have somewhere to stay and people to be with.
From Huntington, I decided to go home for three weeks.
I had three weeks' training with my dad.
Unfortunately, he couldn't make it, but I'm so glad we had that time.
I'm stoked to be in Portugal, and although I'm alone,
I've got a lot to work with because we already prepared for this.
So, Jessie, how are you feeling for your heat?
Uh, I'm excited.
I always get, like, excited to compete.
Uh, it's interesting comp--
or, like, preparing without my dad here.
You do have to apply yourself and just be like your biggest critic.
But then also, like, got to give yourself some support and encouragement.
Otherwise, you'll probably just crumble being too hard on yourself.
And this is your first stop without him, right?
First stop this year without him.
We wanted to even get my mom to come this year.
But it was such a terrible year.
Like, money-wise, and every comp was--
I mean, every trip was, like, so expensive.
And then, like, we had our car break down.
So, what was gonna be, like, hopefully all three of us became, like, just me.
It's very nice to have you here.
I am so grateful, and my family keeps going,
"Please make sure that you say 'thank you' for us."
Like, we're so grateful that...
And I feel comfortable that I've got good people around.
That I'm not just, like, alone in a foreign country.
I'll never be able to thank you enough.
It's such a privilege, and you're such a joy to have.
Seriously, it's so fun.
-[Beto] Yeah. -[Kenzy] All right.
-Ready to surf? -[Beto] Let's go.
Let's go.
[Jessie] It's the morning of the comp, and I'm so excited.
I'm praying that this event goes well
and that I can make some heats and some prize money.
My parents make such a sacrifice.
I would love to go home with a bit of cash and a much better result.
Given my recent heat mistakes,
my strategy at this stage is to get a lot more waves.
than I've been getting.
I'm surfing against Kika.
Kika's surfed here a lot because she's from close by,
so she definitely is well experienced.
It's gonna add a bit more of a challenge.
[rock music playing]
Welcome to day two, women's EDP Ericeira Pro.
Trust yourself, let it come.
-Let it come. -I just wanna shout.
It will be fine, take it easy.
Keep going forward.
You heard me? Move forward.
Wait, come from the back, wait.
You go back and wait.
I just want to get in.
-Soon -I will try.
Eighteen minutes.
When she says she is ready, she is on.
Twelve to go.
When I didn't have priority, I went there.
-Yeah, because this is immediately-- -Yeah, if you make two big turns there,
it's where the... Five turns from there.
Yeah. I think the judges will love this way more.
I want to be catching more waves. That's been my downfall throughout.
I need to get on waves immediately
and be a lot less selective.
-Good luck. -Thank you.
I want to be busy in my heat.
I only get nervous when it comes to choosing waves.
Then catch lots of them.
If I get good results in these last two events,
could be a big possibility to save my spot in the top ten.
So that's my goal, just to take it heat by heat.
And I'm really excited to get out there.
I love this wave, so hopefully I can get some good ones.
[horn blows]
[announcer 1] All right, let's set this one up.
In red, a wave underway already, Kika Veselko.
[announcer 2] Yeah, nice carve here.
A really long line.
Kika, she has the right tempo...
I feel like she always waits a lot in between her maneuvers,
and leads the way really well.
[cheers and applause]
This is white, Jessie,
with a bit of an under-the-lip snap.
Gets around it. Wave...
Gets a bit sleepy.
So she's just waiting for the wave to kind of open up, and bang.
[announcer 1] And here it goes, a good-looking set
for the 2022 World Junior Champ.
Kika Veselko driving down the line,
and keeps that rail in the water.
Just buries it, commits hard to the turn.
That one snaps out a bit whippy.
Does well to control it, but again really looking for a section
to hit hard there.
Gives it the treatment to finish on the end.
[applause and whistles]
For Niekerk, this heat's fired up.
Loads more action. It was a sluggish start.
And now we're on.
There goes Jessie. She'll snap that once.
So get caught behind in her last fight, this one much more in the pocket
and able to really see sections
with point scoring opportunities.
[announcer 2] This was the best wave of Jessie so far.
She didn't fall.
She put together a couple of maneuvers, and this last one was really nice.
[announcer 1] Here's the Brazilian, Hinckel.
A bit meaty section here,
and loads of power driving that rail.
And really finding her way.
Explosive into the lip, just the line to get ultra aggressive.
Does very well to hang on.
So, it'll be interesting to see where this one goes.
Meanwhile, whoa, that was a wicked quick snap from Veselko.
A little carve into a pocket here, and look down the line.
She seen something that she likes. She'll get there and go into the lip.
Meanwhile, here's Tya, whoa!
Great first hit.
Such good timing.
There's the jam on the rail.
Even the setup turns look sparky.
-She needs a finish here. Wow.
[announcer 1] She'll drift out the tail.
The pressure now on Kika Veselko.
Drops to third.
I know that Kika can do it, but she's in a hard position right now.
[announcer 2] She served so well here every time and every year.
So quite of a shocker, in my opinion, if she loses in this round.
[horn blows]
[announcer 1] A disappointment for Portugal,
in terms of Kika Veselko bowing out.
[Filipa] That maneuver was pretty risky, actually.
[man on PA] Last of red, Kika Veselko,
with a 4.57.
The last of red.
4.57, so it was impossible for Kika Veselko
to jump to the second place.
[dramatic music playing]
How can this be real?
Your moves were good.
Your timing was off.
Just a tad behind.
That one at the end.
And the first one.
If anyone had caught the first one
instead of the second one...
It would be better.
You were there, but you were waiting for her to go.
In fourth place, white,
Jessie Van Niekerk.
[Jessie] That wasn't, like, my best surfing.
So I just want more opportunities to be in a position to qualify for the CT.
But if it takes ten years,
I'm gonna work as hard as I can,
in the big picture.
[laid-back music playing]
Hello.
I'm here to collect some prize money.
Your name, please?
Jessie Van Niekerk. From South Africa.
Okay.
Even though I got knocked out straightaway,
when you qualify for the Challenger events,
you do earn prize money per round.
And each round, it probably doubles, roughly.
It goes a long way financially.
Is it a bank transfer?
-[woman] No, no. -It's cash? Yay!
[woman laughs]
[Jessie] So much easier.
But I should check it for you. Okay, perfect.
Also...
Yes, perfect.
-Okay. -Thank you, guys.
Bye.
It will go a long way. It will.
Brazil accommodation and my flight to home.
[laughs]
Yay.
[upbeat music playing]
[Rodrigo] We're going back to the heat.
I was really impressed on how you handled the loss.
I felt like I surfed pretty well,
even though there were a couple of mistakes.
And now I know for next time.
I feel like we've been punished
because of the waves.
I don't know, I think it's the same conditions for everyone,
and there's no excuses.
Let's go to the last wave you got. The layback.
There was one way that this layback could have been the score.
[Francisca] It wasn't really a layback. I laid back, but...
Being too hard on yourself.
No, look, look how the board just flowed--
-[Rodrigo] That's a layback. -[Francisca] But it floats.
It's like just a normal turn.
[Rodrigo] I think it was a really good turn.
This is a very hard turn to do,
especially in this wave.
For it to be the score,
there was only one thing missing.
Throw the tail in that direction
so that the nose could get underneath you.
And it would be easier for you to stand up
because you would have, like, the board underneath your body.
And Brazil's just around the corner.
And it's tough to be on that top five, and...
Only the consistent people are gonna make it.
We have to prioritize consistency.
Just get out of the water proud.
Make heats. Reset.
And always be ready for war.
Yeah, that's it. I like that.
[upbeat music playing]
In the beginning of the year, we decided not to do the Qualifying Series,
and I think it was pretty good, right?
Like, it worked.
The regional Qualifying Series
and the Challenger Series happen at the same time.
This year, I decided to focus solely on the Challenger Series.
So it means that I don't get the points that I usually make from the QS.
That means that the only way to secure my spot on the Challenger Series next year
is to make it to the top.
That's a big risk, but you got to take big risks to achieve big things.
I think I have a big chance to qualify on the Challenger Series, right?
Yeah, it's a great chance, yeah.
Have a chance because in this year is the first year
you make a semifinals.
Yes.
And if you make a semifinals,
is possible make a finals.
True.
Coffee?
Yes, please.
I look at the ranking.
This year, you were in 10th.
I was 30th place last year,
and this year I am 10th, so...
Mm.
We just got to practice a lot on the waves
that it's gonna be a day event.
Yeah, but...
here is very crowded.
So crowded.
All the girls surf really good here,
um, especially the Portuguese girls.
Like, they know how to read the wave well.
I think it's difficult because it's a point break,
but at the same time there's not like a place
where it breaks all the time.
Every day, you need to believe.
-Yeah. -Believe in you.
Because if you don't believe in you,
what then?
You have a pretty good mental state,
and you kind of share that with me.
That's pretty cool.
Work.
-The secret. -Yeah.
-Work hard. -Work hard.
I think this year was the best year for you.
And I am very proud of you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Dad. Yes.
And you are in evolution.
-I'll try my best. -Yeah.
-Every single event. -Yeah. This is important.
Every day, happy to surf. This is important.
When in the morning, you surf, and then this breakfast.
-Oh, my God. -[both laugh]
-We're happy. -This is very happy.
Yeah. We're living our best lives.
Another coffee?
No. Enough coffee.
[laughs]
[upbeat pop music playing]
[announcer 1] Good morning from Ericeira, Portugal.
The Challenger Series back on the shores of Europe this autumn.
And the order of business is trying to qualify
for the 2025 Championship Tour through the Challenger Series.
Stop five of six.
It's the EDP Ericeira Pro.
Yeah, it's gonna be super tight.
[rock music playing]
Want to go in this little space right there where there's less people?
[announcer 1] Incredible conditions, incredible surfing.
I'm happy that I had a great first round
and that my family is here to help me with my nerves.
Have fun and try, that's it, okay? That's it.
[announcer 1] A lot of action.
[Sophia] Every single surfer here,
they are all good.
So I just go with a lot of respect,
and I know it's gonna be a hard heat.
I'm a little bit nervous
because there is no chance of me not getting it.
I have to do well.
I have to make top two in this heat
in order to keep my rankings in the Challenger Series.
So failure is not an option.
[Ēwelei'ula] I have to be very selective with my word choice
because paddle out is really long
and you only get 30 minutes in a heat.
And realistically, I only get about two to three chances
to manufacture a good score.
[man on PA] The time call: 15 minutes remaining.
[cheers and applause]
[announcer 1] Making rounds is Sophia Medina.
Ten on the ratings as well, the Brazilian.
Ēwelei'ula Wong of Hawaii.
Also out there in white and green, it'll be Sol Aguirre of Peru.
[Sol] So excited to get up to surf
against Sophia and Ēwe.
We're good friends, but competing is competing.
My goal is to fight for those waves
and don't let anybody get in my way because I'm planning on winning.
[Ēwelei'ula] I really want to make it to the final,
so I need to make my next heat.
[Sophia] Once I get in the water, it's just me in the ocean,
and nothing gets in my way.
[horn blows]
[punk music playing]
[percussive music playing]