Jul 27, 2023

Rip Curl Cup Opening Ceremony This Sunday; 24 Invited Surfers To Be Announced

The answer to the question surfing fans around the globe have all been asking will be revealed this Sunday when Rip Curl officially announces the 16 surfers – eight of Indonesia’s best and eight of the world’s greatest barrel hunters – invited to compete in the 20th Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang presented by Samudera Indonesia.

The eight female surfers selected to compete in the first-ever Women’s Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang – split evenly between local and international athletes – will also be revealed.

The 24 total surfer invitations, as well as the men’s and women’s opening round heat draws, will be announced at the Rip Curl Cup Opening Ceremony on Sunday, 30th of July at Padang Padang. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the traditional festivities to bless the event with good waves and pray for the safety of the competing athletes.

Due to a lack of contestable swell at Padang during the month of July, the Local Trials will not be held in 2023. Instead, contest directors will select the four remaining Indonesian surfers qualifying for the main event based on their results in last year’s Rip Curl Cup.

These four “Trials Qualifiers” will be re-seeded along with the top-four Indonesian surfers from last year’s Rip Curl Cup – Mega Semadhi (2nd place in 2022), Mega Artana (3rd place in 2022), Mustofa Jeksen (equal 7th place/Semi-Finalist in 2022), and Garut Widiarta (equal 7th place/Semi-Finalist in 2022) – to once again represent Indonesia and compete against the world's best tube riders at Padang Padang on the heaviest and most dangerous day of waves between 1st-31st of August.

“Unfortunately, the swell never reached the highest standard we need to run the Trials at Padang during the month of July,” said Contest Director James Hendy. “Therefore, we will resort to the cleanest, fairest Plan B option – we will take the back seeds from last year’s Rip Curl Cup Main Event. In other words, the eight local surfers from last year’s main event will be re-seeded into this year’s Rip Curl Cup based upon last year’s results.”

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to run the Trials and showcase the talent of all our amazing local surfers at Padang Padang, particularly the younger generation,” added Hendy. “But hopefully the slow July is a sign that we will see high swell activity during the month of August and a very special Padang swell for the 20-Year Anniversary of the Rip Curl Cup.”

The Opening Ceremony marks the start of the one-month Rip Curl Cup holding period, which runs for the full month of August. The Opening Ceremony celebration will begin promptly this Sunday at 3 PM on the sacred sands of Padang Padang Beach, followed by a meet and greet with the surfers and contest organizers. The day will conclude with the traditional Balinese Kecak Dance performance at sunset.

All media wishing to attend the Rip Curl Cup Opening Ceremony may RSVP to id.media@ripcurl.com by Friday, 28th of July to secure their credentials.

The 2023 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang will be webcast LIVE to the world at ripcurl.com and at worldsurfleague.com. Fans can also visit the Rip Curl website to check the official event swell forecast, real-time contest status, and video updates from Bali.