Liga MEO Surf presents calendar and opens doors to non-EU surfers
- The first stage takes place in Figueira da Foz at the end of March;
- Porto and Matosinhos, Ericeira, Ribeira Grande, and Peniche complete the list;
- Non-EU surfers residing in Portugal will be able to compete;
- Junior Tour presents itself with 3 stages in 2023;
Liga MEO Surf, the 1st division of Portuguese surfing, presented its program of activities for the 2023 season, with the start of the season scheduled for the end of March in Figueira da Foz. The main national surf competition continues with stages in Porto and Matosinhos, Ericeira, Ribeira Grande, and Peniche, in a competitive structure similar to the previous season.
MEO Surf League Calendar 2023
Liga#1 – 24th to 26th March – Allianz Figueira Pro
Liga#2 – 21st to 23rd April – Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro
Liga#3 – 10th to 12th of June – Allianz Ericeira Pro
Liga#4 – 23rd to 25th of June – Allianz Ribeira Grande Pro
Liga#5 – 27th to 29th October – Bom Petisco Peniche Pro
Francisco Rodrigues, President of the National Association of Surfers
“We are very excited about what the 2023 season has in store for us. After seeing a renewal of the men’s national title last year, with Guilherme Ribeiro taking the lead, it is always with enthusiasm that we follow what younger talents, such as Matias Canhoto, may bring of additional interest to all closely follow the evolution of national surfing. We now have the possibility of participation of non-community surfers residing in Portugal, another factor that will certainly bring more competitiveness. In the case of ladies, we currently have the best generation ever in Portugal. Between Teresa Bonvalot, with season management sharing efforts with the elite stages of world surfing where she was assigned a participation spot, and Francisca Veselko, who honored us all with the junior world title, using a loanword: “hats off ” for our ladies! They are absolute to be congratulated!”
Luíza Galindo, Director of Marketing and Communication at MEO
“We are very pleased to be partners with the National Surfers Association for another three years and to be, once again, alongside the best national surfers. Portugal’s relationship with the sea goes back a long way – it takes us back to the Discoveries – and for us, MEO, it continues to be a source of pride to support this sport, which attracted a considerable number of fans from all over the world. Surf is much more than a sport, it is a lifestyle with its own values and one of the ambassadors of tourism in Portugal. It is with great pride that we have been contributing to the growth of renowned athletes in Portuguese surfing, either through individual sponsorship or through the dynamization and continuous commitment of the MEO Surf League.”
In what is the 13th edition of Liga MEO Surf, the return of national stars to Portuguese beaches takes place within six weeks, with Guilherme Ribeiro and Teresa Bonvalot defending the national titles of 2022, and competing with the status of leaders with the lycra yellow Go Chill.
National Champions last 5 years (2018 to 2022)
2022 – Guilherme Ribeiro and Teresa Bonvalot
2021 – Vasco Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko
2020 – Frederico Morais and Teresa Bonvalot
2019 – Miguel Blanco and Yolanda Hopkins
2018 – Miguel Blanco and Camilla Kemp
Guilherme Ribeiro, national surf champion 2022
“I feel extremely well prepared to attack 2023. This is a season that already comes from a 3-month pre-season. Since the last stage of the MEO Surf 2022 League, in November, I started to prepare, even spending a month training in Hawaii. I think I prepared better than ever and that 2023 has everything going well. My ambitions for this year are the same as for 2022. I’m going to go all out to win, thinking step by step, without thinking about the final accounts. It is in the last stage that the calculations are made and, regardless of the place, I always go there with the same objective: to win!”
Teresa Bonvalot, 2022 national surf champion
“I’m really motivated for 2023. Right now I’m competing on the World Tour, where I want to be, and it’s been an unbelievable experience. I want to make the most of this moment. This means that I still don’t know my calendar well and, therefore, I still don’t know if I will be able to compete in the MEO Surf League or not. I believe this will be an even better year than the last, always trying to absorb all the experiences to become a better athlete and person”.
In a logic of clashing talents and generations, many good values will also fight for the top titles in the Portuguese competitive scene, with Frederico Morais (member of the world surfing elite in the period between 2017 and 2022), Francisca Veselko (recently crowned champion world junior of the World Surf League and national champion in 2021), and Carolina Mendes (national champion in 2016 and 2017 and national vice-champion in title) to also be present, among other surfing stars in Portugal.
Frederico Morais, an elite surfer in World Surfing (2017 to 2022)
“I have had a great preparation for the new season. I’ve been riding amazing waves around Portugal and it feels good to train at home. I really want to get back on the World Tour. This is my big goal. However, being competing in the MEO Surf League, the national title will also be an objective. If I manage to do all the stages, I would like to regain the title, in addition to showing good surfing on a very competitive circuit with excellent surfers. I’m sure it’s going to be a great year for Portuguese surfing. ”
Francisca Veselko, Junior World Champion 2023
“I feel really good. I’m going through a positive phase, which was crowned with the junior world title. I’m healthy and full of determination to do my best in the MEO Surf League in order to reach the top again”.
Carolina Mendes, national runner-up 2022
“I am happy for this new season and for being able to compete once again in the MEO Surf League. I want to be able to have a good year of competition. I really like some of the stages on the calendar and the respective waves. I think they fit well with my surfing. I want to do my best and go after the wins.”
The MEO Surf League has, for the fifth consecutive year, the Jerónimo Martins Group as a sustainability partner, once again with a focus on preserving the biodiversity of the oceans, the “natural habitat” of surfing, and its program “Amar o Mar” where, together with Pingo Doce, awareness and pedagogy actions will be carried out, including beach cleaning, involving children from schools in all the municipalities visited by the competition. In 2022, these initiatives involved more than 600 children throughout the year.
There is also public participation with the choices of their favorite surfers in Fantasy Surfer, with a The Search 2 GPS watch by Rip Curl for the winner of each stage and even a Polen Surfboards board for the highest scorer at the end of the year. To participate, all fans are invited to follow their favorite surfers at fantasy.ansurfistas.com.
In 2023, the special awards continue the Allianz Triple Crown, which rewards the best surfers in the Figueira da Foz, Ericeira, and Ribeira Grande stages; the dispute for the best wave of each stage and the Joaquim Chaves Saúde Best Wave; the best score exclusively dedicated to the ladies in the Bom Petisco Girls Score; the fight for the best maneuvers for both men and women in the Go Chill Expression Sessions, and also the prizes reserved for the best local surfers in the stages of Figueira da Foz, Ericeira, Ribeira Grande, and Peniche. In 2023, Somersby is also back in the mix of sub-trophies, with the Somersby Round, which rewards the best sports performance in one of the most competitive stages of each stage: round 3, where the heats of 4 athletes stop.
Also noteworthy is the Junior Tour, a competitive platform reserved for national surf talents up to 20 years old which, in 2023, will consist of 3 stages and with the national champions in 2022, Martim Nunes and Érica Máximo, leading the participating surfers.
Junior Tour Calendar 2023
Projunior#1 – 15th to 16th April – Porto and Matosinhos
Projunior#2 – 13th to 14th of May – Viana do Castelo
Projunior#3 – July 29th to 30th – Santa Cruz
On a television level, all stages can be followed live on Sport TV, as well as on other official media: MEO Facebook, MEO app – available at position 810 of the MEO channel grid, and at www.ansurfistas.com and networks socials at @ansurfistas.
Liga MEO Surf 2023 is an organization of the National Association of Surfers and Fire!, sponsored by MEO, Allianz Seguros, Joaquim Chaves Saúde, Bom Petisco, Go Chill, Corona, Somersby, sustainability partner Jerónimo Martins, support local municipalities of Figueira da Foz, Porto, Matosinhos, Mafra, Ribeira Grande and Peniche, technical support from the Figueira da Foz Surf Association, Onda Pura, Ericeira Surf Clube, Azores Surf and Bodyboard Association, Peniche Surfing Clube and of the Portuguese Surfing Federation.
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