A Snapshot of the Women’s CT Cut Line at Margaret River

Isabella Nichols pulled out her best magi tricks at Margaret River in 2022, the first year of the World Surf League’s current mid-season cut. With her back against the wall there was no funky math or heat-watching needed to make the cut. She just had to win the whole thing. That was her job. So she went out and won the whole thing.

Nichols found herself back in another do-or-die scenario facing Gabriela Bryan at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro this week but couldn’t manage to dodge relegation this time. Bryan, on the other hand, saved her Championship Tour status by winning their Round of 16 heat Wednesday.

That particular heat made Nichols part of the first wave of women on the CT to be sent to the Challenger Series, joining Luana Silva and Alyssa Spencer below the cut line and leaving just three spots left above the world number 10 cutoff. So, who’s on that bubble and which side are they on through an incomplete Round of 16 event?

There are seven total surfers in contention for those final four spots with just 3,000 points sitting between former world champion Tyler Wright at number 10 and number 13 Sawyer Lindblad. Bryan, Lakey Peterson, Tatiana Weston Webb, and Wright are holding down those final spots. Sawyer Lindblad, India Robinson, and Sally Fitzgibbons sit on the opposite side of the threshold with considerable ground to gain in terms of points.

That list on the bubble contains a handful of athletes who have dominated the tour over the past decade-plus. Weston Webb, Wright, Fitzgibbons, and Peterson have a combined four career appearances at the WSL Finals, two world titles (Wright), and a total of 36 world tour victories among them.

The narrative that surfing’s new school is taking over on the women’s side definitely has some merit.

The post A Snapshot of the Women’s CT Cut Line at Margaret River first appeared on The Inertia.