2025 Bodysurfing World Tour Finals in Australia

The 2025 IBSA World Tour Finals has just wrapped up as the bodysurfing world draws its collective breath. After four days of frantic competition across the ten day waiting period, we have our new world champions!

The first truly mobile Finals was a grand success by every measure. The Trials were run and completed at the spiritual home of Australian bodysurfing – Coolum Beach - in gorgeous blue skies and offshore waves all day. This was especially poignant for the 79’ers who for forty years have surfed these waves.

The event then went on ‘hold’ for the next five days as a significant southerly swell developed in the lower Tasman Sea, pushing southerly waves and winds up into QLD. This was the magical formula that allowed us to declare “Carty’s is ON”, the first time in history the venue had held a surfing competition. The break had, in fact, only been bodysurfed in the last two years by a handful of whompers.

Carty’s proved to be the perfect arena for a bodysurfing contest. It sits at the junction between a headwall and a point break, so spectators were able to get different aspect views of the waves ridden. Rides literally finished on top of spectators.

And what rides they were. A total of five rounds of Womens heats and six rounds of Mens heats were held at Carty’s before the winners were eventually determined.

In the Women’s final, three of the women had all wins and a solitary second to one of the other two girls in every round thus far, so it was expected to be a tight affair. Belinda Baggs (Australia-Asia) had come into the final with momentum but just couldn’t find the type of waves she wanted. Katy Collins (also from Australia-Asia) had set the contest alight with her flow, racking up the highest heat and wave scores on her march towards the crown. Michelle Urkov (North America) was the most powerful surfer in the contest and picked off the largest waves and then over-awed them, producing epic and high scoring rides. But Delori Gomes (Polynesia) would not be denied. The tournament’s number one seed and runner-up in the inaugural BWT Finals at Point Panic, was unmatched in flow and technical manoeuvres to capture the crown.

1. Delori Gomes (Hawaii)

2. Michelle Urkov (USA)

3. Katy Collins (Guam)

4. Belind Baggs (Australia)

In the Men’s final, the top seeds in each of three different regions made their way into the final, demonstrating the rigour and accuracy of the IBSA’s QS series. Ruben Cambas (Europe-Africa) produced the single best move of the finals with a monstrous El-Rollo before riding out of it to thunderous applause. Greg Wilkinson (North America) had made late charges in heats his hallmark and he did so again in the final, unleashing a poetic last ride to grab third place. Captain Jack Lewis (Australia-Asia) was always going to be a danger in these waters, and he looked the goods all the way through the contest. Jack’s technical moves were the best of the contest. But it was this year’s greatest improver globally, Chris Anderson (Australia-Asia) who time and again laid down the most elegant, flowing rides at incredible pace that captured the world crown.

1. Chris Anderson (Australia)

2. Jack Lewis (Australia)

3. Greg Wilkinson (USA)

4. Ruben Cambas (France)

In addition to the action in the surf, 2025 WTF’s at Coolum were truly made special by the social activities held as part of the Festival. From cuddling koalas and Kangaroos, bodysurfing pristine point breaks in the middle of a national park with only other bodysurfers in the water, to drinking the specially crafted Bodysurfing Brew for the WTF or watching Bodysurfing Flix in the Park, these social events formed the fabric of unity amongst the group and a real sense that we were all sharing a time that was truly magical.