What is the WSA? The Western Surfing Association, explained

The WSA is the Western Surfing Association, a California nonprofit that runs amateur surf contests along the Southern California coast. It describes itself as the largest amateur surf series on the West Coast and the oldest competitive surfing association in the United States, and it is the official West Coast member organization of USA Surfing, the sport’s national governing body.

For a family, the WSA is the usual first step into competitive surfing. Its season is nine weekend contests from late summer to spring, then the invite-only West Coast Championships. There are divisions for every age, from kids under 7 who get pushed into waves by a parent to surfers over 50.

WSA contests are open to anyone who joins, pays the entry fee and signs the waiver. There are no tryouts and nothing to qualify for. Each stop runs more than 30 divisions, split by age, by girls and boys, and by shortboard and longboard, plus para surfing divisions.

Girls’ and women’s divisions

Boys’ divisions mirror these. Adults have their own: Men 18–29, Masters 30–39, Senior Men 40–49 and Legends 50 and older, plus Open and longboard divisions.

The youngest kids get help

In the Micro Grom divisions a parent, or someone the parent picks, is in the water with the surfer and can push her into waves. A pushed wave scores the same as one she catches on her own. The rulebook calls the division a fun learning experience, and suggests moving up once a kid is catching waves by herself.

• It is built for beginners. In the youngest divisions judges score the basics: catching an unbroken wave beats riding whitewater, and going left or right beats going straight.
• It is close to home. Every 2026–27 contest is at a Southern California beach, from San Diego to Huntington Beach.
• It is a real contest. Colored jerseys, timed heats, a judging panel and awards for every finalist. She learns how contests work before the stakes are high.
• It leads somewhere. The top surfers in the under-14, under-16 and under-18 divisions earn invitations to USA Surfing Prime, the highest level of junior surfing in the country.
• It is a family day. The WSA’s stated aim is to promote surfing through “fun, family oriented surf competitions,” and kids, parents and surfers over 50 all compete the same weekend.

The season is called the WSA Championship Tour: nine contests, each one a weekend, followed by the West Coast Championships. Surfers earn points at every contest based on where they finish.

• A win is worth 1,500 points at a regular contest and 2,500 at the West Coast Championships.
• A surfer’s best six results count toward her season ranking, plus her West Coast Championships result.
• She has to surf at least six contests to be eligible for the West Coast Championships. Para surfers need four.
• Season champions are named in every division after the West Coast Championships.

The 2026–27 schedule

Surfers compete in heats: four or six surfers in the water together for 15 or 20 minutes. The top half of each heat moves on to the next round, until the final.

• A panel of judges scores every wave from 0 to 10.
• Only her two best waves count, so a heat total is out of 20.
• There is a wave limit: six waves in a 15-minute heat, eight in a 20-minute heat. Quality counts, not quantity.
• Getting in the way of a surfer who has the right of way is interference, and it costs points.
• Check in with the beach marshal 15 minutes before the heat to get a jersey and instructions.

Our guide to how surf contests work covers judging, priority and what to bring in more detail.

1. 1.Create an account on the WSA’s registration site, wsa.surfsignup.com. A parent can register a child.
2. 2.Buy a WSA membership. It is required to surf in any contest.
3. 3.Pick a contest and a division and pay the entry fee: $100 for most divisions and $90 for under 12 and younger in 2026–27.
4. 4.Register before it closes. For the October 2026 Huntington Beach stop, registration closed the Wednesday night before the weekend.
5. 5.Check the heat sheet before you leave home, and be on the beach early. Heat times move through the day.

Board rules worth knowing

• In shortboard age divisions, the board can be no more than 18 inches taller than the surfer.
• Longboards must be at least 9 feet. In the under-18 longboard divisions, the board must be at least 3 feet taller than the surfer.
• Leashes and helmets are allowed.

Not sure what board she should be on? See our surfboard buying guide.

Because the WSA is USA Surfing’s member organization on the West Coast, its season rankings decide who moves up.

• Top surfers in Girls and Boys U14, U16 and U18 are invited to USA Surfing Prime the following season. Prime is where surfers qualify for the USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles and for the national team.
• In other divisions, including Open Women for surfers 18 and over, top finishers can be invited straight to the USA Surfing Championships.
• A surfer needs at least six WSA contests plus the West Coast Championships to be eligible.
• WSA lets kids “surf up” into an older division, but she can only qualify for Prime and the national championships in her own birth-year division.

The full path from a first WSA heat to the 2028 Olympics at Lower Trestles is in our guide, So you want to compete in surfing.

The WSA gives 1961 as its founding year. The Encyclopedia of Surfing traces the name to 1968, when the United States Surfing Association split into four regional groups. The western group became the WSA and kept the national association’s rules, its bylaws and most of its board. It was first based in Hermosa Beach.

It has run amateur contests on the California coast ever since, and today it is based in San Clemente.

Yes. WSA contests are held on public beaches, so anyone can walk up and watch. Heats run through the weekend, and there are girls’ and women’s divisions at every stop. It is the easiest way to show a kid what a contest looks like before she enters one.

Every upcoming stop is on our events page, with dates and a link to the details.