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Everything You Need To Know About Stab High Japan 2025 Presented By Monster Energy

How to attend, watch, and when it’s on.

features // May 9, 2025

Words by Stab

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Buy tickets to attend Stab High live here.

You’ll need a Stab Premium account to watch Stab High Japan online.

The event will be broadcast live on stabmag.com and the Stab Premium app at 5 pm on May 23rd and 24th (PDT), or 10 am on May 24th and 25th (AEST). Sign up to watch here.

On site entry to the event is free for all Stab Premium members who are in Japan and want to watch in person. Just email [email protected] and let us know which days you are looking to attend.

Research shows that within one hour, most people forget 50% of the information they consume. After 24 hours, that number grows to 70%, and within a week, it goes up to 90%.

So, in an effort to maximize Stab High Japan Presented by Monster Energy’s retention in your cranium, we decided to lay out everything you need to know about our space race in one easy (to forget, then go back and find again) place.

We invite you to bookmark this tab, share it with friends, recite it in the mirror, etc. Let’s start with the basics:

What is Stab High Japan Presented by Monster Energy?

Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy is a surf contest that celebrates the many different arts of flight. Rather than having competitors connect relatively similar directional changes for a score, the emphasis is around singular aerial maneuvers.

All of our competitors will have several chances to land their best airs on PerfectSwell Shizunami’s newly fabricated “McFly” air section, which competitor Jacob Szekely called ‘the best wavepool air section ever.’ It’s the same ramp that launched Pedro Barros and Italo Ferreira over São Paulo Surf Club’s back wall and onto our algorithms earlier this year. Expect a variety of grabs, rotations, and altitudes, all dissected by a clipboard-wielding panel of judges who are more than fluent in aerial surfing.

This year, with support from YETI, we’re excited to announce four divisions: Mens, Ladybirds (15-and-under girls) and Bottle Rockets (15-and-under boys) plus an all-new Women’s division presented by Sun Bum.

Additionally, the Monster Air ($10,000) will be won by the surfer who performs the most impactful air of the event, regardless of division.

Past winners include:
Waco, 2018: Noa Deane
Waco, 2019: Chippa Wilson and Sierra Kerr
Mentawais, 2020: Ian Crane and Caity Simmers
Central America, 2021: Matt Meola and Erin Brooks
Lakey Peak, 2022: Robbie McCormick and Sierra Kerr
Japan, 2024: Eithan Osborne, Kiara Goold, and Lucas Cassity

Eithan Osborne, 2024’s Pro Men champion. Eithan is unfortunately injured this year and can’t make the roster. Photo by Nate Lawrence

Who’s surfing in Stab High Japan?

There will be 36 surfers in the Pro Men division, 10 Ladybirds, 10 Bottle Rockets, and 4 Pro Women.

Pro Men:

Chippa Wilson
Judd Henkes
Dion Agius
Harry Bryant
Eli Beukes
Eric Geiselman
Pedro Barros
Ian Crane
Robbie McCormick
Matt Meola
Jacob Szekely
Mason Ho
Harley Walters
Albee Layer
Hughie Vaughan
Mikey Wright
Dane Henry
Balaram Stack
Cam Richards
Shane Borland
Finn McGill
Timo Simmers
Mateus Herdy
Shion Crawford
Lennix Smith
Makana Franzmann
Lucas Cassity
Sam Piter
Yuji Mori
Kaito Ohashi
Matt McCabe
Creed McTaggart
Hiroya Miwa
Willis Droomer
Ryan Huckabee

Pro Women presented by Sun Bum:

Milla Coco Brown
Sky Brown
Sierra Kerr
Nanaho Tsuzuki

Ladybirds presented by YETI:

Patti Zhou
Kiara Goold
Leihani Zoric
Zoey Kaina
Eden Walla
Yuzuki Iha
Peeta Kenworthy
Skai Suitt
Mali Adam
Isla Hardy

Bottle Rockets presented by YETI:

Zacky Taylor
Arthur Vilar
Caden Francis
Loci Cullen
Cruz Uros
Ryji Masuda
Cruz Dinofa
Luke Lopez
Brody Mulik
Jaggar Phillips

Winner winner 7/11 sushi dinner. Photo by Nate Lawrence

What’s the competition format?

The world’s best aerialists are split into three divisions:
– Pro (36 surfers)
– Ladybirds (10 girls, 15-and-under)
– Bottle Rockets (10 boys, 15-and-under)
– Pro Women (4 surfers)

QUALIFYING ROUND
PRO MENS
Two Rights, Two Lefts
Best Single Air, Top 10 Advance To Semifinals, The Rest Go To Sudden Death
Leaderboard Format: Surfers Against Entire Field

SUDDEN DEATH
PRO MENS
One Wave In Direction Of Choice
Best Single Air, Top 2 Advance To Semifinals
Leaderboard Format: Surfers Against Entire Field

SEMIFINALS
PRO MENS, BOTTLE ROCKETS, LADYBIRDS
Three Rights, Three Lefts
Best Single Air, Top 4 Advance To Final
Leaderboard Format: Surfers Against Entire Field

FINALS
PRO MENS, PRO WOMENS, BOTTLE ROCKETS, LADYBIRDS
Three Rights, Three Lefts
Best Right + Best Left Count Towards Score
Highest Combined Score Wins

POV: You took the day off from your job in Tokyo to watch Jacob Szekely do a stanky-leg air and flip off the judges.

Who’s judging Stab High Japan?

This year’s panel of judges are some of the most well-known and respected aerial tastemakers in our culture:

Nate Fletcher
Parker Coffin
Josh Kerr
Cory Lopez
Dion Agius
Eric Geiselman
Creed McTaggart
Eithan Osborne

Surfing is inherently subjective, so we’ve selected a panel with different tastes to parse through the variety of air approaches. We want that diversity of opinion to be reflected in the scores to ensure good surfing is rewarded in all its forms.

Last years panel was ruthless — but also very open to criticism.

How will Stab High Japan be judged?

There will be five judges on the panel at any given time.

Each judge will score every wave out of 10 points — whole numbers only. Incomplete airs will receive a 0. Partially-complete airs will receive a partial score.

Airs will be judged relative to every other air completed in the same round, regardless of direction (hence the leaderboard format).

There’s no firm scoring criteria, but judges will take into account an air’s height, style, creativity, degree & angle of rotation, grabs, and landing when making their decision.

Once all five judges’ have scored an air, their numbers will be added up for a total wave score out of 50.

If a surfer performs a specific type of air to advance through one round (ex: slob grab air rev), and then they proceed to use that same air in a future round, it will be docked points. One trick ponies can head straight back to the farm.

Backflips, encouraged. Double grabs, less so.

Where is Stab High Japan taking place?

You guessed it… Japan.

But more specifically, it’ll be at PerfectSwell Shizunami, which sits a block away from Makinohara Beach (which also has waves) on the backwater outskirts of Makinohara — a city that’s defined by green tea production, commercial fishing, and a Suzuki Motors factory. The pool is roughly three hours from Tokyo by car or by train.

When can you watch Stab High Japan?

Stab High Japan will be broadcast live over two days on stabmag.com for all Stab Premium members. Because it’s live, you need to take into account your local time zone relative to Japan.

In Japan, the event runs:
Qualifiers on Saturday, May 24th from 9 AM – 5:30 PM local time (JST)
Main Event on Sunday, May 25th from 9 AM – 2:30 PM local time (JST)

In Australia, you can watch:
Qualifiers on Saturday, May 24th from 10 AM – 6:30 PM (AEST)
Main Event on Sunday, May 25th from 10 AM – 3:30 PM local time (AEST)

In California, you can watch:
Qualifiers on Friday, May 23rd from 5PM – 1:30AM (PST)
Main Event on Saturday, May 24th from 5PM – 10:30 PM (PST)

Please account for the date change if you’re in the Americas.

Joel won’t be making this year’s event thanks to a handy Championship Tour qualification.

How can you watch Stab High Japan?

First option… have a Stab Premium account. We’re broadcasting the live event exclusively there, at no additional charge to members. You can watch it on the website or on the app.
Join us in Japan! Tickets are currently on sale here, and it’s reasonable to believe you won’t have another opportunity to jump in on something like this. Premium Members attend free, just email us which day you’d like to attend at [email protected].

Remember: PerfectSwell Shizunami is a three-minute walk to the ocean — and it’d be rude not to book a few sessions before or after the event so that you can expose your own palate to the delights of PerfectSwell’s technology.
Attend an official Stab High Watch Party if you live near one! We’ll get you details on where that will be possible soon.

How not to watch?

Don’t mix up days if you live in the United States and miss the first day of competition on Friday night.
Don’t miss out on cash if you’re a betting person. And please, only bet your lunch money. You’ll be able to place bets at betonline.ag closer to the event.

What’s the prize Money for Stab High Japan?

Pros: $20,000 USD
Pro Women: $10,000 USD
Monster Air: $10,000 USD
Ladybirds: $5,000 USD
Bottle Rockets: $5,000 USD

For all the information on Stab High Japan (including the fine print), click here to be sent to the official landing page.

You’ll need a Stab Premium account to watch Stab High Japan Presented by Monster Energy. It will be broadcast live on-site and on the Stab Premium app at 5 pm on May 24th and May 25th (PDT), or 10 am on June 25th and June 26th (AEST). Sign up for Stab Premium here.

Since Stab Premium members are the reason this thing exists, we want you there — on the wall, poolside, in the mix — watching every air from lift-off to landing (or implosion). Email [email protected] and we’ll put you on the list.

When the surfing stops, the party starts — Stab Premium members get VIP access to:
• Live music from Cut Snake
• Poolside hangs with the Stab High cast
• Two world premieres of new surf films
• Food trucks, bar trucks, possibly unlicensed vehicles
• Ocean waves just two blocks away
• A karaoke bar (Stab x Skullcandy) 200 yards from the pool — no judges, no rules

Spots are limited. First come, first served.

Special thanks to our Stab High Japan 2025 Presented By Monster Energy sponsors: Monster, Sun Bum, YETI, Skullcandy, Kona Big Wave, Oakley, PerfectSwell, Xcel, and FU Wax.