Stab High Japan 2025, Presented by Monster Energy, is a surf contest focused on flight. Instead of connecting standard directional turns, the emphasis is on single, explosive aerial maneuvers.

Past winners include Noa Deane, Chippa Wilson, Sierra Kerr, Ian Crane, Caity Simmers, Erin Brooks, Matt Meola, Eithan Osborne, Kiara Gold, and Lucas Cassity. 

This year, we’re excited to announce four divisions: Mens, Ladybirds (15-and-under girls) and Bottle Rockets (15-and-under boys), presented by YETI, plus an all-new Women’s division, presented by Sun Bum. Additionally, the Monster Air will be won by the surfer who performs the most impactful air of the event, regardless of division.

Competitors will have multiple chances to land their best airs on PerfectSwell Shizunami’s ‘McFly’ air section — 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 pedantic, clipboard-wielding panel fluent in aerial surfing. 

The event will run on May 24 and 25 from 9 AM – 4 PM local time. That’s 10 AM in Sydney and 5 PM in Los Angeles (note the date shift for the Americas — Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Sunday)

If you’re in Japan, show up. If not, grab your friends and watch the live webcast on Stab Premium.

Stab High Japan 2025, Presented by Monster Energy, is supported by YETI, Sun Bum, Skullcandy, Kona Big Wave, and Perfect Swell.

There will be 36 surfers in the Pro Men’s division, 10 Ladybirds, 10 Bottle Rockets, and 5 Pro Women’s contestants.

Pro Men’s

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
Julian Wilson

Pro Women’s 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 Philips

How do we decide who’s best in the air? We’ve grappled with this question since 2018, and have come up with a variety of answers over the years (head to the History tab for some backstory).

The World’s Best Aerialists Are Split Into Three Divisions:

– Pro Men (36 surfers)
– Pro Women (4 surfers)
– Ladybirds (10 girls, 15-and-under)
– Bottle Rockets (10 boys, 15-and-under)

Qualifying Round: Pro Men’s

– 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 Men’s

– One Wave In Direction Of Choice
– Best Single Air, Top 2 Advance To Semifinals 
– Leaderboard Format: Surfers Against The Entire Field

Semifinals: Pro Men’s, Bottle Rockets, Ladybirds

– Three Rights, Three Lefts 
– Best Single Air, Top 4 Advance To Final 
– Leaderboard Format: Surfers Against Entire Field

Finals: Pro Men’s, Pro Women’s, Bottle Rockets, Ladybirds
– Three Rights, Three Lefts 
– Best Right + Best Left Count Towards Score
– Highest Combined Score Wins

In Person 

Come rub elbows and clink Monsters with us in Japan. Pro tip: Bring a board. You can book a session in the pool before/after the comp, or get a few waves down the street whenever you please — the ocean is only a three-minute walk from PerfectSwell Shizunami.

Online 

Can’t make it to PerfectSwell Shizunami? We get it. 

If you’re a Stab Premium member, you can watch Stab High online for free. If not, subscribe to Stab Premium to gain access to the event webcast, along with thousands of hours of backlogged films and original editorial, with plenty more to come. We’re offering a 10% discount to anyone who signs up for the annual membership — just use code STABHIGHANNUAL at checkout.

Times

The event will run over two days — Saturday, May 24th – Sunday, May 25th. Each day will feature around five hours of surfing, from 9 AM to 3 PM local time. If you haven’t been booking calls with your colleagues in Tokyo of late, we got you. Here’s what that looks like elsewhere: 

New York: 8 PM – 2 AM (-1 day)

Los Angeles: 5 PM – 11 PM (-1 day)

Rio de Janeiro: 9 PM – 3 AM (-1 day)

Sydney: 10 AM – 4 PM 

Perth: 8 AM – 2 PM

Dubai: 4 AM – 10 AM 

Bali: 7 AM – 1 PM 

Paris: 2 AM – 8 AM 

London: 1  AM – 7 AM

History

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

Stab High was born as a response to conventional surfing events. We wanted to focus on a different side of surf culture — something freer, less structured, and more unpredictable. With the wavepool boom in its nascent era, we decided on an air competition at Waco Surf (then BSR Surf Resort) in Texas.

The first edition of Stab High took place in 2018. There were 16 competitors, and they tried everything from finger flips to straight airs to acid drops off the back wall (to be fair, we did have an Acid Drop challenge). That year, Noa Deane became the first Stab High champ. 

In 2019, we took our learnings from the first edition and headed back to Waco for another event  — with one notable addition. That year, we introduced the Ladybirds division. It was the first all-girls air comp, featuring four competitors under 15. In the end Sierra Kerr held the trophy, but aerial surfing was the real winner. The Ladybirds earned the most boisterous cheers of anyone in attendance and became the event’s main talking point for years to come. 

Then a pandemic showed up and live events disappeared. Wanting to keep Stab High alive, we took the socially distant approach and sent a stripped-back crew to the Mentawai Islands. We adapted the format, shot everything on location, and rolled it out as an episodic series. That was good fun, so we did it again in Central America in 2021, before returning to Indo in 2022 at Lakey Peak. That year, Sierra Kerr landed what is widely considered the best air ever landed by a female in the Ladybirds final. 

In the exploratory spirit of Stab High, we felt it was time to return to the live event format last year. Enter: the chlorine coliseum of PerfectSwell Shizunami. In the end, it was Eithan Osborne, Lucas Cassity, and Kiara Goold who took the win in 2024.

This year’s Stab High will run on Saturday, May 24th and Sunday, May 25th. On top of our 36 pro competitors, a fresh flock of YETI Ladybirds, and a new pack of YETI Bottle Rockets, we are pleased to host a brand new division — the Women’s Pro Super Final.

This event has always been about progression, and there’s no better example than the youth.