Stab High is the world’s most extraordinary surf contest. It’s held in a wave pool, and it’s all about airs.

The format eliminates awkward waiting periods, extended lulls, and safety surfing. Instead, it’s just two days of surfing’s least risk-averse individuals going as large as they can, on demand.

The event hosts an atmosphere that more closely resembles a music festival than a sporting event. Despite it feeling far from a traditional surf comp, Stab High still sets the benchmark in competitive aerial surfing.

This year’s Stab High features four divisions: Pro Mens, Pro Womens, Ladybirds (15-and-under girls), and Bottle Rockets (15-and-under boys). Additionally, the Monster Air will be won by the surfer who performs the most impactful air of the event, regardless of division.

Each surfer gets multiple chances to land their best air, and each division eventually boils down to a four-person final. It’s judged by some of surfing’s most opinionated characters, all of whom have above-the-lip track records to back those opinions up. They don’t always agree, and we view that as a good thing.

The Pro Mens Final and Pro Womens Final will consist of 5 surfers. The Bottle Rocket and Ladybird Final will consist of 4 surfers.

The Virginia Beach edition marks the first-ever Stab High in the coastal United States. Previous editions have taken us to Waco, Texas; Shizunami, Japan; and Sydney, Australia.

With a sell-out crowd of 3,000 people expected, and 56 air surfers on-site and out on town, it’s shaping up to be the best weekend in VB since Jadson Andre won ECSC.

For those who can’t make it, watch the broadcast to pretend you’re there.

There will be 36 surfers in the Pro Men’s division, 8 Ladybirds, 8 Bottle Rockets, and 4 Pro Women’s contestants.

Pro Men

Pro Women, presented by Sun Bum

• Sierra Kerr

• Milla Coco-Brown

• Sky Brown

• Eden Walla

• Skai Suitt

Ladybirds (Girls, 15-and-under), presented by Sun Bum

• Zoey Kaina

• Isla Hardy

• Zoee Bradshaw

• More TBA

• Zacky Taylor

• Zion Walla

• Marco Menendez

• Jaggar Phillips

• More TBA.

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 Four Divisions:
– Pro Men
– Pro Women
– Ladybirds (Girls, 15-and-under)
– Bottle Rockets (Boys, 15-and-under)

Qualifying Round: Pro Men’s
– 6-man heats
– Two rights, two lefts each
– Best single air in each heat advances to semis
– Two best airs that didn’t win their heats advance to Semis (leaderboard style)
– Remaining 28 surfers go to Sudden Death round

Sudden Death: Pro Men’s
– One wave in direction of choice
– Top 2 airs advance to semis
– Leaderboard format: surfers against entire field

Semifinals: Pro Men’s, Bottle Rockets, Ladybirds
– Three rights, three lefts each
– Best single air counts, 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 each
– Best single air wins

In Person
Come rub elbows and clink Monsters with us in Virginia Beach. Pro tip: Bring a board. You can book a session in the pool before/after the comp, and even if it’s full, the ocean’s right across the street.

Online
Can’t make it to VB? Lame, but 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
Both days will be broadcast worldwide via stabmag.com.

Friday broadcast times:
3:00AM – 1:00PM in Honolulu, 6:00AM – 4:00PM in Los Angeles, 9:00AM – 7:00PM in New York, 3:00PM – 1:00AM in Paris, and 11:00PM – 9:00AM in Sydney.

Saturday broadcast times:
5:00AM – 11:00AM in Honolulu, 8:00AM – 2:00PM in Los Angeles, 11:00AM – 5:00PM in New York, 5:00PM – 11:00PM in Paris, and 1:00AM – 7:00AM (Sunday) in Sydney.

History

Past winners
Waco, 2018: Noa Deane
Waco, 2019: Chippa Wilson (Men) and Sierra Kerr (Ladybirds)
Mentawais, 2020: Ian Crane (Men) and Caity Simmers (Ladybirds)
Central America, 2021: Matt Meola (Men) and Erin Brooks (Ladybirds)
Lakey Peak, 2022: Robbie McCormick (Men) and Sierra Kerr (Ladybirds)
Japan, 2024: Eithan Osborne (Men), Lucas Cassity (Bottle Rockets), Kiara Goold (Ladybirds)
Japan, 2025: Hughie Vaughn (Men), Sierra Kerr (Women), Eden Walla (Ladybirds), Loci Cullen (Bottle Rockets)
Sydney, 2025: Joel Vaughan (Men), Sierra Kerr (Women), Skai Suitt (Ladybirds), Loci Cullen (Bottle Rockets)

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. Fast forward to earlier this year, and we were back at Shizunami, testing out their McyFly air section, where Highie Vaughn, Sierra Kerr, Eden Walla, and Loci Cullen claimed their wins.

Stab High Sydney 2025 was won by none other than Hughie Vaughan’s brother, Joel, alongside Sierra Kerr (again), Loci Cullen (again), and Skai Suitt in the Ladybirds.
This event has always been about progression, and there’s no better example than the youth.