Quiksilver Is Taking The World’s Best Young Guns To The Surf Ranch

Oh, of course you remember the Quiksilver Young Guns Surf event from last year.

There was a jungle. A point break. Some tiger masks. Some fancy airs. A few inflatable sharks. Somebody hit Matt Hoy in the face with a water balloon and the handsomely talented Samuel Pupo just barely snuck by WA’s finest smartass Kael Walsh in a fiery final.

Wasn’t it grand?

Well, this year it may just be grander.

Instead of a distant corner of Indonesia, the 2018 Young Guns Surf Finalists will hit Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch for some real cowboy in the desert shit!

The entry period for the event just started and it lasts until June 18th. Which means, for the few days, the world’s most talented young surfers will be peppering your Instagram feed with their best clips. (Note: if you are one of the world’s most talented young surfers, please pepper everybody’s Instagram feed with your best clips and tag @quiksilver and #YGSurfContest to enters.)

Once the pixelated dust has settled, the judges — Leonardo Fioravanti and Kanoa Igarashi — will sort through the clips and hand-pick their favorite eight entries. These will be your semifinalists. The semifinalists’ clips will be sent to Richie Porta for deep critical analysis…just kidding! They’ll be subject to public voting on Quik’s Instagram from June 25 – July 2, which means you’ll be the judge!

Top three from public voting, along with one wildcard selected by Kanoa and Leo, will pack their 5’8”s and head to Lemoore on July 27th. Stab got wind that the format of the final will be geared for progressive surfing instead of the just-make-it-to-the-end-of-the-wave shindig that was the Founder’s Cup.

Quik is also giving out a cheeky $1000 to the most creative #YGSurfContest entry. So, even if you ain’t got the chops of Eli Hanneman, you can still get a little wild, get a little weird and get a little rich.

Only two questions remain: will they let Matt Hoy loose at the Tachi Palace and is Mikey Ciaramella eligible to enter?