Charli Hatley WINS QS10,000, Watch: World Champ Day in a Life, + Phillip Island Junior Series Wrap-Up!
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CHARLI HATLEY WINS MAIDEN QS10,000
Australia has a fresh CT Qualification threat.
Charli Hately has claimed her first-ever Challenger Series victory, taking out the WSL Banco do Brasil São Sebastião Pro in Maresias, Brazil.
The 17-year-old put together a ripper Finals Day, taking down Portugal’s Francisca Veselko in the Final. A 7.83 and 6.50 gave Charli a 14.33 heat total and the win, securing 10,000 Challenger Series points.
The result rockets Charli to No. 10 in the Challenger Series rankings, putting her firmly in the mix as the race for 2027 Championship Tour qualification heats up.
There was plenty more Aussie action in Brazil, with Alister Reginato charging all the way to the men’s Final in his first Challenger Series Final appearance.
Oscar Berry also made it through to the Semifinals in a standout run that saw him climb 37 places in the Challenger Series rankings. Sally Fitzgibbons rounded out the Aussie charge, reaching the women’s Semifinals.
WHAT DO WORLD CHAMPS GET UP TO?
Fresh off the plane after winning Gold at the ISA World Juniors in El Salvador, 15-year-old Locana Cullen is back home and giving us a look at what life looks like when you’re a World Junior Champion.
There’s a bit of harp playing, some house music, skating, surfing and, naturally, a pork banh mi in the mix.
CI Surfboards Team Manger, Luca Elder, hangs with Loci through a day at home after a pretty major few weeks overseas, where he helped The Irukandjis take out the Team World Junior title.
But how does a 15-year-old World Junior Champion actually spend his days once the medals are packed away?
What’s Loci’s go-to post-surf feed? Who’s the celeb crush? And, most importantly, what actually went down at the ISA Juniors after party?
World title in the bag, Loci is back to normal programming.
GROMS, PENGUINS, & POINTS ON THE LINE
Phillip Island delivered 4–5ft for the final 10,000-point event of the Surfing Australia Junior Series, giving Australia’s best young surfers one last chance to bank serious points before the big one.
With the 2026 Australian Junior Titles coming up next as a 12,000-point event, there wasn’t much room for coasting. Lachlan Arghyros, Olive Hardy, Maverick Macgugan, Lilly White, Locana Cullen and Talia Tebb all came away with wins, while the level across the finals made for a pretty solid preview of what’s coming.
Loci Cullen looked particularly sharp in the Under 16 Boys, dropping an 8.50 and 9.00 for a 17.50 heat total, while Talia Tebb posted the highest heat total of the day with an 18.70 in the Under 16 Girls.
Now the focus heads West, where Australia's best juniors will fight for National Titles, Irukandji's Junior Team selection, and 12,000-points in the grand finale of the Junior Series.
Wouldn't be a bad way to close out the year, eh?
