Alice Lemoigne of France and Steven Sawyer of South Africa emerged victorious at the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic, the third stop of the 2024 World Surf League (WSL) Longboard Tour. This event marked an interesting milestone as the WSL crowned its first winners in the United Arab Emirates.

The competition took place at the Surf Abu Dhabi facility, featuring three-foot waves generated by Kelly Slater Wave Company technology which came under (as all wave pool events seem to do) extra online scrutiny. Former longboard world champ Joel Tudor posted on Instagram that the WSL contest had been run in “beginner waves.” His comment lit up the internet prompting several pieces including this one by BeachGrit. The last splash at a wave pool event by Joel was made when he won the Athletic Brewing Company Move of the Day at the 2020 Surf Ranch Pro.

However, the action in the wave pool was much more fascinating than online volleys between social media pundits. And we’re thankful for that.

Lemoigne showcased exceptional nose-riding skills, securing her second Longboard Tour event victory in an all-French final against her close friend, Zoe Grospiron. Having finished as the runner-up for the Longboard World Title in 2021, Lemoigne’s win also earned her the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Surf City El Salvador Longboard Championships. Despite over a decade on the tour and consistent placements in the Top 10, this victory marked only her third appearance in a Longboard Tour final. The 27-year-old expressed her emotions following each successful wave on her path to victory.

“Wow, it’s just amazing,” Lemoigne said. “I had so much fun, and to share a final with Zoe was insane. I didn’t feel I was competing, I was just going for a free surf and I enjoyed so much the wave. Before El Salvador, it means so much to win here so I’m pretty happy, and yeah, go for it for El Salvador. It’s gonna be an amazing finals day.”

The previous best result for both Lemoigne and Grospiron was the 2021 Jeep Malibu Classic, where Lemoigne won and Grospiron placed in the Semifinals. The pair were thrilled to share their first Final together. Long, critical hang-tens from Lemoigne aided her in scoring rides in the 9-point range in all three heats surfed that day, including the Final, where she posted the highest single-wave score of the event, a 9.43 (out of a possible 10).

With Lemoigne surfing first, Grospiron had the opportunity to overtake her scores on her final two waves. Having opened with two solid 7-point rides, she increased the number on her right to an 8.50, lowering the requirement of her left to an attainable 8.77. Committing to an extended hang-ten in the opening moments of the final wave of the event, Grospiron hung on too long, handing the win to her great friend, whom she shared the stoke with as the two were chaired in victory together.

Surfing in his only event of the 2024 season, South Africa’s Steven Sawyer (RSA) claimed the second Longboard Tour win of his career. The 30-year-old’s sole previous victory came at the 2018 Taiwan Open World Longboard Championships, which earned him the title of WSL Longboard Champion for that year. Having previously been runner-up to the Longboard World Title in 2016, Sawyer’s only other Final came at the start of 2019. Now, over five years later, he has taken a timely win that sees him earning the final qualification slot for the Surf City El Salvador Longboard Championships on the basis of a single event.

“This is a surfer’s dream,” Sawyer said. “From the wave, to all the amenities, to hospitality. Everything’s bigger, better, greater, harder, faster here. And it’s just amazing. So to be here and experience the wave and learn it and have a couple more under the belt, it just felt more comfortable each time. And I mean, this is as good as a contest can get.”

Surf Abu Dhabi

The Lowdown: Surf Abu Dhabi is the first Kelly Slater Wave Co system beyond Lemoore and is part of a massive 51 million square meter project on Abu Dhabi Island. The country is building this massive development that will create 16 kilometers of new coastline and several new neighborhoods and attractions. The project is part of the Modon masterplan for Hudayriyat Island which also includes a velodrome, and the biggest urban park in Abu Dhabi.

Type of wave(s): Lefts and Rights, hollow with no interrupting sections

Wave Generating Technology: Kelly Slater Wave Co. Systems

Wave’s Technical Information: Wave height: 2-6 ft, Both Left and Right Breaks, Length of Wave: over 100 yards/meters, Hollow performance-oriented

Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours: Unknown, but given Abu Dhabi’s weather, it should be year round.

Pool Structure: Manmade lake

Pricing: At the request of Surf Abu Dhabi management we have omitted pricing in our 2024 Wave Pool Price Guide. We reached out to the managers again recently, but they weren’t yet ready to list pricing. Not content with this response, we hit up Skip Taylor who manages several wave pool projects around the world.

“I would guess that when they open, the low-end surfer will likely be 75-80% of their business in Abu Dhabi,” says Skip. “The froth won’t be the same and I see the make up of guests being high-end locals and expats. This is ultimately a hard product to ever compare to a public surf park or higher capacity technologies. Specific to KS Wave Co, I am not sure how accessible that the KS Wave in Abu Dahbi is planned to be in terms of exclusivity, public access or pricing. That changes the model a lot too. Lemoore sees more intermediate and advanced surfers due to the exclusive high-end experience they create that caters to high networth coastal California surfers. Often those groups bring beginners and intermediates with them as part of the group who join in but the base of the business is from experienced surfers which I don’t think will be the case as much in Abu Dhabi.”

Waves per hour: 12-25 waves per hour