Kelly Slater Returns to Championship Tour as Wildcard for Lower Trestles

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated May 21, 2025 3:39 PM ET

Oh Kelly Slater, where art thou? After just one wildcard appearance in 2025, a quarterfinal at Pipeline, it felt like we were due for an appearance from the 11-time world champion.

Today, the WSL announced that the 53-year-old will be an event wildcard for the upcoming Lexus Trestles Pro in San Clemente next month. Lower Trestles has been the site of the polarizing WSL Finals for the past four years. But this will be the first time since 2017 that it has hosted a regular-season CT event (won by Filipe Toledo and Silvana Lima).

Kelly knows this wave about as well as any in the world and has won it a record six times. It's where, at 18 years old, he won his first pro contest, the 1990 Body Glove Surf Bout. Given his legacy here, Kelly makes sense for a wildcard even if his brand Outerknown wasn’t the presenting partner and official apparel sponsor of the Lexus Trestles Pro.

“I’m excited to surf Lowers after having a few months of downtime with family and watching the events online,” Kelly said in a news release. “Surfing this event obviously makes good sense with Outerknown sponsoring the event and celebrating our 10th anniversary. Trestles has been an ongoing great memory for the past 35 years since I won my first event as a professional there, had a number of great wins there while on Tour, and is my girlfriend’s hometown and a second home to me. So I’m looking forward to competing as a wildcard and surf against a top seed or two straight away. At Outerknown we do things a bit differently and this is a different twist for me being the underdog. I’m honored and excited to compete next month.”

Last year, Outerknown merged with Firewire and Slater Designs, and all three brands will be visible at Trestles next month for giveaways during the contest window. Fans can check out their on-site demo center and enter to win a day at the Surf Ranch (value $50,000+), a full Slater Designs quiver and a new Outerknown wardrobe. In the meantime, Trestles is officially on GOAT-watch.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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