FORMER Championship Tour standout and World No. 2 Julian Wilson recently announced he’d be making a comeback to competitive surfing, and he got his campaign off to a great start, securing a win in Newcastle in super fun, clean surf in the two-to-three-foot range.
Julian took out the EJE Pro as part of Newcastle Surfest – a World Surf League Qualifying Series event, with the win secured on Saturday, March 15.
Julian hasn’t competed since 2022, however, he looked sharp all week, posting some of the highest single wave scores of each round, to eventually find his way to the Final, where he came up against Axel Curotta.
After Wilson took an early lead, the youngster Curotta moved back in front and left Wilson chasing a score for the majority of the heat until the last few minutes, where his experience paid off, and he utilised priority to earn the score and win with a two-wave total of 13.70 (out of a possible 20).
Julian said that the event had been really fun.
“This is the last event I won five years ago, so it’s cool to be back as I step back into competing.
“Thanks to all the crowd funders for supporting it and to the local community who always get right behind it, as well as to Warren Smith for putting it on.”
Hailing from Coolum and still regularly spotted around town, Julian now lives in Newcastle these days.
“There have been some great waves throughout the window, so it’s just been such a cool experience. It’s so nice to do it at home with my family and my kids down on the beach. I love being a part of this community, so thank you to Newcastle.”
The 2025 Newcastle Surfest ran at Newcastle Beach, NSW, from March 13 – 15, 2025. For more information on all WSL events, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.