- WSL / @PabloJimenez photo
- WSL / @PabloJimenez photo

LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Tuesday, September 1, 2015) - Makua Rothman, defending World Surf League (WSL) Big Wave Champion, once again leads the world's best big wave surfers in this year's rankings heading into the second half of the season.

Rothman, who claimed the Quiksilver Ceremonial at Punta Lobos in Chile in May, will look to hold onto his early-season lead of the Northern Hemisphere half of the season commences on October 15, opening up the waiting periods for the Oregon Challenge at Nelscott Reef, the Punta Galea Challenge in Spain, the Todos Santos Challenge in Baja California and the Pe'ahi Challenge in Maui.

"It's unfortunate that we were not able to run the Billabong Pico Alto, Peru or Puerto Escondido Challenge in Mexico, but the appropriate swell systems never materialized within the competition waiting period," Peter Mel, WSL Big Wave Commissioner, said. "That said, we're incredibly excited regarding early forecasts for what could be a tremendous El Nino season and the beginning of competition windows for Oregon Challenge, Punta Galea, Spain, Todos Santos Challenge, Baja California and Peahi Challenge in Maui. Good luck to all our competitors this season and get those big boards ordered."

Surfline, official forecasters for the World Surf League (WSL), are calling for the following with regards to the upcoming El Nino season:

The Surfline Forecast as well as NOAA's Climate Prediction Center favors a significant event developing. Further, the likelihood we will see El Nino conditions persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter exceeds 90 percent; with the likelihood we will see El Nino conditions continue heading into spring dipping slightly to around 80 percent.

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