jAt ust 18 years old, Caity Simmers has etched her name into the surf record books as one of the youngest women to win the WSL Championship Tour world title. Born and raised in Oceanside, California, Simmers has lived near the beach her entire life. She first began riding waves on a boogie board and perched on the nose of her dad’s longboard, before eventually taking up surfing herself. When she was ten, she entered her first contest near her home in Oceanside: Surf for the Sea.

“I made it through one heat,” says Simmers. “And I guess I liked the feeling of winning because I started doing contests like the Soul Surf, WSA, and NSSAs.”

 In 2021, when she was fifteen, Simmers began competing on the Championship Series (CS). She won the US Open of Surfing and rounded out the season in fourth, securing a spot on the 2022 Championship Tour (CT). A spot she ultimately turned down.

“I chose not to do the tour because I didn’t think I was ready and wanted to improve my surfing and spend time at home with friends and family,” says Simmers.

In 2022, Simmers excelled on the CS once again, winning the Gold Coast Pro and finished the season in fourth. This time, she accepted her spot on the CT.

“It’s so inspiring to see the success that Caity has had,” says five-time NNSA Champ and CS standout Bella Kenworthy. “I grew up surfing with Caity, so it’s cool to see her success and it motivate me to get on the CT.”

Eyes had been on Simmers for a while and expectations were high for the rookie. Simmers didn’t disappoint. She landed event wins at both the Rip Curl Portugal Pro and the VIVO Rio Pro, securing a spot in the WSL Finals where she rounded out her rookie season in fourth. Deservedly, she was awarded Rookie of the Year. 

“It’s just one of those situations where it’s happened so quickly. You just have to be grateful that it’s happened and wake up every day and try and enjoy it,” says Simmers. “It’s pretty easy to get caught up in it and try to think about how I could get better and get in my head about it, but I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

With some experience under her belt, Simmers dominated the 2024 from day one. In pumping conditions, Simmers won the first event of the season: the Lexus Pipe Pro. Her post heat interview became the interview heard round the world.

Fresh off her win, when the mic was held up to her, Simmers proudly declared: “Pipeline is for the f****ing girls.” Unfiltered. Unashamed. Pure Simmers.

She went on to wear the yellow jersey for the majority of the season, winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and the VIVO Rio Pro. Going into the WSL Finals in the number one slot, it ultimately came down to a best two out of three heats against Olympic gold medalist and defending world champ Caroline Marks.

In the first heat, the women went back and forth, swapping high scoring waves, but Marks ultimately came out on top. In heat two, Simmers answered back, landing a 9.20 and a 9.17 for a heat total of 18.37, the highest ever combined heat score in finals history – Simmers would take the win. 

It all came down to one final heat. Marks was looking to secure her second world title and Simmers was determined to score her first. In the end, Simmers walked away victorious.   

“I’m really emotional too so I’m happy that it’s all over,” Simmers told WSL in her post heat interview. “I’m really happy that it happened and that it went my way. It’s feeling really good, and I’ve got a lot of things going through my mind.”

Simmers may be the world champ but she’s just one of many teenage girls who are charging. Notably, San Clemente local Sawyer Lindblad grew up surfing and competing with Simmers and was also awarded the Rookie of the Year title thanks to her stellar performances.

“My favorite moments from this year were making my first CT final at Margaret River, getting the best waves of my life in Tahiti, and making another CT final in Brazil with one of my best friends, [Caity Simmers],” says Lindblad. 

Women’s surfing continues to progress and gets younger each year and Simmers and Lindblad are leading that charge. And this is just the beginning. 

“When there’s more community to do it with and more girls to look up to then there’s obviously going to be more girls,” says Simmers. “And then if there’s more girls at a younger age that are better then it just keeps getting younger because those girls look up to the older girls and they want to be better. There are a couple girls coming up that are really, really gnarly. It’s going to be fun to watch.”