The 11x World Champion Kelly Slater is set to return to competition as part of the A New Earth Project Team for the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. Slater joins a star studded team that also features Koa Smith, Kai Lenny and Bethany Hamilton who will all be competing the prestigious specialty event.
Kelly’s illustrious competitive career came to halt earlier this year when he was a victim of the WSL CT mid-year cut at Margaret River. However, retirement for Kelly isn’t just simply riding peacefully off into the sunset. He has since made a wildcard appearance at the CT event in Fiji and he also put the jersey on for Quiksilver and Jeremy Flores’ Surf Festival in Hossegor.
The 2025 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout will run from 4-16 January and The New Earth Project Team will be hoping to better its third place finish from last year’s event, which was eventually won by Maui’s Billy Kemper, who took the individual honours, and Team Volcom who won overall. Volcom’s team consisted of Balaram Stack, Makana Pang, Moana Jones Wong, Jake Maki, Makai Burdine and Noa Deane.
“We’re stoked to be fielding the amazing team of Kelly Slater, Koa Smith Kai Lenny, and Bethany Hamilton for this year’s Shootout” said Wes Carter, founder of A New Earth Project. “We are so proud to be represented by such an esteemed group of surfers who care passionately about our mission to rid the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers of plastic pollution.”
If Kelly puts on a good performance, and is still on the North Shore by the time the WSL rolls into town, I wonder if we could be seeing a wildcard entry into another Pipeline contest?
