MSA Classic Invitational 2026

About this event

The MSA Classic Invitational returns to Malibu's legendary Surfrider Beach on September 12-13, 2026 — one of the world's most respected and longest-running longboard surf contests, hosted by the Malibu Surfing Association (MSA) since the club's founding in 1961. Every heat runs at First Point, the iconic right-hand point break that shaped modern longboarding and surf culture; the contest itself is woven into surf history, from the 1962 formation of the Windansea Surf Club to surf Malibu, to the first local TV broadcast of a surf event in 1964, to Miki Dora's famous in-water clash with Johnny Fain in 1967. Today the MSA Classic is one of the top-tier stops on the Coalition of Surfing Clubs (CSC) annual circuit — a traditional, style-driven celebration of classic longboarding that draws invited club teams from across California and around the world. For 2026 the field runs 423 competitors of all ages representing invited international and regional surf clubs, including the Malibu Surfing Association, Australia Longboard Surf Club, Japan Rise Surfing Association, Hope Ranch Surf Club, WindanSea, Oceanside Longboard Surf Club, Ventura Surf Club, the Canadian Longboard Surf Club, the East Coast Surf Club and Pedro Point Surf Club. A signature highlight is the NoseMaster Invitational held Saturday, September 12, where 18 women and 18 men are selected to compete in a dedicated noseriding showdown that rewards the traditional art of hanging ten on First Point's peeling walls. This is an invitation-only event — competitors surf as representatives of selected clubs, and there is no open public sign-up — but spectating is completely free: Surfrider Beach is a public beach, so anyone can watch the heats from the sand or the Malibu Pier. Proceeds from the Classic and MSA's fundraising support ocean- and coast-focused nonprofits including Heal the Bay, the Surfrider Foundation, the Groundswell Society and the Malibu Legacy Park Project. Exact daily start and finals times shift with tide, swell and heat progression; MSA posts schedule and results updates on its website and social channels.

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