Jack Robinson Photo Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images N E W S
&
E V E N T S
Three New Stops Added to 2021 WSL Championship Tour The World Surf League (WSL) confirmed the updated schedule for the Championship Tour (CT) Australian leg, announcing the addition of three events in North Narrabeen (NSW), Margaret River (WA), and Rottnest Island (WA). The WSL also announced the cancellation of the 2021 Corona Open Gold Coast presented by Billabong and the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
The pristine nature reserve of Rottnest Island will host the fourth stop of the Australian Championship Tour leg. The island is offshore from Western Australia’s capital, Perth, and its breaks are some of the most consistent in the state. Strickland Bay, where the event will take place, is predominantly a left and is considered one of the best waves in south-west Western Australia.
Joining Margaret River on the elite CT will be three new CT stops in New South Wales and Western Australia. The opening stop of the Australian leg will see the Championship Tour head to the pro surfing hub of Merewether Beach in Newcastle continuing over 35 years of professional surfing history in this iconic Australian city.
The WSL announced the agreement with the New South Wales Government that will see all international competitors board a chartered flight in Los Angeles that will land in Sydney. Once in Australia, all travelling athletes and support staff will undergo the mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine and must receive a medical clearance from public health officials before entering the general community and preparing for competition in Newcastle. The Government is not funding the quarantine.
Following Newcastle, the CT will head south to the Northern Beaches of Sydney to North Narrabeen. Similarly to Newcastle, North Narrabeen has a rich surfing lineage producing some of surfing’s biggest names. Home to legends such as Simon Anderson, Nathan Hedge, Laura Enever and Damien Hardman to name a few, the high-performance lefts of North Narra have hosted dozens of professional events over the last four decades with the Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic presented by Corona, CT being the first event since the World Junior Championships over a decade ago.
The WSL will implement a robust and thorough COVID-19 health and safety plan for each event during the Australian leg of the CT in accordance with federal and state guidance. The WSL’s health and safety plan include physical distancing measures, temperature checks, enhanced high-touch cleaning at the event site, contact tracing procedures, sanitizer stations throughout the event site, and minimal personnel on-site.
The third event of the Australian leg is a more familiar one for competitors and surf fans alike, Margaret River, where competition returns to the rugged and raw waters of South West Western Australia. Competitors will be tested as always with one of the most diverse events seeing Main Break and The Box coming into play across the event window.
Rip Curl Newcastle Cup pres. by Corona: April 1 - 11 Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic pres. by Corona: April 16 - 26 Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro pres. by Corona: May 2-12 Rip Curl Rottnest Search pres. by Corona: May 16 - 26 18
