PORT Stephens has been selected as the venue for the Women’s qualifying series of the World Surfing League.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

The event will be held at Birubi Beach over three days at the end of February 2021.

The Port Stephens event is one of four: World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) events that will form the brand new Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series in the early stages of 2021.

Ethan Smith Of Surfing NSW told News Of The Area, “Surfing NSW has joined forces with the NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, Vissla and World Surf League to bring four QS events back to Boomerang Beach, Port Stephens, Maroubra and Avoca.”

The four-event series will see two QS1000 rated events (Maroubra and Great Lakes), one men’s and women’s QS3000 (Central Coast) and one women’s QS3000 (Port Stephens).

“We are likely to see domestic competitors but it will be the cream of the crop of Australian Qualifying surfing that we will see at Birubi Beach.”

The event at Birubi Beach is being supported by Port Stephens Council and Middle Rock Caravan Park.

The new tour structure will provide a more streamlined and affordable career pathway for WSL athletes by allowing up-and-coming surfers to develop closer to home without financially overleveraging themselves.

Athletes will compete on their regional QS tour in hopes of qualifying for the Challenger Series (CS), and ultimately the Championship Tour, which will reduce the economic pressure on surfers and their sponsors, as well as provide increased opportunities to celebrate local stars.

Surfing NSW CEO Luke Madden said the Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series will continue to play a vital role for surfers as they aspire to qualify for the Challenger Series and the Championship Tour.

“Surfing NSW’s intention of launching the Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series back in 2016 was to give Australian surfers the opportunity to get closer to qualifying for the Championship Tour,” said Madden.

“Now with the inclusion of the Challenger Series events and each region having an allocation of people who qualify, we’re overjoyed to see a regional pathway for Australian competitors.”

“Over the years the series has created a tremendous building block for surfers who are aspiring to qualify for the Championship Tour,” said Mossop.

“People like Morgan Cibilic, Macy Callaghan, Connor O’Leary and Ethan Ewing have all used some stellar results on this series to propel them onto the world stage and it’s something we want to see continue in the forthcoming years.”

WSL Asia Pacific Tour Manager Will Hayden-Smith expressed his excitement at seeing the Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series take place along the NSW coastline again in 2021.

“This will be the sixth year of WSL’s involvement with the Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series and we couldn’t be happier to see it all kick-off again in 2021,” Hayden-Smith said.

“With the new look regional Qualifying Series giving competitors a new path to the Challenger Series and Championship Tour, this series will play a more pivotal role in the career pathway for this region’s surfers than ever before.

“WSL would like to thank all of the series partners that continue to support and develop these fantastic events.”

The series also creates a NSW coastal road trip for all to explore the variety of waves, visit local communities and enjoy NSW surfing culture.

All events will be webcast through worldsurfleague.com and the WSL App.

By Marian SAMPSON