Credit: © WSL / Sloane
| Location: |
Margaret River, Western Australia Australia |
| Event window: |
March 29 – April 9, 2017 |
| Today’s call: |
Men’s Round 1 called ON at North Point |
| Conditions: |
Building four – six foot (1.5 – 2 metre) |
MARGARET RIVER, Western Australia/AUS (Wednesday, March 29, 2017) – The opening day of the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, the second stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), has been called ON in building four-to-six foot (1.5 – 2 metre) waves at North Point, a hollow righthand reef-point located about 10 miles north of Margaret River. With men’s Round 1 called ON, today’s competition will see history being made as the world’s best surfers compete at this break for the first time ever in a WSL competition. Women’s Round 1 has been called off for the day.
“We have an incredible opening day in store for us ” said WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow. “After holding for most of the morning, we’ve seen the conditions line up here at North Point. We have been waiting for the swell to come in and for consistency to increase. We are going to take advantage of the conditions and run through men’s Round 1. We’ve never had the opportunity to run at North Point before, so it will be a historic day full of great action.”
Up first this morning will be an all-star heat between 11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA), three-time WSL Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) and rookie powerhouse Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) in the opening heat of Round 1.
Current Jeep Ratings Leader Owen Wright (AUS) will face 2017 CT rookies Connor O’Leary (AUS), Ian Gouveia (BRA) in Round 1 Heat 7, while World No. 2 Matt Wilkinson (AUS) will battle Miguel Pupo (BRA) and Jack Freestone (AUS) in Heat 3.
2016 WSL Champion John John Florence (HAW) will be one to watch today in Heat 6 as he takes on North Point against rookie Frederico Morais (PRT) and Trials Winner Jacob Willcox (AUS).
Due to the extremely limited capacity at North Point, in-person press will not be tenable until the event relocates to the main site. An end of day press release and images will complement the VNR and live access to surfer interviews is via the WSL broadcast on WorldSurfLeague.com.
For more information, check out WorldSurfLeague.com.
The event will be broadcast LIVE via WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL app and on Facebook LIVE via the WSL’s Facebook page. Also check the local listings for coverage on CBS Sports Network in the U.S., Fox Sports in Australia, ESPN in Brazil, Sky NZ in New Zealand, SFR Sports in France and Portugal and as part of the EDGEsport Network.
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Men’s Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA), Mick Fanning (AUS), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 2: Kolohe Andino (USA), Stuart Kennedy (AUS), Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Heat 3: Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Kanoa Igarashi (USA), Nat Young (USA)
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW), Frederico Morais (PRT), Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS), Connor O’Leary (AUS), Ian Gouveia (BRA)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Conner Coffin (USA), Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 11: Julian WIlson (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 12: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Ethan Ewing (AUS)
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Women’s Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Johanne Defay (FRA), Malia Manuel (HAW), Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Sage Erickson (USA), Coco Ho (HAW)
Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS), Keely Andrew (AUS), Laura Macaulay (AUS)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Nikki Van DIjk (AUS), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF)
Heat 5: Carissa Moore (HAW), Lakey Peterson (USA), Pauline Ado (FRA)
Heat 6: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Silvana Lima (BRA) |
