Boardriding clubs from Bondi to Culburra will head to North Cronulla Beach for the third qualifying round of the Sailor Jerry Surftag Australian Series this weekend.
Elouera Boardriders will go into the event as the No.1 seeds after finishing fifth at last year’s Australian Championships.
The Elouera team that includes Joe Sear, Harrison Martin, Ben Dewhurst and Paul Holbrook will be strengthened by the return of Jared Hickel who has been busy travelling the globe chasing World Surf League ratings points.
The stylish goofy footer has been rubbing shoulders with some of the best surfers in the world over the last few weeks after receiving an invitation to compete in the trials of the opening World Championship Tour event on the Gold Coast.
“I’m stoked to be home competing for my club Elouera at the Sailor Jerry Surftag,” Hickel said.
“I’ve been away a lot this first half of the year competing on the WQS so it always feels good to come home and surf with the boys and for my club.”
Twelve men’s teams will be vying for a top six finish at North Cronulla to guarantee qualification to the Surftag Australian Championships at Duranbah Beach, Tweed Heads in late April.
Elouera will need to overcome some tough competition to finish on top with Wollongong’s Scarborough Boardriders team including Nic Squiers. The explosive natural footer has been one of the form surfers so far this year on the WQS taking out the Burleigh Pro in January.
Elouera and Scarborough will be up against Bondi, Bronte, Maroubra, Cronulla Sharks, Garie, Sandon Point, Woonona, Werri Beach, Jones Beach and Culburra.
In the women’s division, the Cronulla Christian Surfers will be looking to defend their regional title won last year courtesy of some huge scores from Paris Whittaker.
The Christian Surfers team will face Bondi Girls, Cronulla Girls and Scarborough with the top two teams qualifying for the Australian Championships.
Competition starts at 9am on Saturday at North Cronulla Beach with the men’s and women’s finals being held on Sunday.
Details: globalsurftag.com
Cronulla has been another “tale of two cities” story this week with two to eight foot waves on offer. The trouble is there is now a howling easterly onshore that is scheduled to blow half the week but with some respite on Friday.
I took today’s pics over a couple of days because conditions were terrible with rain on Wednesday morning and a devil wind making the Point the only option.
Swellnet predicts that it’ll be very onshore from Tuesday through the end of the week with the swell also picking up possibly to eight to 10 foot – so find a hidden corner.
This weekend is looking pretty good at this stage with the swell dropping wind swing offshore and showing some good potential for Sunday for the finals of the Sailor Jerry Surftag.
Meanwhile, the first stop on the 2018 World Surf League Championship Tour, the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast, witnessed an incredible start to the season as Lakey Peterson (USA) and Julian Wilson (AUS) took victory in unreal conditions at Kirra on the Gold Coast .
"I’m happy to have a better result in Australia than I did after all three events in Australia last year," said Wilson.
“There’s a massive positive in that. I’m looking forward to Bells, to compete again and work off an injury.”
Wave selection and massive upsets shocked surfing’s biggest stage at this year’s season opener to remind the world that anything can happen on the Championship Tour. In addition to Peterson and Wilson taking the wins, a new generation of surfers stepped up to showcase their progression, determination, and potential.
The USA’s Griffin Colapinto was the standout rookie who amazed the surfing world with the first perfect 10 of the 2018 CT season. Colapinto miraculously made his way out of three deep barrels in one wave to set the bar for the new season.
It was bad luck for Connor O’Leary who didn't get out of first gear in his second round and got dusted with a bunch of good guys. Better luck at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach that starts on March 28!
Finally, the International Surfing Association (ISA) has welcomed the release by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of the approved qualification system for surfing's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, ensuring the participation of the world's best professional surfers as well as promoting universal opportunities for surfers from around the world at the games.
To cut to the chase, there are 20 men, 20 women with a maximum of two surfers per gender per national Olympic committee.
Qualification spots will be earned on an individual basis, by name. From the 2019 World Surf League Championship Tour, the first 10 eligible men and first eight eligible women.
2020 ISA World Surfing Games: first four eligible men and first six eligible women.
2019 ISA World Surfing Games: four men and four women selected based on their continent. Top finishing eligible surfer of each gender from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
2019 Pan American Games: First eligible man and first eligible woman in the surfing competitions.
And finally the host nation slot: one man and one woman slot will be guaranteed for the host nation of Japan, unless already filled through the above hierarchies.
Cant wait for all that drama!