It’s that time again! The top 36 ranked male and top 18 ranked female surfers in the world will descend upon the Margaret River region from the 8-19th of April for the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro. The event sees thousands of spectators flock to Surfers Point in Prevelly to watch the world’s best surfers take on the famous Margaret River Mainbreak and the fearsome Box. The Margaret River Pro has been awarded World Championship Tour status in part thanks to the fact that it offers some of the best surfing conditions in the world.
Event programs (with maps and more information about what else is going on in the region during the Pro) are available at the Margaret River visitor centre, or download a digital copy here.
Here are a few key event facts that you might find useful:
- It’s a free spectator event! You can head to the point to watch the best surfers in the world compete, just make sure you check out worldsurfleague.com at 7am each day to see if the event is running, on hold, or a lay day has been called.
- This year there will be car parking on Gnarabup Oval and Rifflebutts Oval on event days.
- There are free shuttle buses operating on the days the event is running. Buses will be doing constant loops from the parking area on the corner of Caves and Wallcliffe Roads and from Gnarabup Oval to Surfers Point.
- In the case that the event runs at Northpoint, Gracetown we recommend that all spectators remain at the main event site at Surfers Point to watch the action via the big screen and enjoy the ample facilities.
Sound like a pro! Know your event status lingo:
- The call: The WSL Commissioners and Contest Director make a call each day, depending on the surf conditions.
- It’s on: The competition is on and a daily event schedule announced. Heat by heat conditions are assessed by the Men’s and Women’s Tour Commissioners.
- Standby or on hold: No competition at the present time, waiting to see if conditions improve and the Commissioners will make another call at a later time.
- It’s off: The competition won’t be held today. An off day is also known as a lay day.
- Going mobile: A mobile event has the ability to run at more than one location to ensure that competition is held in the best conditions. An event will go mobile when conditions at the primary event site have been assessed by the Commissioners’ office and a decision is made to move the competition to one of the alternate locations with favourable conditions. At the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, the Commissioners have the option of moving the event from Mainbreak to Southsides, The Box and first the first time ever this year – Northpoint, Gracetown.
And for a fun read, click here to see why the pro surfers love the Margaret River region!
Featured image credit: WSL/Kelly Cestari