NORTH NARRABEEN, Sydney, NSW, Australia (Wednesday, May 8, 2024) - The World Surf League (WSL) 2024 Challenger Series has shifted its focus to the high-performance peaks of North Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches for the GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Bonsoy. Over 120 competitors have arrived in Narrabeen for the event, which is set to commence tomorrow and holds a competiton window through Thursday, May 16, 2024. A call will be made tomorrow morning at 7:15 a.m. AEST for a potential 7:30 a.m. start.
Pittar, Fitzgibbons, Pupo and Brooks Look to Continue CS Roll at North Narrabeen
Hailing from just down the road in Manly, Northern Beaches local George Pittar (AUS) is finally back on home soil after a whirlwind few months of competition. Pittar was awarded wildcards into two Championship Tour (CT) events, putting on an incredible performance that saw him earn an equal third-place finish at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, even taking down world No. 1 Griffin Colapinto (AUS) along the way. Pittar then commenced his Challenger Series season last week with a solid showing and Semifinal finish on the Gold Coast and will hope to continue that form here in Sydney as he looks for a full-time spot on the CT in 2025.
"It's amazing to be back home and competing at an event of this size whilst sleeping in my own bed and enjoying mum's home-cooked meals," Pittar said. "It's amazing to see all of the world's best lighting up the Northern Beaches. I know it means a lot to the local surfing community. The last month has been amazing. It's been great to get some results and scores at the CT level and show myself I can belong there and it definitely gives me so much confidence ahead of the CS season. It's given me incentive to qualify and compete at the CT level full-time."
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) returns to North Narrabeen in 2024 as the reigning event runner-up and fresh off an equal third-place finish on the Gold Coast last week. With more than 12 years of experience competing at the elite level, Fitzgibbons will be hopeful of locking in another Finals Day finish in Sydney this week as she aims to land back on the Championship Tour at the beginning of 2025.
Less than a week after her groundbreaking performance at Snapper Rocks, winning her second Challenger Series event and earning a Perfect 10 along the way, 16-year-old Erin Brooks (CAN) has very quickly shifted her focus to the left of North Narrabeen. Brooks has shown her ability on long, barreling righthand point but is keen to remind the world of her ability going to the air on her frontside.
"I'm so excited to be here at Narrabeen and competing on lefts because that is my frontside," Brooks said. "This wave is a bit like Snapper in that it has opportunity for everything: barrels, turns and airs. I like going for frontside airs, so I'm keen to push myself at this event and go for some more big scores. It sounds like there will be plenty of lefts all week, which is great news. My goal is to qualify this year so I need another big result here to take the pressure off heading into the rest of the season."
Brazilian young gun Samuel Pupo (BRA) finds himself in a similar position to that of this time last year. Pupo has just been relegated from the CT, bounced back with a Final berth on the Gold Coast, and now comes to Sydney, hoping to back up his great start to the CS season and lock in a spot inside the top 10 to take the pressure off when the CS leaves Australia.
"Last year, I had a great first event, then came here and lost in my first heat," Pupo said. "I am really focused on getting through that first heat because I don't want to need a result in the last event of the year. I want to qualify early and not have stress on me all season. It's good to be back here, and I'm excited to surf some different waves. It's a great location, and it should be an exciting week of competition."
Axel Curotta and Anne Dos Santos Win Local Trials
Over the weekend, the Local Trials event was run at North Narrabeen in wild conditions for a group of Northern Beaches and New South Wales surfers. In the end, Manly duo Axel Curotta (AUS) and Anne Dos Santos (BRA) won and will now compete in their first-ever Challenger Series event.
Curotta will take on form surfer Josh Burke (BRB) as well as Tully Wylie (AUS) and Ryan Huckabee (USA). Brazilian-born Dos Santos will do battle with former CT competitor Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) as well as veteran Philippa Anderson (AUS) and Jessie Van Niekerk (RSA).
North Narrabeen livewires Dylan Moffat (AUS) and Jordy Lawler (AUS) have also been awarded wildcards into the main event and will be looking for big results on home soil after both competitors missed Challenger Series qualification in 2024.
"I'm stoked to be back at Narrabeen to compete," Fitzgibbons said. "It's a place with a lot of history, good waves, and it's been a place I've had success in the past. I had a good start to the CS season with a solid result on the Gold Coast, but with such a small amount of qualification spots up for grabs, I need to go again this week and get some more solid work done. Every event counts. It looks like we will have some good east swell, which is a good direction for Narrabeen, so it should be a fun event."
Sierra Kerr and Leo Casal Win Sydney Surf Pro Junior
The weekend at North Narrabeen also witnessed Sierra Kerr (AUS) and Leo Casal (BRA) claim impressive wins at North Narrabeen for the 2024 Sydney Surf Pro Junior. The pair overcame massive fields in their respective divisions.
Kerr continued her incredible start to 2024, claiming a fifth WSL event win in less than five months. The win made it back-to-back victories at the Sydney Surf Pro Junior for Kerr. Brazilian Casal has come to North Narrabeen with his main focus being on the Challenger Series event, but he thought the Pro Junior would be the perfect way to get some reps in under the pressure of a heat.
GWM Sydney Surf Pro Presented By Bonsoy Men's Round of 80 Matchups: HEAT 1: Oscar Berry (AUS) vs. Kai Odriozola (ESP) vs. Winter Vincent (AUS) vs. Jordy Maree (RSA) HEAT 2: Owen Moss (USA) vs. Rinta Oooto (JPN) vs. Leo Casal (BRA) vs. Daniel Emslie (RSA) HEAT 3: Jarvis Earle (AUS) vs. Robert Grilho (HAW) vs. Rafael Teixeira (BRA) vs. Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) HEAT 4: Josh Burke (BRB) vs. Tully Wylie (AUS) vs. Ryan Huckabee (USA) vs. Axel Curotta (AUS) HEAT 5: Charly Quivront (FRA) vs. Guilherme Ribeiro (POR) vs. Luel Felipe (BRA) vs. Jordan Lawler (AUS) HEAT 6: Tide-Lee Ireland (RSA) vs. Levi Slawson (USA) vs. Carlos Munoz (CRC) vs. Kyuss King (AUS) HEAT 7: Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) vs. Joh Azuchi (JPN) vs. Kai Martin (HAW) vs. Cody Young (HAW) HEAT 8: Dylan Moffat (AUS) vs. Cauã Costa (BRA) vs. Kai Paula (HAW) vs. Taro Watanabe (USA)
GWM Sydney Surf Pro Presented By Bonsoy Women's Round of 48 Matchups: HEAT 1: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) vs. Philippa Anderson (AUS) vs. Jessie Van Niekerk (RSA) vs. Anne Dos Santos (BRA) HEAT 2: Zoe McDougall (HAW) vs. Nanaho Tsuzuki (JPN) vs. Maud Le Car (FRA) vs. Sol Aguirre (PER) HEAT 3: Sophia Medina (BRA) vs. Sara Wakita (JPN) vs. Eweleiula Wong (HAW) vs. Ariane Ochoa (EUK) HEAT 4: Kirra Pinkerton (USA) vs. Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Rosie Smart (AUS) vs. Nyxie Ryan (AUS) HEAT 5: Tessa Thyssen (FRA) vs. Taina Hinckel (BRA) vs. Anon Matsuoka (JPN) vs. Mia Huppatz (AUS) HEAT 6: Leilani McGonagle (CRC) vs. Laura Raupp (BRA) vs. Nora Liotta (HAW) vs. Saffi Vette (NZL) HEAT 7: Daniella Rosas (PER) vs. Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN) vs. Anastasia Venter (RSA) vs. Sierra Kerr (AUS) HEAT 8: Yolanda Hopkins (POR)