Merewether, NSW, AUSTRALIA 10 January 2017
ENTRIES for the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota Pro and the Anditi Women’s Pro – the World Qualifying Series 6000 events at the 2017 Surfest Newcastle Australia set down for February 20-26 – are flooding in to the World Surf League headquarters from surfers around the globe and clearly demonstrating a huge demand for a contest singlet at Merewether beach.
While entries remain open until January 23 (Pacific Standard Time), more than 250 surfers from 22 countries have already indicated their desire to contest both World Qualifying Series 6000 events. Many surfers don’t enter until just before deadline.
Surfest chief Warren Smith said organisers are likely to be faced with more athletes wanting a start than there are places available and that even getting a start in the trials on the weekend of February 18 and 19 will be highly competitive.
“We’ve currently got 104 women surfers and 150 male surfers on the contest sheets and history suggests we will see plenty more entries before the closing date.
“The Anditi Women’s Pro will probably start with 84 surfers and the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota Pro is likely to start with 144 surfers. We can slot a maximum of 48 surfers into the trials for each event on the weekend before the main events get underway.
“It’s clear both contests are important to surfers wanting to rack up early season points to make their mark on the 2017 tour,” Smith said.
The 2017 Surfest Newcastle Australia will see the 32nd running of the men’s event, making it one of Australia’s longest running professional surfing competitions. Beyond the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota Pro and the Anditi Women’s Pro, Surfest Newcastle Australia will host the nib Pro Junior, the ORICA Surfboard Club Team Challenge, the Sanbah Cadet Cup boys and Dalton Lawyers girls presented by Arcbuild, the Wandiyali ATSI Indigenous Classic, the Maitland and Port Stephens Toyota High School Teams Challenge, the Surfaid Cup and the Lake Mac Festival of Surfing.
For further information call Warren Smith on +61 412127525.
