World Surf League Cancels 2020 Championship Tour Amid COVID-19
The World Surf League today announced the cancellation of its 2020 Championship Tour (CT) and Qualifying Series (QS) season. Though being in the water is likely a fairly safe place to not contract COVID-19, the WSL said, in a news release, it is taking "the health and safety of athletes, fans, employees, and the local communities remaining [on the 2020 tour schedule] the organization's top priorities" and has decided to cancel "considering the challenges of international travel currently."
In a video released on WSL channels today, WSL CEO Erik Logan said, "After careful consideration and extensive discussions with key stakeholders, we have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Championship Tour and Qualifying Series seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we firmly believe that surfing is amongst the sports best suited for competition to be held safely during the age of unresolved COVID, we have huge respect for the ongoing concerns of many in our community as the world works to resolve this."
The WSL was able to hold some of its 2020 events, including contests in Morro Bay, CA; Pismo Beach, CA; Wanning, Hainan Island, China; Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii; Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; Anchor Point, Taghazout Bay, Morocco; Maroubra, Sydney, Australia; Banzai Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii; Las Americas, Tenerife, Canary Islands; Redhead Beach, New South Wales, Australia; Redhead Beach, NSW, Australia; New South Wales, NSW, Australia; Boomerang Beach, NSW, Australia; Noosa, Queensland, Australia; Avoca Beach, NSW, Australia; Rangiroa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia; Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Manly Beach, NSW, Australia; Paparā, Tahiti, French Polynesia; and ended with Shepard Beach Park, Cocoa Beach, Florida, March 12-15.
In an interesting twist, the 2021 season includes a competition at Surf Ranch, a wave system that has been dubbed the “world’s longest open-barrel artificial wave.” The brainchild of WSL surfer Kelly Slater, the wave pool is inland in a California farm town, Lemoore. The installation is powered by renewable energy, took a $30 million investment and was a decade in the making. It first hosted a WSL event in 2018. WSL plans to be at Surf Ranch June 10-13, 2021.
The 2021 WSL tour will start this November in Maui, Hawaii for the women and this December in Oahu, Hawaii for the men, subject to the approval of the State of Hawaii and local government agencies. Effective protocols for safe international travel will also be required, according to the WSL. The 2021 CT season will finish with "The WSL Finals," a new single-day World Title Event in September 2021.
This article originally appeared on the Manhattan Beach Patch
