D-Bah is just around the corner from Cooly's Snapper Rocks. - WSL
It's all about location, especially in surfing. With small waves and big high tides stalling the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro Gold Coast, contest officials are considering relocating the event from Snapper Rocks to Duranbah (more commonly known as D-Bah). The beach is just southeast of Snapper, around the headland. Officials will make the call whether or not to move Friday morning local time.
"The option to move to D-Bah would be to maximize the two-day swell the best we can to be in the best position to hopefully finish by Wednesday [March 11]," said World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) Deputy Commissioner Renato Hickel. "If we end up at D-Bah and for some reason the swell starts building and the tide drops, we can always stop the contest for an hour and bring it back to Snapper if the surf is big enough and better. From D-Bah to Snapper, if you paddle around headland, it's only 100 or 200 meters.
Duranbah, or D-Bah, a possible backup site if big high tides continue to swamp conditions at Snapper. - WSL / WHS
"D-Bah is a classic beachbreak," said Hickel. "The biggest difference is length of ride. D-Bah the rides will be shorter. What surfers will be looking for is to surf Off the Wall which is located off the south jetty. There is a good righthander there. There are lefts toward the middle, but the righthander is the better wave. What gives D-Bah the advantage is that it's almost always bigger because the beach is so tiny it channels the swell."
If the event relocates, it wouldn't be the first time that Duranbah has been a backup spot for the CT. The Quik and Roxy Pro ran heats at D-Bah in 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009. The break has also hosted two individually sanctioned pro surfing events, the Stubbies Surf Classic Trials in 1982 and the 1A Billabong Surf Into Summer Pro in 1984.
The event site at Snapper will continue to operate and host fans, VIP guests and media. The contest will be air the big screen on the beach and on multiple screens on site.
Tune in to Dawn Patrol LIVE on worldsurfleague.com for the official call at 7:30 a.m. local time.
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Josh Kerr (AUS) during a 2013 freesurf at D-Bah.
- WSL / Kirstin
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Adriano de Souza (BRA) at the 2006 event when it moved to Duranbah.
- WSL / Tostee
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Kelly Slater (USA) won the 2006 when the Final ran at Duranbah instead of Snapper Rocks.
- WSL / Tostee
Get Ready for...D-Bah?
WSL
It's all about location, especially in surfing. With small waves and big high tides stalling the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro Gold Coast, contest officials are considering relocating the event from Snapper Rocks to Duranbah (more commonly known as D-Bah). The beach is just southeast of Snapper, around the headland. Officials will make the call whether or not to move Friday morning local time.
"The option to move to D-Bah would be to maximize the two-day swell the best we can to be in the best position to hopefully finish by Wednesday [March 11]," said World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) Deputy Commissioner Renato Hickel. "If we end up at D-Bah and for some reason the swell starts building and the tide drops, we can always stop the contest for an hour and bring it back to Snapper if the surf is big enough and better. From D-Bah to Snapper, if you paddle around headland, it's only 100 or 200 meters.
"D-Bah is a classic beachbreak," said Hickel. "The biggest difference is length of ride. D-Bah the rides will be shorter. What surfers will be looking for is to surf Off the Wall which is located off the south jetty. There is a good righthander there. There are lefts toward the middle, but the righthander is the better wave. What gives D-Bah the advantage is that it's almost always bigger because the beach is so tiny it channels the swell."
If the event relocates, it wouldn't be the first time that Duranbah has been a backup spot for the CT. The Quik and Roxy Pro ran heats at D-Bah in 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009. The break has also hosted two individually sanctioned pro surfing events, the Stubbies Surf Classic Trials in 1982 and the 1A Billabong Surf Into Summer Pro in 1984.
The event site at Snapper will continue to operate and host fans, VIP guests and media. The contest will be air the big screen on the beach and on multiple screens on site.
Tune in to Dawn Patrol LIVE on worldsurfleague.com for the official call at 7:30 a.m. local time.
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