- WSL
- WSL

The 2016 Australasian Qualifying Series (QS) will get off to a flying start next week when the newly upgraded Carve Pro QS1000 event kicks off at Maroubra.

The elite three-day competition - which will form the first of four stops on the NSW Pro Surf Series - will take place at Maroubra Beach from January 15 to 17, 2016.

The QS1000 competition will serve as a replacement to the Carve Pro Junior, which ran on the Eastern Sydney beach over the last two years.

Cronulla surfer Connor O'Leary narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2016 World Championship Tour by three spots and is now looking forward to getting his new campaign underway with the Carve Pro.

"Over my junior career I surfed a handful of events in Maroubra and I'm looking forward to getting my 2016 campaign underway there next week. Hopefully, a good result in the Carve Pro will snowball into more decent results over the rest of the WSL competition calendar."

Local surfers competing in the event include former World Championship Tour surfer Blake Thornton, Monty Tait, Jackson Giles and Max McGuigan.

Carve team-riders Kiara Meredith (AUS) and Rio Waida (IND) have both been awarded wildcards into the event.

Carve Director Matt Whyte believes upgrading the Carve Pro Junior to a QS1000 event will help many surfers to achieve their dreams of becoming a professional surfer.

"We are very proud to be putting on our first Carve Pro QS1000 event. This is another huge milestone for Carve. We have always been a major supporter of junior surfing through events like the Carve Pro Junior as well as sponsoring 80-plus Australian kids. We hope this event will be a great stepping-stone in helping them fulfill their dreams of a professional surfing career."

The NSW Pro Surf Series was developed for Australian and international surfers to gain ranking points and prize money on the WSL Qualifying Series. The Series also creates a NSW coastal road trip for all to explore the variety of waves, visit local communities and enjoy NSW surfing culture.

The 2016 NSW Pro Surf Series is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The series is also proudly supported by Randwick City Council, Gosford City Council, Destination Tweed, Great Lakes Council & Tourism, NBN, GoGet, Lost Surfboards, World Surf League and Surfing NSW.

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