COOLANGATTA, QLD/AUS (Thursday, March 5, 2020) - World Surf League is excited to announce that it will be forming a new partnership with Harvey Norman through the 2020 season. The partnership will see Harvey Norman activating across all major Australian and New Zealand events on the Championship Tour and Challenger Series as the retail giant continues its strong support of Australian sport.
"Partnering with Harvey Norman is a great step forward for us at the World Surf League," said WSL Asia Pacific General Manager Andrew Stark. "Surfing is a sport synonymous with Australia. Harvey Norman has the highest credentials as a long term supporter of Australian sport - both men's and women's. Harvey Norman's involvement ensures our credibility as a sport continues to gain momentum in Australia."
Australia and New Zealand will be the focal point of the surfing world in the coming months as the exciting new WSL Challenger Series kicks off with events in Manly, Sydney, and Piha New Zealand. The first Challenger Series event will see the return of reigning event winner and Northern Beaches resident Jordy Lawler who will look to take back-to-back wins at Manly.
"I'm excited to have the Challenger Series kick off in Manly this year," Lawler said. "I feel like I know what it takes to win there and am confident I can do it again. It's so good to have a company like Harvey Norman get behind surfing. They've shown strong support to a lot of major professional sports in Australia and I think it's great they see the value surfing can bring."
Harvey Norman will then follow WSL into the first three events of the Elite Championship Tour across the Gold Coast, Bells Beach and Margaret River. Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page is looking forward to the 2020 WSL Season commencing.
"We are so excited to kick off this season with the World Surf League," Page said. "We couldn't think of a better partnership. The WSL sets the stage for the best surfers in the world and those on the cusp, hosted from some of the most iconic Australian and New Zealand beaches. Harvey Norman, we have the longest history of supporting Australian athletes - men and women, boys and girls. Surfing is iconically Australian, whether you compete, relax with a morning surf or appreciate the sport from the sand. Almost every Australian would count themselves as a fan of surfing."
The Sydney Surf Pro will also play host to a junior event which will see over 100 of the best 18-and-under surfers from the Asia Pacific region do battle at Manly Beach. Sage Goldsbury will head to Manly hoping to hold onto her top spot on the regional WSL junior rankings and is thankful for the support the event has been given by Harvey Norman.
"It's awesome that WSL is partnering with Harvey Norman, a company that is supporting women in sport," Goldsbury said. "Knowing that women's surfing is being supported means a lot to us athletes and it's exciting to see where the future is heading for our sport. I feel so proud to be part of WSL. To compete with an organisation like WSL that has equal prize money for women's events is really exciting. It makes me really keen to see where the future of women's surfing is heading with this support and equal opportunities."