COPACABANA BEACH, Central Coast, NSW / Australia (Thursday, March 7, 2024) - A full day of competition at the 2024 Ryde Central Coast Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 saw Finals Day determined in wind-affected but fun two-to-three foot surf at Copacabana Beach. The men's and women's Rounds of 32 and 16 were held, leaving just eight men and eight women ready to chase victory tomorrow morning in their respective Quarterfinals.
After months away from competition, former WSL Championship Tour (CT) surfer Macy Callaghan (AUS) opened her campaign with an excellent 8.25 (out of a possible 10) for a two-turn combination on her very first wave. Born and raised on the Central Coast, Callaghan spent her childhood surfing Copacabana and the local experience paid off, giving her two big heat wins as she looks to back up her 2022 event victory.
"I haven't put the jersey on for a while," Callaghan said. "I was actually super nervous, so it felt good to get a good score, but then for the rest of the heat I felt like I couldn't catch a wave, but managed to scrape through in the end. I just wanted to get some practice in before the Challenger Series. I didn't make the cut last year, I felt like I didn't really surf too many good heats, so I just wanted to get some heats under my belt and get some confidence going into the year."
Nathan Cook - WSL / Bella Murphy
A slow start in his first heat of the day saw last week's Camplify Port Stephens Pro winner, Jordan Lawler (AUS), surf a four-minute heat to take a win in the Round of 32. By his Round of 16 heat in the afternoon, the veteran competitor had kicked into gear and earned the highest heat total of the event so far, 15.00 (out of a possible 20), which included an 8.25 single wave score to equal Callaghan's excellence. Though the majority of the surfers were opting for the rights, goofy-footed Lawler favoured the lefts.
"I'm frothing, stoked to find some lefts this time," Lawler said. "Compared to last year on the Challenger, I really struggled to even get a bit of luck on my side. I feel like this year's a lot different, especially not last heat, but the heat before, I got really lucky and those little five-percenters really help. I feel like things are sort of falling into place and tomorrow should be good."
Kanon Takahasi - WSL / Bella Murphy
A co-sanctioned event, the Ryde Central Coast Pro is important not just for surfers from the Australia / Oceania QS region, but also from throughout Asia. Japan's Kana Nakashio (JPN) has managed to stay in the upper echelon of her region's rankings for much of the season, but is currently sitting two spots below the Challenger Series cutline. Two heat wins today see her as one of three Japanese women in the Quarterfinals, the other two being current rankings No. 1 Sara Wakita (JPN) and No. 3 Minami Nonaka (JPN). With current No. 2 Anon Matsuoka (JPN) eliminated early, Nakashio is hoping to gain some ground.
"I'm so happy," Nakashio said. "It was such fun waves, just now it's offshore and I got two waves."
Many big names fell out of the draw today, including Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), Hiroto Ohhara (JPN), and Nyxie Ryan (AUS), along with current Australia / Oceania QS women's rankings leader Philippa Anderson (AUS), and current No. 2 and No. 3 on the men's Australia / Oceania QS rankings, Alister Reginato (AUS) and Tully Wylie (AUS), leaving the potential for a big rankings shake-up when competition closes tomorrow.
The 2024 Ryde Central Coast Pro QS 3000 will run from March 4 - 8, for more information and results or to watch Finals Day live, head to WorldSurfLeague.com or download the free WSL App.
Finals Day Determined on Big Day of Action at the Ryde Central Coast Pro QS 3000
WSL
COPACABANA BEACH, Central Coast, NSW / Australia (Thursday, March 7, 2024) - A full day of competition at the 2024 Ryde Central Coast Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 saw Finals Day determined in wind-affected but fun two-to-three foot surf at Copacabana Beach. The men's and women's Rounds of 32 and 16 were held, leaving just eight men and eight women ready to chase victory tomorrow morning in their respective Quarterfinals.
After months away from competition, former WSL Championship Tour (CT) surfer Macy Callaghan (AUS) opened her campaign with an excellent 8.25 (out of a possible 10) for a two-turn combination on her very first wave. Born and raised on the Central Coast, Callaghan spent her childhood surfing Copacabana and the local experience paid off, giving her two big heat wins as she looks to back up her 2022 event victory.
"I haven't put the jersey on for a while," Callaghan said. "I was actually super nervous, so it felt good to get a good score, but then for the rest of the heat I felt like I couldn't catch a wave, but managed to scrape through in the end. I just wanted to get some practice in before the Challenger Series. I didn't make the cut last year, I felt like I didn't really surf too many good heats, so I just wanted to get some heats under my belt and get some confidence going into the year."
A slow start in his first heat of the day saw last week's Camplify Port Stephens Pro winner, Jordan Lawler (AUS), surf a four-minute heat to take a win in the Round of 32. By his Round of 16 heat in the afternoon, the veteran competitor had kicked into gear and earned the highest heat total of the event so far, 15.00 (out of a possible 20), which included an 8.25 single wave score to equal Callaghan's excellence. Though the majority of the surfers were opting for the rights, goofy-footed Lawler favoured the lefts.
"I'm frothing, stoked to find some lefts this time," Lawler said. "Compared to last year on the Challenger, I really struggled to even get a bit of luck on my side. I feel like this year's a lot different, especially not last heat, but the heat before, I got really lucky and those little five-percenters really help. I feel like things are sort of falling into place and tomorrow should be good."
A co-sanctioned event, the Ryde Central Coast Pro is important not just for surfers from the Australia / Oceania QS region, but also from throughout Asia. Japan's Kana Nakashio (JPN) has managed to stay in the upper echelon of her region's rankings for much of the season, but is currently sitting two spots below the Challenger Series cutline. Two heat wins today see her as one of three Japanese women in the Quarterfinals, the other two being current rankings No. 1 Sara Wakita (JPN) and No. 3 Minami Nonaka (JPN). With current No. 2 Anon Matsuoka (JPN) eliminated early, Nakashio is hoping to gain some ground.
"I'm so happy," Nakashio said. "It was such fun waves, just now it's offshore and I got two waves."
Many big names fell out of the draw today, including Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), Hiroto Ohhara (JPN), and Nyxie Ryan (AUS), along with current Australia / Oceania QS women's rankings leader Philippa Anderson (AUS), and current No. 2 and No. 3 on the men's Australia / Oceania QS rankings, Alister Reginato (AUS) and Tully Wylie (AUS), leaving the potential for a big rankings shake-up when competition closes tomorrow.
The 2024 Ryde Central Coast Pro QS 3000 will run from March 4 - 8, for more information and results or to watch Finals Day live, head to WorldSurfLeague.com or download the free WSL App.
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