How to Experience the Margaret River Pro

04.04.2022

The region is renowned for pumping surf and there’s nothing better than watching the world’s best carve it up.

Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore and other big-name surfers love coming to Margaret River – and it’s not just for the waves. Florence is known to frequent a local studio for some deep meditation during a floatation session, Slater loves the food and wine of the region, and Gilmore loves the region’s natural beauty and how raw and rugged the coastline is. Plus she loves that she can always find a wave to surf in one of the 75 surf breaks in the region.

The Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro, the fifth leg on the 10-stop World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour, marks the last stop of the first half on the tour and cuts the field down from 36 men to 22, and the women’s field from 18 to 10. These top-performing surfers will advance to the next stage to compete for the coveted World Title, and will also automatically receive an invite to the 2023 event – so it’s a very high-stakes stage of the tour.

It will be held at Surfers Point from April 24 to May 4 2022 and, best of all, you can get a great seat and watch all the action live for free.

Surfers Point is the place to watch all the action as the bulk of the competition takes place on Main Break, South Side and The Box. At the event hub there’ll be big screens showing replays, expert commentary, food trucks, merchandise stands and young hopefuls can get up close and personal with their surfing stars. It’s inspiring to watch the surfers take their time after their heat and chat to groms who line the walkway to collect autographs and selfies.

Surfing WA CEO Mark Lane said Surfers Point is one of the best spectator points on the World Tour. “The viewing at Surfers Point is incredible with tiered areas to create an amphitheatre and the atmosphere is electric during competition and accessible to everyone,” Mark said.

“There will be heaps of food trucks and healthy eats, coffee and a licensed area.”

On April 20, a few days before the Margaret River Pro begins, Main Break will host the Drug Aware WA Trials, guaranteeing a place in the Margaret River Pro for a male and female Western Australian surfer to compete alongside the world’s best.

“The guy and girl that make it through the Drug Aware WA Trials and get into the Pro to compete in the main event will ensure they are straight into the prize money rounds. What that does is help them fund their travels to other qualifying events.”

Margaret River local Jacob Wilcox won the Men’s Drug Aware WA Trials in 2019. “Winning the WA Trials allowed Jacob to travel more and compete more and it was only by the narrowest of margins that he missed qualifying for WSL Championship Tour that year. It was agonisingly close,” Mark said.

Margaret River Pro Crowd at Surfers Point Prevelly

The WSL Championship Tour attracts the best 34 male (plus 1 WSL and 1 event wild card entry) and the best 17 female surfers (plus 1 wild card entry) in the world to Margaret River each year.

Tip: If you love surfing, then there’s no better surf competition than watching the world’s best take on The Box. If the Box is called “On”, grab your binoculars and head to Surfers Point for the best viewing.

How to Follow the Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro

Every morning the WSL Commissioner decides on the contest based on conditions; this ensures that surfers compete on the best possible waves. Sign up to alerts or download the WSL app to get notified if the Margaret River Pro is called “On”, “Off” or “On Hold”.

Important Info

Spectators: Due to current COVID restrictions the total number of spectators at the Margaret River Pro event site will be limited. Spectators will be required to check-in using the Safe WA App and show their vaccine certificate before entering the event.

Message Boards: There will be visual message boards on Wallcliffe Road near the Margaret River Skate Park and near the Margaret River Golf Club. These will provide information regarding if the site is at capacity. If this is the case please consider watching the event online.

Shuttle buses: Will only run on the weekends – leaving from near the Margaret River Golf Club to Surfers Point. Buses will run from 8am to 4pm daily depending on how the competition is running. There is no time schedule for buses as they are on a rotation all day.

Parking: Will be available at Riflebutts during the weekdays. Parking will also be available at McLeods Paddock to catch the shuttle bus to Surfers Point.

Dogs: There will be NO DOGS allowed at the Event site.

Please note that this is a smoke-free event.