2017 Championship Tour is announced (and J'Bay has a sponsor)
Overnight the WSL announced the schedule for the 2017 Championship Tour, and there's one notable change - J'Bay has a sponsor. It's the first time since 2011 the comp has a presenting sponsor, though for two of those years - 2012 and 2013 - it wasn't a CT event.
The new sponsor is Corona beer and the comp will be called the Corona Open J'Bay and will run from July 12th - 23rd.
Elsewhere, there are two comps still without presenting sponsors: the Rio Pro (which, curiously, will be held 200 kilometres noth of Rio), and the Fiji Pro. This will be the fourth consecutive season that Fiji has gone withhout a sponsor since Volcom pulled out.
All the rest of the schedule remains the same as this year except Bells and Margaret River have swapped places; Margies will now run immediately after Snapper with Bells ending the Aussie leg.
2017 World Surf League (WSL) Men’s Championship Tour:
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast - March 14 - 25, 2017
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro - March 29 - April 9, 2017
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach - April 12 - 24, 2017
Rio Pro - May 9 - 20, 2017
Fiji Pro - June 4 - 16, 2017
Corona Open J-Bay - July 12 - 23, 2017
Billabong Pro Teahupo’o - August 11 - 22, 2017
Hurley Pro at Trestles - September 6 - 17, 2017
Quiksilver Pro France - October 3 - 14, 2017
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal - October 17 - 28, 2017
Billabong Pipe Masters - December 8 - 20, 2017
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Comments
I thought margs was getting the ass?
Hard to drop a spot with proper waves. Bring on North Point and Box! Even Main break is better than Bells. Can't get a ten point ride for a 6 second ride at Snapper or Bells. Why drop Margs?
Margs signed 3 year deal, next one is the final one.
Margs is boring when it's at Margs. Box makes it interesting but they only get a few heats in. And North Point even less chance of running. Bells is garbage. And I reckon most of the World Tour would be pretty happy if they dropped it for somewhere in indo
That photo above of the seering J Bay top turn arouses me.
That wall - the texture .....
Gary hasn't yet scored any faceys at J Bay, hence why it isn't yet referred to as 'G Bay'.
Does anyone wish to elaborate on the differences / similarities between J Bay and 'Gary's', which is a wave at torquay formally known as Winki?
To Gary's eye they share much of the same DNA, with J Bay moving a bit faster at times, but J Bay gets people far more frothed up. Is it that much better?
Not the same,similar but not the same, faster but victorians feel at home as you need to hang high in the barrel, sand bottom so variations from year to year, go there Gary, you'll love it, it's a fucken soap opera. Imagine this, go back 20 years and winki was snap bang where point danger is, it would be the bitchfest J/bay is.
Thanks Hako, makes sense.
Gary enjoys gazing up on Pt Danger whilst sunning his rig at the Pt Impossible nudist beach, and can feel an approaching XXL Swell in his gym shorts just imagining what it would be like to gaze down his navel line at G Bay / Winki
J bay is longer and less crowded
J Bay is longer, less crowded and a superior wave. Crowds at Winkipop have been off the scale for a long, long time. The only saving grace is that when Winki's on, nearly all other joints in the region are as well.....
this^^^^
while the kooks are fighting for a wave at bells or winki.
Jump in your car an go surf one of the other 100 waves that would be on the pump by yourself or with 2 or 3 out.
I love it, you pull into the bells/winki carpark and see 100's of blokes in the water or waxing their boards in the car park, and within 30 min drive you can find 10 just as good if not better waves with less than and handful of blokes out.
Bells is amazing...not winki but still pretty good...if your calling it garbage its probably because :
a) You've never surfed it
b) You bottom turn top turn rail game isn't up too scratch
Bells and Winki are not comparable really, Bells has more power and if you get a barrel you know about it.
if you get caught on the inside on a set on a solid day you will definitely know about it