THE MID – SEASON CUT OF MARGARET RIVER PRO, FIFTH EVENT OF WSL CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR 2022
The fifth event of WSL Championship Tour has just ended.
By Erika Scafuro
The fifth event of WSL Championship Tour has just ended. Preceded by another Australian event (Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach which was held in Bells Beach from April 17 to 20) the Margaret River PRO, held in Western Australia from April 24th to May 4th, marked a very important moment for all surfers in the competition. What has been named mid -season cut has been introduced by the new rules for the 2022 CT season to reduce Men and Women CT fields, in order to give more opportunities to the top surfers to compete more frequently: who made the cut go on with the CT tour, while those not included in this new ranking are entitled to continue competing on the 2022 Challenger Series. Margaret River Pro, which marks the halfway point of the Tour, has determined who is in. The Top 22 Men who made the cut are: Filipe Toledo, Kanoa Igarashi, John John Florence, Kelly Slater, Barron Mamiya, Callum Robson, Italo Ferreira, Ethan Ewing, Caio Ibelli, Miguel Pupo, Seth Moniz, Griffin Colapinto, Jack Robinson, Jordy Smith, Kolohe Andino, Nat Young, Samuel Pupo, Connor O’Leary, Jake Marshall, Jackson Baker, Jadson Andre, Matthew McGillivray. Among the Top 10 Women: Carissa Moore, Tyler Wright, Brisa Hennessy, Lakey Peterson, Johanne Defay, Tatiana Weston-Webb, Stephanie Gilmore, Courtney Conlogue, Gabriela Bryan, Isabella Nichols.
Beyond who will continue the CT, all the surfers in the race also this time have shown us spectators their professionalism and high level of preparation. They have been able to manage the harsh ocean conditions, the power of huge waves, the tension for a world competition and the pressure for the cut.In the final of Margaret River Pro we saw John John Florence and Jack Robinson challenging each other on 6- 8 feet high waves. Jack Robinson didn’t let the 2x Margaret River Pro champion John John Florence become again the king of this event; the Australian surfer overwhelm him and defended his dream of winning the title right at home to the last. The Women final has instead seen competing Gabriela Bryan against Isabella Nichols who ruled the waves of Margaret River accumulating a higher score than her colleague: an all Australian victory for the Margaret River Pro 2022 since Isabella Nichols comes from Australia too.After leaving behind this very significant fifth stop of the season, the next appointment with the WSL Championship Tour is now for Quiksilver and Roxy Pro G-Land in Indonesia, which will take place from May 28th to June 6th. We will watch the Top 22 Men and Top 10 Women contend the title G- Land event champion and strive to reach the top positions of the ranking.
