New tour announced for Australian Open of Surfing

Surfing NSW, Surfing Australia and state branches have announced they will be running the Australian Open of Surfing Tour in late 2020.

The series - which will feature a minimum of seven events - will take place in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria and provide professional and aspiring surfers with the opportunity to win prize money and gain momentum going into 2021.

2018 Phillip Island Pro Champion Jordy Lawler (Narrabeen, NSW) is eager to get back into the competitive arena and adds “I think there’s a lot of surfers like me who have really missed the opportunity to compete since everything unfolded with the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s awesome to hear that there will be seven events that will give people like me the chance to win some prize money and get back into the spirit of competing.”

Surfing Victoria Chief Executive Adam Robertson said the domestic tour is a fantastic opportunity for Australian competitive surfers to get back to competition and start earning prize money.

Robertson  explains “The 2020 Australian Open of Surfing Tour gives competitive surfers from Victoria and across Australia a chance to get back into competition and begin earning prize money again. With such a long time off, this series is a great opportunity to build some momentum heading into the restart of the Qualifying Series in 2021.

"I remember having the Australian Championship Circuit back when I was growing up and getting the chance to see high level competitive surfing on a regular basis around the country was great for my development as a surfer."

The announcement of the new tour coincides with the recent news that professional surfing would not recommence until the end of 2020.

The 2020 Australian Open of Surfing Tour will see events in:

• Sunshine Coast, Qld: 19th and 20th September, 2020

• Gold Coast, Qld: 31st October and 1st November 2020

• Victoria: Date and location TBC

• Cronulla, NSW: 8th and 9th November, 2020

• Kiama, NSW: 22nd and 23rd November, 2020

• Coffs Harbour,NSW: 29th and 30th November, 2020

• Northern Beaches,NSW: 13th and 14th December, 2020

More events and dates will be released in the coming months.

All Victorian events will adhere to strict COVID-19 policies and regulations outlined by the Victorian Government and council protocols.  

Entries into the events will open in August.

The 2020 Australian Open of Surfing Tour is supported by Surfing Victoria, Surfing NSW, Surfing QLD and Surfing Australia.

Image Jordy Lawler on his way to a win at the Phillip Island Pro in 2018, Credit: Liam Robertson / Surfing Victoria