Competition Called Off Today at Corona Open J-Bay
The competitive window for Corona Open J-Bay, Stop No. 6 of 11 on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), starts today and runs until 23 July at the fabled righthand point break of Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.
With small 0.6 to 0.9 metre waves on offer, onshore winds predicted for later in the day and better surf forecast for later this week, WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow has called off competition for today.
“There’s some fun little waves out there in the chest to head-high range, though the swell is kind of a short period today,” said Perrow. “It lacks a little bit of energy and the wind is forecasted to go onshore so we won’t run any heats today. We have a great looking forecast so we’re going to make the most of that.”
The Corona Open J-Bay marks the halfway point on the 2017 CT and will resume this season’s thrilling title race, with the top five athletes on the Jeep Leaderboard separated by just 600 points.
Universally regarded as one of the best waves on the planet, Jeffreys Bay boasts a quality righthand point break that delivers unparalleled high-speed consistency, making it the perfect platform to test the world’s best. The event is the only CT stop on the African continent.
Surfline, official forecaster for the Corona Open J-Bay, are calling for:
Small/modest SSW swell is expected for the first two days of the waiting period (July 12th-13th), potentially coming up a bit on Friday the 14th-15th. A series of larger SSW swells are possible for the 16th-18th.
The event will be broadcast LIVE via WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL app and on Facebook LIVE via the WSL’s Facebook page. Also check the local listings for coverage on CBS Sports Network in the U.S., Fox Sports in Australia, ESPN in Brazil, Sky NZ in New Zealand, SFR Sports in France and Portugal and as part of the EDGEsport Network.
For more information, check out WorldSurfLeague.com.
Corona Open J-Bay Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Frederico Morais (PRT), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Ethan Ewing (AUS)
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Conner Coffin (USA), Michael February (ZAF)
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW), Ian Gouveia (BRA), Dale Staples (ZAF)
Heat 7: Kolohe Andino (USA), Italo Ferreira (BRA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS), Kelly Slater (USA), Kanoa Igarashi (USA)
Heat 9: Connor O’Leary (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 10: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Stuart Kennedy (AUS)
Heat 11: Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS), Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (PYF), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
The Corona Open J-Bay is the showcase event at the J-Bay Winterfest, a multi-sport and music festival in Jeffreys Bay from July 12-23. More details at www.jbaywinterfest.com. .