As the region rides high on another successful Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, the annual event has been thrown into doubt with rumours circling that the World Surfing League is about to cut an Australian date from the tour.
The whispers began circulating at the start of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast and showed no signs of slowing as the tour headed south to Bells Beach.
Event officials in Victoria have appeared to confirm that the WSL will look to remove one of the three Australian competitions from the tour in 2017 but the WSL itself remains tight lipped, refusing to be drawn on which event could face the chop.
Surfing WA chief executive and Margaret River Pro event director Mark Lane has been quoted in the media as being aware of the threat and that he would be “awfully surprised” if the Margaret River event was cut from the tour.
A WSL regulation previously stated that tour events were limited to two per country, however this ruling was amended when government funding was secured for the Margaret River event in 2013.
The rule book now indicates that events in each country are at the discretion of the WSL Commissioner.
Scheduling appears to be a factor in the decision making process with this year’s WA event a hard task for organisers coming just three days after the conclusion of the Bells Beach competition.
Previous years have seen individual event coordination teams manage each date on the tour but as the tour gains popularity the WSL has tasked a single team with managing all dates.
Moving the growing event from the east coast, particularly from regional areas during holiday periods has proven complicated for the coordination team and many believe this has led to the decision to remove a competition from the tour.
Significant upgrades to infrastructure at Surfers Point were undertaken by the AMR Shire as a sign of commitment to the long term future of the event.
The main car park at the beach was upgraded to the tune of $5 million in a show of support from the shire while state funding is expected to cast the WA event in a positive light against other competitions without financial backing.
The competition began in 1985 and attracts thousands of spectators to the region over the two week event.
Requests for comment from Surfing WA were not returned prior to deadline.