SURF FIRES FOR MASSIVE DAY OF ACTION AT KRUI PRO IN SUMATRA 
- 8 QUARTERFINALS REMAIN IN MEN'S DIVISION & 4 SEMIFINALISTS IN WOMEN'S
- FINALS SET TO RUN IN EPIC SURF TOMORROW
- MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WORLDSURFLEAGUE.COM

Caption: Australia's Harley Ross tearing through waves and heats at the Krui Pro today.
Credit: © WSL / Tim Hain

WORLD CLASS LINE UP OF ATHLETES READY FOR PRO SANTA CRUZ PRES. BY OAKLEY
- STOP NO.6 OF EUROPEAN QUALIFYING SERIES
- FREDERICO MORAIS AND TIAGO PIRES LEAD A-LIST FIELD IN SANTA CRUZ
- MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WORLDSURFLEAGUE.COM

Caption: World No. 14 Frederico Morais will fly the Portuguese flag on home turf.
Credit: © WSL / Poullenot

This year again, the event has attracted a flurry of international talent, with ten past or current Championship Tour (CT) competitors enrolled. Portuguese superstar and current World No. 14 Frederico Morais will lead the field in the fun beach breaks of the beautiful praia da fisica. 

The list of talented surfers joining the fun include Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Joan Duru (FRA), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Jadson Andre(BRA), Ryan Callinan (AUS), long-time Championship Tour Portuguese ambassador Tiago Pires (PRT) and more.

With 3,000 qualifying points on offer for the winner, a victory in Santa Cruz could make a huge difference in the year-end tallies to decide the qualifiers for the Elite tour. That explains why most of the Qualifying Series’ top surfers will compete alongside some of the elite’s Top 34.

The pristine rugged coastline of Santa Cruz mixes clean white-sand beaches and abrupt cliffs overlooking the ocean, painting an incredible background for a week of high-performance professional surfing.

This event will also close the early Qualifying Series season on European soil, where five events took surfers from Israel, to the Canary Islands, Martinique, Portugal and Basque Country since January. QS athletes will go on to compete  in Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, the U.S.A and Chile among other destinations before returning to Europe this summer for the traditional leg of events starting in England in early August.

The event will be webcast LIVE at worldsurfleague.com and on the WSL app.

The Santa Cruz Pro 2018 pres. by Oakley is scheduled from April 24-29, 2018 at Praia da Fisica, Santa Cruz - Portugal. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to worldsurfleague.com. 

The Santa Cruz Pro 2018 pres. by Oakley is produced by WSL, supported by the City Council of Torres Vedras , Tourism of Portugal, Meo, EDP, Hertz, Aguas Vimeiro, Hotel Golfe Mar and Noah Surf House, with media partner  Onfire, RTP, DN, and official forecaster MagicSeaWeed.com.

QUARTERFINALISTS DECIDED AT KRUI PRO WOMEN’S QS1,000 
- SURFERS FROM 6 COUNTRIES REMAIN IN CONTENTION
- MEN'S DIVISION SET TO RESUME TOMORROW
- MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WORLDSURFLEAGUE.COM

Caption: Lucia Martino from Spain going to work on the long lefts on offer at the Krui Pro today.
Credit: © WSL / Tim Hain

Caption: The Margaret River Pro has been called off due to safety concerns. 
Caption: © WSL /  Cestari

MARGARET RIVER, Western Australia/AUS (Wednesday, April 18, 2018) - Early this morning, WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt sent a letter to surfers informing them of the cancellation of the remainder of the 2018 Margaret River Pro, Event No. 3 on the 2018 WSL Championship Tour, as a result of exceptional and unique circumstances surrounding this season’s event with regards to sharks and the safety of our surfers. 

“The WSL puts the highest premium on safety,” Goldschmidt wrote. “This cannot be just talk, and it cannot be compromised. Surfing is a sport that carries various forms of risk, and is unique in that wild animals inhabit our performance environment. Sharks are an occasional reality of WSL competitions, and of surfing in general. Everyone associated with our sport knows that. There have been incidents in the past - and it’s possible that there will be incidents in the future - which did not (and will not) result in the cancellation of an event. However, current circumstances are very unusual and troubling, and we have decided that the elevated risk during this season’s Margaret River Pro has crossed the threshold for what is acceptable.”

Following two separate incidents that occurred at nearby Gracetown on Monday, April 16, approximately 6 kms away from primary competition site at Main Break, the WSL actioned safety protocols and met with a variety of stakeholders for feedback over the past 48 hours before making the decision to cancel the event.

“Safety is our top priority and this is the right call given the circumstances,” Kieren Perrow, WSL Commissioner, said. “We’ve closely assessed the situation, spoke with the athletes, Water Safety, local authorities and reviewed as much information as possible. Margaret River is a fantastic part of the world, but the presence of actively aggressive sharks and beached whales this season have convinced us that this is the correct course of action.”

“It’s a really difficult decision as the surfers love coming here,” Sage Erickson, WSL CT Surfer and Women’s Representative, said. “It’s beautiful, the waves are amazing and the community is very supportive of professional surfing. That said, the situation this season is really challenging and a number of surfers don’t feel safe. I know it isn’t an easy decision, but we really appreciate the amount of information and discussion that went into it.”

“Sharks are something we will continually deal with every time we surf and we accept that risk,” Adrian Buchan, WSL CT Surfer and Men’s Representative, said. “Given the extenuating circumstances of dead whale carcasses, multiple attacks and increased sightings, I'm fully supportive of the WSL's stance to put Surfers safety before all else. South West WA is one of myfavourite places to visit and part of its allure is the raw beauty and feeling of being close to nature. I'm really feeling for the local community and look forward to to being back soon.”

The cancellation of the Margaret River Pro will see points distributed per the WSL rulebook, but organizers have not ruled out potentially completing the events elsewhere during the season.