The City of Cape Town will host the first-ever multiple venue surfing contest on the QS calendar for 2020, the Thirsti Cape Town Pro.
World-class surfing returns to the Mother City since 2018 with the welcome boost of Thirsti Water coming on board as the new title sponsor for the refreshed event. As part of the partnership, Thirsti will become the official water across all City Surf Series events for 2020.
The City Surf Series is a series of surfing events by Accelerate Sport in collaboration with Surfing South Africa (SSA) and the WSL which aims to provide QS events on home turf, investing in the growth and development of local South African surfers. With the series hosting events from the east to the west coast, surfers can earn valuable WSL QS ranking points, all while earning prize money without having to travel overseas. The series also attracts a large contingency of international surfers looking to score some points while enjoying South Africa as a rich surfing destination
The Thirsti Cape Town Pro will be the only mobile event on the WSL calendar, which will see the event change venue across Cape Town over a five-day waiting period. This unique event will result in the best surfing conditions being selected across each different venue on three selected days, in providing the best stage for surfers to compete in.
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“Surfing and tourism go hand-in-hand and the Thirsti Cape Town Pro is an incredible way to showcase the city’s surfing potential. This mobile event will make sure the surfers get to enjoy offshore conditions somewhere along the west coast,” said Colin Fitch, WSL Africa Regional Manager.
“Through the City Surf Series we have produced another WSL Championship Tour (CT) surfer in Matthew McGillivray. There are youngsters here that have surfed against McGillivray in the series and now they are inspired to try and make it onto the world stage,” said Fitch.
Local surfer Luke Slijpen is excited to surf in the Thirsti Cape Town Pro. “There are really good waves around here so I know the potential we have. It will be really cool to surf a few spots.”
Jordy Maree, who is currently ranked 71st on the WSL QS rankings, is looking forward to the points on offer at each City Surf Series event. “There are quite a few waves and events I would like to win at, but each one is special in their own way. My goal is to get into the J-Bay Open now that I am in the top 100.”
“We are pleased to welcome Thirsti Water to our growing family of key sponsors and partners. They already have a strong brand presence in the market with a high-profile of brand associations, and we are looking forward to sharing successes with them”, said Gary Grant, Managing Director of Accelerate Sport. “Our partnership will provide additional exposure and awareness for the sport and deliver broader audience reach.”
The fifth installment of the City Surf Series will see five events being held from Richards Bay on the east coast to Cape Town on the west coast. More details on the full event schedule to follow soon.
