The 2022 West Australian Pro Surf Series is preparing to continue along the wave-rich Yallingup coastline, with the Cape Naturaliste Pro presented by Creatures of Leisure preparing for start as early as tomorrow.
After a thrilling end to the Peel Pro Junior in Mandurah on Monday, the professional surfing spotlight will shine on Yallingup for the remainder of the week, with the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 event attracting men and women from across the Australasian region.
Last run in 2019, the Cape Naturaliste Pro will have access to multiple high quality surf locations and boasts a $20,000 prize pool for local and travelling surfers alike.
“The City of Busselton is once again proud to support the WSL Cape Naturaliste Pro and we welcome back this world-class event to the iconic Yallingup region after a two-year hiatus,” said City of Busselton Mayor Grant Henley. “The main break at Yallingup is quite breathtaking to see for the first time when you head down the hill towards the beach,” he said. “This event will again bring invaluable regional promotion to the area and boost to the local economy, and I applaud Surfing WA for its efforts to bring this international event to WA.”
Three local wildcards have been named to compete on home soil, with Felicity Palmateer (Yanchep, WA), Duke Nagtzaam (Scarborough, WA), and Ollie Henry (Dunsborough, WA), all out to leave their mark on the waves around Yallingup this week.
The WA Pro Surf Series will provide local surfers with a valuable opportunity for compete in their backyard against some quality opposition.
Palmateer, is one of WA’s most accomplished surfers and the recent reality TV star will be out for victory in 2022 after finishing second in this very event back in 2019.
“Competitive surfing has been a huge part of my life and shaped me into the surfer I am today,” said Palmateer. “I haven’t competed in a WSL QS event since the last Cape Naturaliste Pro, where I placed runner up against Claire Bevilacqua, but I’m looking forward to using this event to get me into a bit more of a competitive headspace before I head to Hawaii at the end of the year with hopes of competing in the Peahi Challenge again.”
Nagtzaam and Henry both bring an exciting x-factor to the event and have an intimate knowledge of the waves and conditions that Yallingup has become famous for producing.
“Rusty is stoked to be a major partner of the WA Pro Surf Series, being from West Oz it’s great to be involved with core surf events like this and the Margaret River Pro,” said Rusty Marketing and Team Manager Luke Clark. “As a brand we’re even more excited to have two of our team riders in the upcoming Cape Naturaliste Pro. Duke Nagtzaam is a born and raised Yallingup surfer. Ripping his way through the local reefs and beachies on his way up. While, Ollie Henry started his surfing career on the East Coast, but has called West Oz home for the last ten years, driving through monster slabs and sending it out of end bowls just for fun.”
Ellie Harrison (Barwon Heads, VIC) and Lennox Chell (Avoca, NSW), come into the Cape Naturaliste Pro in red hot form after claiming victory at the Peel Pro Junior in Mandurah and qualifying for the WSL World Junior Championships in California in January 2023.
The pair will be amongst a host of East Coast and international surfers to keep an eye on when competition gets underway in Yallingup.
The forecast is pointing towards onshore winds to kick off the event waiting period tomorrow, with Friday and Saturday looking like the best two-days of the competition window, with 4-6 feet surf possible on those days.
You can stay up to date with the Cape Naturaliste Pro presented by Creatures of Leisure via the World Surf League mini event site: www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2022/mqs/4171/Cape-Naturaliste-Pro
The WA Pro Surf Series is brought you in partnership with Surfing WA, World Surf League, City of Mandurah, Visit Mandurah, City of Busselton, the Western Australian Government through its Regional Events Scheme (RES). The Cape Naturaliste Pro is presented by Creatures of Leisure and is proudly supported by Rusty, Vans, Otis Eyewear, Mandurah Mazda, Minute Man Press Perth, Caves House Hotel and Caves Road Construction.
For more information on this and other surfing events held in WA be sure to checkout: www.surfingwa.com.au
About The West Australian Pro Surf Series:
The WA Pro Surf Series is set to return in 2022 and has been established for local, Australian and international surfers to gain ranking points and prize money on the WSL Junior Tour and Qualifying Series. The series also creates a WA coastal road trip for surfers to explore the wide variety of waves, amazing local communities and unique surfing culture of Western Australia.
