COOLANGATTA, Queensland/AUS (TBD, TBD, 2018) - The World Surf League (WSL) are thrilled to announce that Noosa's iconic First Point will play host to the first World Longboard Championship (WLC) event of the 2019 season. World renowned for offering idyllic longboarding conditions, Noosa Queensland, will set the perfect stage for the world's best Longboarders to start their campaign for the 2019 World Longboard Title. The WSL Noosa Longboard Open has been made possible thanks to a collaboration between WSL, Tourism and Events Queensland, the Noosa Festival of Surfing, the Noosa Malibu Club, World Surfaris and Tourism Noosa.
Longboard surfing celebrates and pays homage to the roots and history of the sport and WSL is excited to see up to 60 men and 60 women hit the lineup in Noosa in a new format.
"There are so many gifted Longboard surfers who compete in our events and it's very exciting that we will be providing them with opportunities to showcase their talents at a world-class wave like Noosa," said WSL Longboard Tour Manager Will Hayden-Smith. "We've been working towards adding global events to the Longboard Tour for a number of years and thanks to the Queensland Government, who are a strategic partner of WSL, we have been able to make this happen. This event has an open format, which will allow surfers from all over the world the chance to sign up and compete toward being crowned the 2019 World Longboard Champions."
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones welcomed the addition of the championship to the Noosa Festival of Surfing line-up.
"This is an exciting opportunity for Queensland to stamp its position as a world-class longboarding destination," Ms Jones said. "We look forward to welcoming the competitors and their support teams to the Sunshine Coast for what promises to be an exciting festival of surfing in March 2019. The Sunshine Coast offers a spectacular array of tourism experiences from the hinterland to the golden beaches and a growing range of food and wine experiences. This event gives tourists yet another great reason to visit."
The Noosa Malibu Club has long-standing and deep community roots and believes that the Festival not only showcases outstanding Longboard talent, but provides extensive and sustainable economic benefits to the wider Noosa community.
"The Noosa Malibu Club were delighted when World Surfaris stepped in with an offer to manage the Festival on our behalf and then ecstatic when WSL decided to participate," said Noosa Malibu Club President Craig Johnson. "The Club was one of the founding parties agitating for the creation of the Noosa World Surfing Reserve. We now have the opportunity to host the world's best Longboarders on one of the world's best longboard waves in a World Surfing Reserve."
World Surfaris has been a co-sponsor of the Festival for many years, and are excited to step up their involvement in 2019. "We were distraught at the thought that the event might fold," said World Surfaris Director, John Finlay, "So we were pleased to be able to offer management and financial assistance to the Noosa Malibu Club to underwrite the future of the Festival. The subsequent participation of the WSL vindicates our view that the Noosa Festival of Surfing is truly an international event of major proportions."
The WSL Noosa Longboard Open will run from 7 - 10 March as a division of the Noosa Festival of Surfing that runs from March 2 - 10, 2019.
The WSL Noosa Longboard Open is proudly supported by Tourism and Events Queensland, the Noosa Festival of Surfing, the Noosa Mal Club, World Surfaris and Tourism Noosa.
For more information head to www.worldsurfleague.com or check the free WSL App.