World Surf League Africa Launches 2018 Regional Tour Over Easter Weekend

The African continent's most lucrative year of professional surfing will be launched in Port Elizabeth over the Easter weekend when competitors in the Volkswagen Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro take to the surf at Pollock Beach on Friday.

Taking place at locations that range from Lamberts Bay on the West Coast to Ballito on the East Coast, and including events in Morocco (co-sanctioned with WSL Europe) and the first-ever World Surf League (WSL) event in Dakar, Senegal, the 14-event schedule offers total prize money exceeding R18 million.

The season starts with the VW Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro, which runs from Friday to Monday, 30 March to 2 April. The tournament features a QS 1,500 rated event for men, a QS 1,000 for women and Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 1,000 events for men and women. The prize-purse totals R200,000 and it is the first of five events in the City Surf Series (CSS).

Meanwhile on Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, thesecond stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT)is underway with the annual Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach competition celebrating its 57th year. As is tradition, the event runs from March 28 to April 8,over the Easter Weekend at one of the world's most iconic surfing locations.