Courtesy of WSL – WSL North America
– Women’s qs compete in outer banks for first time in 14 years
– Florida’s Lange and South Africa’s Hoffman gains early momentum
– Burke and Iglay turn in Round 1 wins at first qs event
– more information AT WORLDSURFLEAGUE.COM
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| NAGS HEAD, North Carolina/USA (Friday, August 31, 2018) – The World Surf League (WSL) WRV Outer Banks Pro Women’s Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 made a bit of East Coast history after spending nearly 14 years away from WSL competition and made work of the tough, one-foot conditions to complete Round 1. Top-seeded men await their Round 2 debut as their competition was called off for the day. But, this event is a great opportunity for up-and-coming women competitors and many of them contested in their first-ever QS competition with early victories.
South Africa’s Tanika Hoffman (ZAF) made her first trip to the Outer Banks count with a Round 1 Heat 1 victory over two young threats Kailey Bogart (HAW) and Maddie Garlough (USA). Hoffman currently sits at No. 79 on the QS and a result here could push her up the rankings to help earn a higher seed toward 2019. The 20-year-old’s best result came in her home country, a 7th-place finish, earlier this year and, after dealing with visa issues trying to get into the European leg, is on the prowl for points. “I’ve been in LA since the Oceanside event and I thought it’s an event not too far, I’ve never been, so it looked like a fun one to come to,” Hoffman said. “It’s super cool that there’s more of these smaller events coming on schedule for the girls looking to get into the QS and get a few points. These 1,000 points are really important to keep your ratings up and after doing some of the QS 6,000s this year a few more extra points are always good. I had a problem with my visa for Europe, but I took advantage of the opportunity here and it’s great — I love traveling to new places and it’s good to keep competing.” Charlotte Lange (USA) is only just getting her career started, competing in the Live Like Zander Junior Pro since 2016 and only has one QS event under her belt. But, the 16-year-old took that experience and used it to her advantage for an early win to start gaining momentum in the Outer Banks. Lange was just two-years-old when Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) won the last Women’s QS event at Jennette’s Pier and hopes to add her name to the list. “I’m pretty stoked to make a heat in the QS after being in my first one earlier this year,” Lange said. “It was super tough at Sebastian Inlet just with waves everywhere, it was really chaotic. Here it’s easier to find your spot and I set myself up just at the end of the scaffolding with a good little sandbar there. It’s nice here and I’ve been able to hang out with my friends around with some of them from California, so it’s really cool. I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since they last had it so this is great to see it back.” This marks Manasquan, New Jersey, native Morgan Iglay’s (USA) first QS event at 17-years-old and is taking advantage of the opportunity just a few hours from home. Iglay comes in with plenty of amateur surf competition experience, but now found herself winning her first-ever QS heat. It was a hard-fought heat in the tough conditions and Iglay rose to the occasion with her strategy working brilliantly. “It’s really cool to be here, I’ve never done a contest this big and I’m really excited,” Iglay said. “Everyone at home is excited for me so that gives me a lot of encouragement. It’s really fun to be a part of this experience and I didn’t expect that win honestly so that’s great. You definitely have to be on the sets and use your priority right when you have it. It’s also important to be light on your feet and get those bigger turns in when you can.” Vans US Open Pro Junior Finalist Makena Burke (USA) was gifted a Jennette’s Pier gem in the final five minutes and earned a 5.67, only needing a 2.43, to earn a heat win over fellow Californian Brooke Young (USA) and North Carolina native Leah Thompson (USA). Like Iglay and a handful of other competitors on hand, it’s the 15-year-old’s first QS event and her mindset is locked in. Burke recognizes the chance she has to capitalize on experience, as well as some points, in her first trip to the Outer Banks. “It felt great to get through after just waiting for a wave and I was so lucky that one came through,” Burke said. “I think of this as a Pro Junior because I’m used to those and I try to find my comfort zone in events. I just try to stay calm and not think about it too much. It’s so nice to see this event on the schedule with Pismo coming later this year as well since it’s just a few hours from my house. It’s a really good opportunity with it being in North America and it’s closer than the other events.” var googletag = googletag || {};
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| About WSL The World Surf League (WSL) is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, annually running in excess of 180 global events across the Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels, and in doing so crowns the undisputed world champions in Men’s, Women’s across all divisions within the tour. Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Tyler Wright, John John Florence, Paige Alms, Kai Lenny, Taylor Jensen, Honolua Blomfield, Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Kelly Slater, Carissa Moore, Gabriel Medina, Courtney Conlogue and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com |
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