Gold Coast surfing: No World Surf League competitions in 2021 while NSW and WA both get two

More salt has been rubbed into Queensland’s wounds after it lost the long-running world championship surfing tournament on the Gold Coast, with a tiny West Australian island being gifted a new event.

More salt has been rubbed into Queensland’s wounds after it lost the long-running world championship surfing tournament on the Gold Coast, with a tiny West Australian island being gifted a new event.

The Corona Open Gold Coast at Snapper Rocks, which has launched the World Surf League championship tour since 2002, was dumped this week after a wrangle over COVID-19 quarantine arrangements between the WSL and Palaszczuk Government.

The event has been poached by a NSW and will be held at North Narrabeen, adding to another world championship tournament at Newcastle which will replace the also-cancelled Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.

The Courier-Mail can also reveal that Rottnest Island - a 19 square-kilometre island off Perth with a population of about 350 people and best-known as the home of a small, wallaby-like marsupial known as the quokka - will also host a new championship tour contest.

An aerial shot of Rottnest Island. Picture: Rottnest Island Authority

It means Australia’s so-called surfing capital the Gold Coast, where the WSL is based, will not have a major tournament while NSW and WA will have two each.

“This year, the Aussie CT leg is looking very different to what we’re used to due to COVID-19, with the addition of three new stops,” WSL Australian chief Andrew Stark said.

“Although it’s very disappointing to miss locations like Bells Beach and Snapper Rocks this year, we are stoked to add Newcastle, North Narrabeen and Rottnest Island to the schedule. “We would like to genuinely thank all of our partners for their patience, understanding and support during this extremely difficult time.

“The WSL can’t wait to get the tour back underway and run epic and safe events for our athletes, fans and partners in Australia.”

Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe claimed his government refused to bow to the WSL’s demands to foot the quarantine bill for the surf stars and their entourages, and accused the league of ‘chasing short-term dollars at the expense of surfing tradition’.

But Mr Stark said NSW was the only state which would agree to receive a charter plane from Los Angeles carrying international surfers and officials, and was not paying their quarantine costs.

He said Queensland could not guarantee a COVID-19 ‘bubble’ which the WSL had requested in case of another border shutdown.

“We requested a pre-approved bubble to operate our events and we requested Queensland Police resource support for this bubble, and both items were knocked back by the government,” he said.

“We absolutely respect their position in this challenging time and we’re obviously disappointed to lose Snapper Rocks this year, given its iconic status and long history on the world tour.

“But we need to run events, de-risk and deliver our sport. The entire tour was cancelled last year and we need to do whatever it takes to get it moving again.”