Kelly Slater to surf Sydney Pro at Manly ahead of his world tour return
He’s been seen hanging out with American politicians, F1 greats, Hollywood hunks and Australian golfer. Now Kelly Slater is heading to Sydney.
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He’s been seen hanging out with American politicians and F1 greats, been photographed with Hollywood hunks and has even been giving some timely advice to an Australian golfer.
In recent times surf legend Kelly Slater has been at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with former National Security Officer Condoleezza Rice, at his surf ranch with five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, horsing around with actor Chris Hemsworth and even giving some words of wisdom on longevity in sport to Adam Scott.
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But now Slater is set to return to his more natural habitat with Manly to host his return to surfing competition next month.
An incredible 27 years after he won the first of his 11 world titles as a 20-year-old, Slater is preparing for yet another season on the World Tour with the Vissla Sydney Surf Pro to host his return to competition in 2019.
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“I’ve always loved the Northern Beaches and having lived part-time in Avalon for 15 years, I miss it and am looking forward to getting back to some old familiar territory,’’ Slater said.
“I’m also getting a nice warm-up prior to jumping back on tour full-time after close to a year and a half hiatus from competition.’’
The event at Manly is a qualifying series tournament and will be contested by some of the best up and coming surfers in the world.
“Manly became a mainstay for a number of years on tour. There’s a lot of history dating back to surfing being introduced at Freshwater some hundred years ago by Duke and many years later hosting some classic events with legendary performances by Larry Blair and Wayne Lynch,’’ Slater said.
“The more recent years have shown some serious highlights for tour surfers such as Julian Wilson and as a jump-start for rookies and QS grinders looking to stamp their mark on the start of the year. It should be a fun week.”