G.O.A.T Slater adds shock third stop to Aussie surf tour

Evergreen 11-time world champion Kelly Slater has added a shock third stop to his Australian World Surf League tour schedule in what could be the final time fans see him compete Down Under. 

KELLY Slater will add a third stop to his Australian World Surf League schedule by competing for potentially the last time on the Gold Coast. 

Slater has confirmed to WSL officials he will enter the lineup at Snapper Rocks, Coolangatta, for the Gold Coast Pro, set to begin on Saturday.

The 50-year-old American will be one of multiple big names to compete in the second-tier Challenger Series event, with Steph Gilmore to return home to take part while Sally Fitzgibbons will also surf after missing the top 21 cut in the Championship Tour.

More surfers from the CT could join them once officials finalise the men’s and women’s cut this week.

Eleven-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater surfing at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach on April 11, 2022 at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia. Picture: Ed Sloane/World Surf League)

Slater’s inclusion is expected to draw huge crowds to Snapper Rocks, with fans unsure if it will be the last time they will see him competing at the iconic surfing location.

The 11-time world champion continues to defy his age and is currently ranked fourth in the world in a season where he has already won the Billabong Pro Pipeline in Hawaii.

The Gold Coast has been a happy hunting ground for Slater who has celebrated six world tour wins on the Glitter Strip, including two in the Billabong Pro (1997 and 1998) and four in the Quiksilver Pro (2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013).

Slater finished 17th at the Rip Curl Bells Beach in Victoria after being eliminated in the Round of 32 on April 13 and is expected to take on Brazilian Jadson Andrew at the same stage of the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia on Tuesday afternoon.

Fresh on the back of the news Slater will compete on the Gold Coast, we take a look back at some of his most memorable moments in and out of the water on the Gold Coast.

KELLY SLATER’S MOST MEMORABLE GOLD COAST MOMENTS:

Stats: Six World Tour wins on the Gold Coast, including two in the Billabong Pro (1997 and 1998) and four in the Quiksilver Pro (2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013).

2001: Slater won the 1997 and 1998 Billabong Pro Gold Coast events and made his return to the Glitter Strip in 2001 as a wildcard for the Quiksilver Pro.

He missed the 1999 Pro due to ‘personal problems’ believed linked to his ill-fated romance with former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and the 2000 event following the death of his grandmother.

Kelly Slater at the Gold Coast Quiksilver Pro event at Duranbah in 2019. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

2006: Then a seven-time world title winner, Slater celebrated his first Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast win by beating West Australian Taj Burrow in the final at Duranbah.

Slater, 34, looked switched on in the final and posted a 16.17, while Burrow, who fought gallantly, just could not keep up with the American and finished with 14.60.

2007: Between his attempts to win another title on the Gold Coast Slater spent 2007 helping Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey learn to surf while the Pro was on at Snapper Rocks.

McConaughey was on the Gold Coast filming the movie Fool’s Gold and surfed nearly every day in order to prepare for another movie.

US actor Matthew McConaughey (C) is pictured with eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater (R) of the US at the Quiksilver Pro surfing tournament taking place at Snapper Rocks in Coolangatta, along Queensland's Gold Coast 04 March 2007. McConaughey and US actress Kate Hudson, stars of 'How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days' and who also feature in a new film currently being produced in Australia, both made an appearance at the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro where they caught up with Slater and several of the contestants taking part in the international surfing event. AFP PHOTO: PIERRE TOSTEE / HO

2008: Slater crushed reigning world champion Mick Fanning’s fairytale return to Snapper Rocks, powering to victory at the Quiksilver Pro.

``I think the ego probably comes out with all of us and you want to show what you have in the tank and what you can do,” Slater said.

``When there is all that hype about another person, it definitely makes you step up your game.’’

Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater before a Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks, Coolangatta. The pair had plenty of battles over the years - in the surf. Picture: Brendan Radke.

2011: The G.O.A.T of surfing looked set to miss the 2011 Quiksilver Pro when he emerged from a free surf at Duranbah covered in blood and with a gash to the side of his head.

His board struck him during a wipe-out. Not only did he not miss the event, he went on to beat Taj Burrow in the final to win the entire contest.

Kelly Slater (red shirt bottom right) is a crowd pleaser as he makes his way to the water at the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks last decade. Picture: Luke Marsden.

2013: Slater caught the attention of the globe when he said recreational drug use was “rampant” in surfing while declaring no substances could make athletes better at the sport. It followed revelations of Lance Armstrong’s doping and Australian football’s own drugs crisis.

He went on to beat Gold Coast’s very own Joel Parkinson in the Quiksilver Pro final that year.

2014: Slater declared the Gold Coast had the most crowded surf breaks in the world and voiced his concerns about the safety of boardriders.

“It’s tough. I’m worried what five years or 10 years, or 20 years from now, brings,’’ Slater said at the time.

Kelly Slater once remarked on crowded Gold Coast surf breaks: “If it’s this crowded right now, I don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s really unsafe – there’s just people all over the place.” Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“If it’s this crowded right now, I don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s really unsafe – there’s just people all over the place. It’s so not fun for the average person.”

He received enormous backlash for his comments, with Slater later posting a picture of himself standing in front of his car with the swear word “Fxxkwit” scrawled across the window in wax.