Surfers to wait for possible start of ASP WLT Bear Pro until Sunday
The second of four stops on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Long-board World Championship, Bear Pro, was unable to get underway at Levanto, Italy, on Wednesday, November 16, after facing yet another day of poor swell conditions.
The event was scheduled to get on with the action on November 10, but the absence of surf-able waves forced the event organisers, Jeep, to put the competition on hold. The conditions did not show any improvement in the days that followed and kept utilising the waiting period.
The surf forecast for the remainder of the official waiting period did not turn out to be very encouraging, compelling the event organisers to hold a meeting with the surfers to discuss the possible options.
The surfers showed their support to the organisers and expressed their willingness to remain at the event site until the final day of the competition in case conditions improve and the competition is able to run for at least one day.
The defending ASP WLT champion Duane De Soto from Hawaii said that the event organisers and surfers collectively made the right decision to stay at Levanto until Sunday and remain hopeful for the competition to run for at least one day.
De Soto further added that, “Naturally everybody wants the opportunity to get some points or even maybe win the contest. Instead of looking at the forecasts ahead of time and making a prediction, the surfers as a majority would like to see the contest make a call on Sunday as well. Just to make sure we didn’t miss a surprise swell which didn’t come up in the forecast.”
According to Marco Urtis from Area 51 surf club in Levanto, the condition of swell has not changed significantly. While the wind is good and waves are expected to grace the primary event site, the size of the waves will not be enough. There is a 50% probability for the waves to be on offer during the next few days in the first place. Urtis added that the situation will become clearer and they’ll be able to tell with more certainty whether the waves are going to come or not. He regarded the situation is very discouraging.
The event organisers will reconvene at the event site on Thursday morning to analyse the conditions and make a call for a possible start.
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