The Rip Curl Pro presented by Corona scheduled for the 28-29 March has unfortunately been postponed.
We have been working with the relevant authorities in regards to COVID-19 and as the situation escalated over recent days, we have been left with limited options.
A decision in regards to the remainder of the events held in April will be made by 5pm Thursday 19th March. That decision includes the Kaikoura Grom Comp, Emerson’s South Island Champs and Exit Surf Canterbury Champs. We are waiting for updated public event information from the Ministry of Health which is due out on Wednesday. Several club committees are also meeting in the next 24 hours to discuss their events.
Our events fall under the current public gathering threshold of 500 but the national nature of the events with surfers from the length of the country travelling to and participating makes for a challenging circumstance.
The postponement of events falls in line with a number of national sports and the suspension of the School Sport NZ event calendar.
We left the decision for as long as possible as postponement is the last thing we want for the surfing community but in this instance, the health and safety of our community are paramount.
We thank everyone for their consideration at this time and we will look to reschedule the events this year and will keep everyone posted.