Day two of the Vissla Central Coast Pro and Sisstrevolution Central Coast Pro saw many of the world’s best surfers call up the best of their ocean skills as they battled seriously challenging surf in the six-foot range at Avoca Beach on the Central Coast of NSW. Challenging seas are nothing new to one of Australia’s greatest surfers in Sally Fitzgibbons and she absolutely thrived in the powerful waves on offer today. Fitzgibbons reeled off three excellent eight-point plus rides to take the easiest of heat wins and she looks in magnificent form as her most important season ever approaches. “It’s really exciting for us now that we have some certainty about the events ahead and I really do feel well prepared right now” said Fitzgibbons. “The Championship Tour and the Olympics are huge goals this year and particularly these beachbreak events I feel are good for my preparations because that’s what we’ll face in Japan. I also really enjoy the emerging Australian talent and seeing the future, it’s exciting.” One of those emerging talents is Central Coast local Molly Picklum who appeared very comfortable in the rugged conditions today as she easily won her round of 64 heat with a solid 14.90 two-wave heat total. Currently sitting in second position on the WSL APAC Qualifying Series rankings, the Shelly Beach natural-footer appeared hungry to post another massive result and possibly jump into the top spot above current rankings leader Bronte Macaulay. “The waves were so much fun out there and I just felt like I wanted to keep surfing,” said Picklum. “I surf here quite a bit with my coach Micro (Glenn Hall), so I’d say I’m reasonably confident with the way this beach breaks. I also think having Micro still in the event and watching him surf yesterday really inspired me to do well. Hopefully, I’ll keep the roll going.” The round of 64 of the Sisstrevolution Central Coast Pro also saw high scoring impressive displays from Dimity Stoyle, Isabella Nichols, Zahli Kelly, Kirra-Belle Olsson and Mia McCarthy. Arguably the day’s best performers came late in the day as local star Macy Callaghan demolished the large surf and claimed an excellent wave score of 8.8. A few heats later and Newcastle’s Philippa Anderson would eclipse that score with an 8.9. “I love competing here,” said Macy. “It’s my home and this is the surf I grew up in so it’s just a great event for me to fine-tune before Newcastle. I’ve set goals for this year now that I’ve surfed the CT for the past few years and I’d really like to push my way into the top 10. It’s exciting to be back and competing.” The forecast for this entire event is excellent and tomorrows women’s round of 32 should be blessed with amazing surf along with opening heats of the round of 64 men’s which sees the top seeds enter the water headed by Australian Olympic representatives Owen Wright and Julian Wilson. The live broadcast of the Vissla Central Coast Pro and Sisstrevolution Central Coast Pro will begin on Thursday, 4 March 2021 and will be streamed live on Surfing NSW website and Facebook. The elite six-day World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 rated event formed the final of four stops on the Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series and will take place in Avoca from Tuesday, 2 March 2021 until Sunday, 7 March 2021. The four-event series will see three QS1000 rated events (Maroubra, Great Lakes and Port Stephens) and one men’s and women’s QS3000 (Central Coast). In 2020, the WSL revealed a new format for 2021, which included creating distinct seasons between the QS (the regionalised development tier), the Challenger Series (the global battleground for Championship Tour qualification) and the Championship Tour (the world’s best surfers competing for the World Title). The new tour structure will provide a more streamlined and affordable career pathway for WSL athletes by allowing up-and-coming surfers to develop closer to home without financially overleveraging themselves. Athletes will compete on their regional QS tour in hopes of qualifying for the Challenger Series (CS), and ultimately the Championship Tour, which will reduce the economic pressure on surfers and their sponsors, as well as provide increased opportunities to celebrate local stars. The QS will run from January through to July 2021 and determine who has qualified for the CS, which will run from August through to December 2021. Each region will have an allocation of surfers that can qualify for the CS through their regional tour. Athletes will be able to roll over points from 2020 QS events into the current season. Australia/Oceania will receive an allocation of ten men’s and eight women’s spots onto the Challenger Series based on the regional QS rankings. All events will be webcast through worldsurfleague.com, surfingnsw.com.au and the WSL App. For more information on these events head to worldsurfleague.com or check the free WSL App.