WILLCOX & MCCARTHY RULE SUPREME AT THE DRUG AWARE WA LOCAL TRIALS

The Drug Aware WA Local Trials were blessed with all day perfect surfing conditions at Surfers Point in Margaret River, as an elite field of local surfers they battled their way through heats for a place in the main event of the World Surf League (WSL) Margaret River Pro.

“Days like this don’t happen very often,” said high performance surf coach and event judge, Mike ‘Stomper’ McAuliffe. “This has been one of the best trials day we've seen in many years.”

Clean 4-6 foot swells combined with light offshore winds to provide the perfect canvas for 21 local West Australian surfers to perform in front of a crowd of friends and family. 

Women's winning Mia McCarthy, defeated Mandurah's April McPherson in the first final of the afternoon with a heat total of 14.63 of a possible 20. McCarthy will now line up against seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) when completion gets underway.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so happy,” McCarthy grinned. “I’ve been surfing Margaret's big and onshore for two months, so to luck into a day like this is just epic.”

McPherson was strong competitor throughout the event, placing a close second with a heat total of 12.93 from a possible 20. 

While on the Men's side of the draw, Jacob Willcox confirmed his position in his third WSL CT event of 2019 with victory over Gnarabup's Cyrus Cox. 

Willcox thrived in the conditions on offer and looked like the surfer to beat all event. Having surfed in the past two CT events at Bells Beach and in Bali, Willcox looked determined to represent WA on home soil.

“I pretty speechless right now, it's been a long day and I'm just so stoked it's been as good as it get's out there today,” said Willcox. “I like going through the trials and earning my spot, I felt like I can build some momentum into the main event.”

Willcox scored 14.93 from a possible 20 to make down Cox who was left chasing a 7.77 from a possible 10 for the win.

The two local trials winners will join fellow West Australian's Bronte Macaulay (Gracetown, AUS) and WSL wildcard Jack Robinson (Margaret River, AUS) in the main event of the Margaret River Pro with the event window opening tomorrow.
 

The Drug Aware WA Local Trials provides an unparalleled opportunity for local surfers to compete against the world’s best. The 34th Margaret River Pro, the fourth stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), will be held from 29 May to 09 June 2019 at Surfers Point with competition taking place on waves at Main Break, The Box and North Point.

The State Government is a proud supporter of the event through Tourism Western Australia.