Surf Pro Deep Dive

Each year, Margaret River’s Surfer’s Point plays host to the world’s best surfers, all chasing a win as they vie for the World Surf League’s World Title in the Western Australia Margaret River Surf Pro.  

This year, Margaret River is number two of 12 stops across 9 countries on the circuit.  This season also marks pro surfing’s 50th year.

This week, Kellie Tannock speaks to World Surfing League's Asa Pacific President, Andrew Stark on the Pro's history, evolution and exposure for the Margaret River Region.

She also speaks two former surf champions who are hugely influential in the local surfing scene, Mike McAuliffe and Dave Macaulay, who share tips on Pro for residents and visitors, and explain why the event is so important for the community. 

Images supplied by WSL

Thanks for listening and if you've enjoyed this podcast, please share with your family and friends.

For more inspiration on visiting the Margaret River Region follow @margaretriver on Instagram or explore www.margaretriver.com.

This show was recorded at RMR 101.9FM, Margaret River Region.

Transcript

Kellie Tannock 0:01

Welcome to Cape's Conversations. Sharing the stories that make the Margaret River Region a truly special place to live and visit. Hello, I'm Kellie Tannock, and this week it's all about one of Margaret Rivers' favourite pastimes, and that is, of course, surfing. Each year, Margaret Rivers Surfers Point plays host to the world's best surfers, all chasing a win as they vie for the World Surf League's World Title in the Western Australia, Margaret River Surf Pro. This year Margaret River is at number two of 12 stops across nine countries on the circuit. And this season also marks Pro Surfing's 50th year, and later I'll speak to some stalwarts of our local surfing scene. But first, let's go straight to the top with World Surf League Asia Pacific President Andrew Stark on the phone to get all the latest on the Pro. Welcome, Andrew.

Andrew Stark 0:46

Thanks for having me.

Kellie Tannock 0:48

Andrew, could you explain to us how the Surf Pro fits into the World Championships?

Andrew Stark 0:52

Yeah, well it's one of 12 championship tour events throughout the year. Three of those are in Australia, and the rest of them are throughout the world. But this is the second stop on the World Championship Tour, and this is the highest level of the sport. So there's an aggregates point system throughout the year, and world champions get crowned in Hawaii in the final event of the year at the Pipe Masters. So yeah, it's the top of the tree as far as elite sport for surfing, and the best surfers in the world are absolutely going to be in Margaret River for the event.

Kellie Tannock 1:23

That's pretty exciting. Margaret River has hosted the Pro for many years now. What is the history of this event in our region?

Andrew Stark 1:30

Yeah, well, look, it's been going for a long time, you know, over 40 years, and it's been varying degrees status along the journey, but in 2014 it was upgraded to a championship tour, and it's been continuing as that status at the highest level of the sport since then. So but it started back in 85, and you know, one of the one of the longest running events in the world, and the surfers always loved coming to the region, not only for the waves, but it is just such a beautiful part of the world. A much loved event on tour.

Kellie Tannock 2:02

That's great to hear. Well, I mean, what impact has sponsorship and technology and um changes, how have things like that impacted the event's profile and even the standard of competition over the time?

Andrew Stark 2:12

It's important to note with these events that you know that it's not a ticketed event. So the unique thing about surfing events is they're free to attend. So, you know, unlike a stadium sport where you can get significant ticket revenue and so on, we rely heavily on partnerships and sponsorships. So, you know, Tourism Western Australia is a big partner, and and as are some of our major global partners and regional partners that help to um put this together. And you know, I think in technology, the ability to run a remote broadcast out of places like Market River in a regional area, or you know, we run broadcast out of Tahiti and Fiji and all these iconic locations, in some cases out in the middle of the ocean, where you know, now with broadcasting technology, you know, we're able to reach millions of people. So to give you an idea, you know, this event will will have an audience of about eight to ten million people globally. Last year, World Surf League reached huge audiences all over the world. You know, there's 80 million people reached globally in 2025 by our WSL Championship Tour. So they're very big audiences, you know, and it gives a really good platform and reach for our partners, but also for the athletes, and obviously the athletes becoming their own superstars in their own right, and and we help grow them as as talent and as athletes and help them in terms of their journey around getting their own sponsors and so on to to be able to chase their dreams all over the world.

Kellie Tannock 3:36

So surfers that you talk about, how has their their own professionalism and the calibre of talent changed over that time and and what are some of the the factors in that?

Andrew Stark 3:44

Oh look, they're certainly, you know, they're certainly elite athletes and they train the highest level of any other sport. You know, you see the surfers now have got a really serious daily training environment and they travel with coaches and physios and support teams and they have you know partners that really get behind them in the sense of of their performance environment. So they are elite athletes. You know, I think the evolution of of women surfing has been absolutely incredible over the recent years, you know, particularly in the sort of last five years, the the age of women surfers on tour now has come down significantly, and you're seeing you know, surfers in their late teens actually, the the females that are qualifying as winning world titles in their early 20s and so on. Um and the standard of the female surfing is just unbelievable. It's it's through the roof. So, you know, in this year actually the World Surf League has expanded the women's field out to 24 surfers, which has been a great evolution. You know, but as the the men's the the standard has increased as well, like what they are doing now in these waves is really remarkable, and not only you know, on the wave in terms of the open face turns and and how aggressive and dynamic they are on the wave, but the aerial surfing component above the lip is is just out of this world. So it's been a really fantastic journey to watch that and just to see the progression. And you know, and there's a lot of really, really quality local Western Australian talent as well that are part of that group coming through. And obviously, you know, Jack Robo is one of those. Jack Robinson, a local legend, Margaret River surfer, and you know, he's at the top of the tree when it comes to world tour surfing in the men's division, that's for sure.

Kellie Tannock 5:23

Absolutely, and we're all very proud of our local surf champions. So many amazing surfers in one spot. It does sound pretty exciting even for casual spectators, let alone hardcore surf fans. How many people visit Margaret River for this event?

Andrew Stark 5:36

Look, thousands. I mean, the the there's obviously the 60 athletes that that are there, um, and they come with trainers, coaches, filmers, family members, and so on. We have 150 staff that'll be coming to town, but then you've got thousands of spectators that are coming from Perth, from interstate, international. We've also got this year uh the Here Comes the Sun Festival as a part of a sort of schedule of events um in Margaret River that's being held on the 25th of April at Oceans Winery. I mean, there's going to be 5,000 people coming just to that festival, and 80% of them are coming from from outside the region. So there's a significant economic impact as well. I mean, we've had independent measurement reports that show you know $8.9 million of economic impact to the region. So it's a it's a big number of visiting people, and and you know, it's not like a one-day sporting event, so they're not just coming for one football game or one you know, one moment of time that goes for two hours. It's an 11-day window of competition. So everybody that's coming to the region is staying for a couple of weeks. You know, all the surfers will be there for two weeks and the staff and so on. So the economic impact, you know, is quite significant due to that length of time as well.

Kellie Tannock 6:50

And you've got the lay days occasionally where you know they're not all down at Surfers Point.

Andrew Stark 6:55

We traditionally with the events they're 11-day windows, but we pick the best, it takes five days to actually run the event. So what we do is pick the best five quality surf days in that 11 days, and then we call them lay days. So if we're not on on a particular day, that's when we call the event off, and in that case, all the staff and the surfers go out and enjoy the Margot River region, and that's where you know they're going to play golf and going to the caves and going surfing on the breaks and going to wineries and the restaurants and in town, and there's just so much to do in that area. The the surfers love that, you know, and we do a lot of content with the surfers to tell that story, and we put that into the broadcast and you know, showing off the surfers, enjoying all the local tourist attractions and experiences, and you know, a lot of the the surfers organically post it onto their own social following. You know, between our surfers and world surfleague, we have over 50 million social followers, so we've got a you know a significant reach in terms of um the ability to tell the story of the Marble River region to the world.

Kellie Tannock 7:56

Okay, and then there's the live streaming on top of that.

Andrew Stark 7:58

Yeah, that's right. So, you know, in Australia you can watch it on uh Seven Plus, on Fox Sports, on KO, on YouTube, and on WCL.com as well, and then we have global distribution partners throughout the world. So, yeah, then those audiences, as I said earlier, you there's about eight to ten million people will watch the live broadcasts, and then we have a post-produced TV show that will go into over a hundred countries around the world and be watched by tens of millions of people, and then the social following. So, yeah, it does bring a lot of attention to the region, and you know, we see that in terms of visitation and you know it it's sort of that notion of surf tourism where people see the region on our broadcast and then you know decide, oh hey, I'd love to go to Margaret River and enjoy the area, and and then obviously there's that immediate economic impact which a lot of the local businesses are um uh are beneficiary of.

Kellie Tannock 8:49

Andrew, thanks so much for joining us today. This is Cave's Conversations. I'm Kellie Tannock, and I've been speaking with the World Surf League's Asia Pacific president Andrew Stark on the Western Australia Margaret River Surf Pro.

Kellie Tannock 9:01

The Here Comes the Sun concert is on here during the Pro, and with keen surfers Lime Cordiale front lining, that's no wonder they've put their hands up to perform. This is their hit, Robbery

Kellie Tannock 9:11

That was Lime Cordiale, Robbery. I'm Kellie Tannock. This is Cape's Conversations, and we're deep diving into one of the region's mainstay events, the Western Australia Margaret River Surf Pro. Joining me now are two former surf champions who are still a massive part of the local surfing scene, Mike McAuliffe and Dave McCaulay. Welcome to you both.

Dave MacCaulay 13:13

Thanks, Kelly.

Kellie Tannock 13:14

My pleasure. You're both called on for your local surf expertise. Can you explain what roles you each play in the comp?

Mike McAuliffe 13:20

Oh, I'm involved as what they call surfing director. That's mostly to do with forecasting, but just walking out what the weather's doing, what the swell is doing, and then giving the commissioner of WSL you know a bit of a heads up on what days would be best to run and what days are probably uh best not to run. But that that's my main role. I used to be site manager quite a few years prior to that, and uh worked as a as a kind of setup crew person before that and competed in the event before that. So yeah, but I've had a long association with the event.

Kellie Tannock 13:52

Is a big responsibility, Mike McCauley. Dave McCaulay, what is your role?

Dave MacCaulay 13:57

Yeah, I don't have a role currently in the event unless my daughter Bronte wins the trial, in which case she'll be uh in the main event and then I'll be uh tagging along with her and um you know getting uh interacting with Mike actually, who has uh coached Bronte um in the last uh probably four years of the event and uh played the semis uh a few times. So um yeah, I I I'm more of a board carrier, I guess you could say.

Kellie Tannock 14:23

How how's Bronte's form this year?

Dave MacCaulay 14:25

Uh not too good right now because uh she's injured her back uh for the last ten weeks, so she hasn't got back in the in the water yet, so she may not actually be in the trials, but uh hopefully it comes good in the next couple of weeks and she can have a crack and um yeah get back into it.

Kellie Tannock 14:41

Well we definitely wish her the best of luck there. We've heard about the star power coming here. These surfers are heroes to our young people. What impact does it have on a young surfer to see their hero in the flesh and riding the home wave?

Dave MacCaulay 14:55

Yeah, I feel like uh that uh the biggest thing from my point of view with the event is uh the the grommets, you know, and uh getting getting to see their pros up close and personal. And I know it's inspired um my kids in the past, and uh you know I think that it's a wonderful thing to witness, and I think the way the event's set up with the pros coming down the boardwalk there and sort of uh high-fiving all the kids and interacting and then the boardwalk interviews, the whole thing is just it's so good for the local people to watch and uh and the kids in particular.

Kellie Tannock 15:30

It's pretty exciting. Would you agree with that, Mike?

Mike McAuliffe 15:33

Yeah, most definitely. I mean we're here to talk about the pros and cons, and and like Dave, I feel that's one of the huge pros watching those uh little 10, 11-year-old kids pick up their hero surfboard and carry it down the stairs as a caddy. That you just see how much that excites them. But they have the Rising Tides, which is a young female programme that's really successful that WSL sort of uh kicked off a few years ago, and that's a huge uh event, which will be on the day before the comp starts, which I think is the 15th around about two o'clock that afternoon, they'll do rising tide. So all the young girls from around WA will get to surf with all their heroes on that day. Uh yeah, and and there's no doubt, you know, we've had a lot of uh local surfers win the Margaret River Pro, uh, including Dave, by being there and watching their heroes surf it and then become you know, we're very lucky, only ten places in the world get to run a CT event and we're fortunate enough to have one. So our kids really do benefit from it a lot.

Kellie Tannock 16:31

Yeah, they get a lot of pep out of it by the sounds of it in their own performances. Well, let's not gloss over the fact that the Surf Pro does have its detractors, the logistics are huge. Uh the setup in the pack down means that surface point isn't accessible or for close on three weeks, or the traffic has to be managed into Prevelly residents and visitors are flocking to one spot for days on end. What is put in place to help residents cope with the short-term inconvenience?

Mike McAuliffe 16:56

Yeah, that so we've just talked about the the biggest pro that probably is the the biggest con is the the traffic congestion that can happen around Prevelly and Gnarabup, and I don't live in Gnarabup, unfortunately, because I'd love to live in Gnarabup. But for that three weeks, glad I don't live in Gnarabup. They've done a lot of work over the years. I remember when I was our work crew, we used to hand deliver stickers to people's houses, and now I think they all get sent out. So every local resident uh gets stickers that they can put on their car, which uh when they do come down Walcliffe Road and heading into Prevelly or Gnarabup, it just makes their traffic management a lot easier to flow. It's not a perfect system, but I think it works really good. Uh obviously, if there's a really big weekend of a good surf and we're getting close to the point end of the event, we can get huge numbers come down to Prev and and want to watch it live. And I can only imagine if I was a Prevelly resident or a Gnarabup resident, that would be pretty hectic trying to go uh to and from the shops ten in the morning. But I I wouldn't I'd be planning to go really early and and get back early. But the access to the point, uh sure it gets shut down when they're uh constructing the event for vehicle access. But you you can walk in or ride your bike in uh just about any day, even if the event is on. Uh certainly vehicle access does become restricted, but uh I know a lot of people love walking the boardwalk narrow up through to the river mouth, and it's a very popular walk, and they do get a little bit of inconvenience, but there's still paths they can go to still get down to the river mouth, uh which is probably the quietest it is all year. So if you ha have uh make the effort uh to walk, you can probably get the river mouth uh all to yourself. Uh if I was a regular walk out or someone who lived in Prague and it's a really busy weekend and the events, you know, the events are pumping and people are everywhere, it w it could be quite uh quite frustrating for them.

Kellie Tannock 18:52

But I've heard a lot of people treat the Pro like a sort of Christmas, New Year's break and uh get away from the place. So that's one strategy to avoid the crowds. But I mean what what sort of mindset would you be encouraging people to have uh if they are feeling a bit put out?

Mike McAuliffe 19:07

Well, from the local surfers point of view, uh and again Dave uh mentioned it earlier about um you know these there's you know there's a core group and it's hard to know how many, but you know, the that just love main break and that's all they want to surf and they want to surf it every every day they possibly can. And I again once again I do really feel for those guys. Um some of them have been doing it for you know 40, 50 years and you know they're in their 60s and they're still out there every day surfing it in every condition. Um and some of them have just really learnt to adapt and move around it, and some of them still go surfing there, they just you know they walk in with their boards and they get in early, and some of them you know sort of have embraced the event. Some people do find it really frustrating and hang up their board for the uh for the ten days and just don't surf at all. And then some guys, yeah, they grab their car and they'll head north, or they'll head east into South Australia, or they'll grab a ticket and head to the head to Bali for for the ten days. So a lot of crew have managed to find ways to uh deal with uh that that frustration of not being able to surf at the point all the time during the event. But uh the reality is if you are keen, you can still get in there and you can still surf it, except for when the event is actually running. And you know, some of them you know get to surf it with the uh with the world bear surfers and the sur World Bear surfers go right and the local boys go left and they kind of kind of enjoy it. Yes, and and that's that that's my point, is if I wasn't involved in the event and I couldn't get away, I mean but uh the Margaret River the coastline has so much uh choice of waves. I you know, I know Maca loves these lefties and uh I surf Margarets a lot out of convenience, but uh we are blessed to have a coastline that's literally surf. So in some ways it's you uh it's a good thing you're forced to go and surf some other waves for those two weeks or whatever it might be. That's the way I would look at it.

Kellie Tannock 21:02

Yeah, might find a new favourite. This is Cape's Conversation, sponsored by Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association. Stay with me while we have some more music. Supporting Lime Cordiale at Here Comes the Sun is Jungle Giants, known for their explosive, high-energy live performances. This is Used to Be in Love.

Kellie Tannock 24:58

I'm Kelly Tannock. This is Capes Conversations, and this week I'm discussing the Surf Pro with Dave McCaulay and Mike McAuliffe with me in the studio. Now you've both won surf titles. What's it like for you guys when you're watching all the comp action? Do you sort of you feel like you're itching to get out in the waves?

Dave MacCaulay 25:13

Yeah, it is inspiring to watch. I mean, we've seen over the recent years uh the performances of John John Florence that have been absolutely phenomenal. And um, you know, he's uh inspired so many uh and taken it to just an incredible new level in the powerful ways, being that he's from Hawaii, you know, and he loves the power of Margaret River. Yeah, it is really inspiring to watch and um you know as it has inspired all the gromits, even some older gromits get inspired too.

Kellie Tannock 25:43

What about you, Mike?

Mike McAuliffe 25:45

I I'm inspired by their surfing, but I'm not inspired to go out and surf with them. Because they kind of make you look like you are, which is a bit old and a bit slow, but uh but yeah, I still get inspiration from them by watching them, and certainly you know, like Jack Robinson, his uh local boy who's come from a little surfing River mouth to now rolling big waves at Main Break and and winning the event twice. So that that's really inspiring. We you know we have we've had Bronte make the semis the last couple of years, and I think Jacob Will got got a fifth, got to the to the quarters last year. So I definitely get inspired watching it and all the international surfers for that more for that matter. But yeah, I'd I'd rather not put myself out there surfing with them.

Kellie Tannock 26:27

That's fair enough. You're both you're both now involved in local coaching though. What about some of our groms coming up? What's the next local generation looking like? Do we have some really exciting talent emerging?

Dave MacCaulay 26:38

Yes, definitely. And Mike uh has been doing a lot more coaching of the juniors than myself in recent years. But um I see some of the some of the uh up and coming grommets, and yeah, there's some some real talent out there. I think WA as a state, you know, we've always punched above our weight in terms of uh how many surf pro surfers actually get on the world tour. And you know, I think with the the next crop coming up, there's some some pretty good exciting prospects. Uh you know, Willow Willow Hardy's one that's really uh pushing the boundaries and uh hopefully she can get on the world tour, and there's some really good young uh male surfers as well that like and probably touch on that.

Mike McAuliffe 27:18

Yeah, I feel like we've got uh a good little generation happening at the moment. You go through little periods of a strong group of young surfers coming through, and there's a little sort of gap there for a while, and then you get another surge of talent coming through. And I feel like as I'm saying, we've got a good group coming through right now in both the boys and the girls. Probably Willow is leading the charge at the moment for the girls, but her sister's not far behind at all of the Ruby Barry. She's just finished year twelve, and now she's dedicating herself to full-time serving, and you're already seeing uh fast improvement with her, and then some other young girls, you know, and we've got some third generation girls there like the Hardy family, and little Rosie Ansley, you know, Fredo's granddaughter, she's only got twelve or something, she's shown some promise. And then and then with the boys Oakie Fraser, Macklin and Acey, Macklin's brother, Acey's got some potential uh Matt Wilson. But I feel like the big difference for me with this recent generation coming through is that they are talented, yes, but they're also hardworking people. And I feel like maybe in the past we've had uh some talented young kids come through that just lacked a bit of work ethic whereas I feel like this group are all really hard working together.

Kellie Tannock 28:35

Wow, so they're really stepping up at a professional level. Yeah, well that's terrific, and I can't wait to see where they all end up. Finally, though, before we go, what is your one piece of advice for people who are coming to watch the property?

Dave MacCaulay 28:47

Slip slop slap, make sure you got your long sleeves and your hat and your sun cream and everything. Um but it is a fantastic amphitheatre there watching the event. So uh yeah, I just say embrace it and try and get a spot where you can watch you know the action live and then check the replay on the big screen. That's always uh a good one. And um just yeah, enjoy the everything that the South West has to offer.

Kellie Tannock 29:11

Everyone wants an autograph. What's your uh strategy for that?

Dave MacCaulay 29:14

Oh yeah, well, you know, that goes without saying, doesn't it, for the gromits. But uh yeah, just get amongst it and get the autographs as well.

Kellie Tannock 29:21

And what what would you say, Mike, about how to how to have a smooth day? Do you need to play it out? Will you leave the car at home? What would you say?

Mike McAuliffe 29:28

Yeah, well, uh when I when I'm fortunate enough to be there and then and I walk out into the into the public area where the crowd is. It's amazing, actually, you do get a lot of local people come and watch the event mixed with a lot of visitors from you know from Perth and and wherever else. My basic advice would be get there early to get a best spot and and also maybe get less traffic to deal with. Getting out can be a little bit tricky, but again, the footy, the footy club who runs the traffic management parking, they do such a good job, and they've been doing it for 30 plus years, you know, Fred Yates and stuff, kind of the backbone of it. So you get it get there early, as Maca said, it's I think it's a really good amphitheatre, and they have a lot of really good stuff there for people to be entertained. The they got the replay screen there, which is a huge screen, so you can get to see it live and then watch all the different replays. You got local crew doing the commentary, and they go down and interview all the the prizes that come up after they win their hate, and then once they've had their interview, you can normally then go and get your autographs. They try not to bother the surfers before they go out for their hate, but uh you can certainly hassle them for an autograph for a something to hassle into leg rope and things as well these days. They're getting pretty cheeky, some of those groms, but um but yeah, normally you get your autograph after the surfers have surfed. It's a polite thing to do.

Kellie Tannock 30:46

You don't ask, you don't get, I guess. Uh thanks so much to my three guests, Andrew Stark, Dave McCaulay, and Mike MacAuliffe. I'm Kellie Tannock. Thanks for listening Capes Conversations with our spotlight on the Western Australia Margaret River Surf Programme.

Kellie Tannock 30:59

For those who love to surf and in this community, there are plenty who take to the waves as often as possible. This event is celebrated as bringing the best of the best to our home breaks. It's a challenging time to have your daily routine interrupted and the waves are getting busier, but I'd hope that those who are not fans will see the event for the value that it brings to the region. Not just the economic value and the global exposure, but for the inspiration that it gives to our grommets. Thanks to our show sponsor, Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association. And I'm finishing this week's episode with another of the Here Comes the Sun lineup. This is young Franco and Daydreaming.