Rio Pro picks up stumps, moves to Saquarema
Overnight the WSL announced they were moving the Rio Pro from Postinho to Saquarema, two hours north of Rio de Janeiro.
Since 2012, Postinho has served as the contest's primary venue but it's always attracted criticism due to wave quality and, in recent years, water quality. Lagoa de Tijuaca drains into the ocean immediately east of Postinho and in 2015 a number of surfers got sick from surfing in polluted water. This year Joel Parkinson and Kai Otton skipped Rio allegedly due to water qualty.
Saquarema will now be the site of Brazil's only CT contest. From 2009 till 2015 Saquarema hosted a WQS contest, variously rated as 6 Star, Prime, and 10,000, and has been won by Wilko, Mitch Coleborn, and Kai Otton. It's considered one of Brazil's better surf towns with a consistent beachbreak and long left point when the surf gets sizable.
Jadson Andre competing in the 2014 Quiksilver Pro at Saquarema
“I’m excited to confirm the new location of Saquarema for the 2017 Rio Pro,” said Kieren Perrow, WSL Commissioner. “The athletes will benefit from its consistency and potential for excellent waves. Postinho was a great spot, but we rarely got it at its best and the water quality in recent years has been a big challenge. We were committed to keeping the tour in Brazil, and look forward to delivering an outstanding event for fans all over the world.
With the WSL working behind the scenes to improve CT venues, what chance a move away from Supertubos to one of Portugal's more contestable waves?
A quick sample of Saquarema's quality:
Comments
Looks pretty good, especially considering it is mostly unedited footage.
Seems average from the clip. WSL had to move, this must be the best within the Rio region. Regardless, had to be a positive move.
Any info on location/map, swell direction, local prevailing winds etc at that time of the year? No good showing epic waves if that's not what you'll get at the time of the year the comp is on. Eg, they don't run the quiky pro at Kirra in Sept for a reason!!!!
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/South_America/Brazil/Rio_de_Janeiro_Norte/...
Glad its being moved from Postinho. The last few years there have been very ordinary. The clip of Saquarema looks good but hope its not more beachbreaks. With Hossegor and Supertubos the world championship is already too much of a wave catching contest.