There were some top names and great waves at Basse-Pointe on Saturday, on the eve of the start of the second edition of the Martinique Surf Pro. The competitors settled into the swing of things as they look forward to an event, which promises to be even bigger than last year, which is no mean feat, and the show was already very impressive on this training day. It will be even more so, when the 144 surfers from five continents start the competition. On Friday evening, some took part in the opening night for the 2016 Martinique Surf Pro, for which many people have travelled to the Domaine Saint Aubin, in La Trinité, where they were able to enjoy the performance of local artists.
The surfers can’t wait to get started
An interesting mixture of confirmed talent and promising young surfers, the line-up for the Martinique Surf Pro is certainly very appetizing. When we came across the Hawaiian title-holder as he came out of the water on Saturday morning, Joshua Moniz could not hide his enthusiasm. “I arrived in Martinique two days ago and have been getting into the swing of things. I’m now ready for the competition. There are more people registered than last year, including some of the very best surfers of the QS. While training today, I could already see that the standard was very high. Each series is going to be well contested and we are going to have to fight hard to get through. It’s going to be tough, but exciting!” The other competitors out on the water at Basse-Pointe also expressed their impatience. They can’t wait to get out there in the long right-handers at this spot. While the excitement is clearly building, there is also some tension to be felt, as there is a lot at stake at this Martinique Surf Pro. The winner of this QS 3,000 event will pocket 3000 points in the world surf qualifying circuit. A huge amount, which could make all the difference later in the season to get a place in the Top 10 of the QS and join the Championship Tour (CT), the premier league of world surfing, which brings together the top 34 surfers. Last year, Joshua Moniz moved up 146 places in the QS thanks to his win in Martinique.
The first series begin on Sunday
So it is on Sunday that some of the competitors of the Martinique Surf Pro will enter the competition. In this competition format with 144 surfers, the first round brings together the 32 surfers registered that were lowest ranked in the 2015 QS. These 32 competitors are nevertheless excellent riders. For this first round, they will be divided in eight pools of four. In each series, the four surfers will be up against each other for a pre-defined period of time. The two surfers, who get the best scores, will qualify for the second round. Depending on their respective position in the rankings at the end of the 2015 season, the other surfers will enter the competition in the second or third round or even the fourth round. 32 surfers will directly qualify for the fourth round: the top 28 in the Qualifying Series in 2015, but also four, who are benefiting from Wild Cards (invitations) offered by the World Surf League and the organizers of the Martinique Surf Pro. In all, 64 surfers will compete in the fourth round, divided up into 16 pools of four. From the quarter finals, the competition will shift to duels: one surfer will be eliminated and the other qualifies. Right up until the final, which will determine the name of the winner of the second Martinique Surf Pro, who will follow in the footsteps of Joshua Moniz…
How to follow the 2016 Martinique Surf Pro?
– On the official website for the event (https://www.martiniquesurfpro.com), which will be updated throughout the competition in French and in English. You can find the daily rankings, articles, videos, as well as the day’s top photos.
The website is available on PC, tablets, mobile phones.
– On social networks:
Facebook: Martiniquesurfpro
Twitter: @MqueSurfPro
Instagram: Martiniquesurfpro
Snapchat: MqueSurfPro
– From tomorrow (Sunday), you will be able to follow live video coverage of the competition on the Martinique Surf Pro website until Tuesday. From Wednesday, the live can be seen on Surf + channel, our partner Canal +.
Official website for the event:
https://www.martiniquesurfpro.com/
The website will be regularly updated throughout the competition.
You can find there the daily rankings, articles, videos, as well as a selection of the best photos of the day.
Photo arrangements:
Access to the photo library is via the following address:
http://martiniquesurfpro.com/index.php/media/
The HD photos available on this website are only free of rights for press use.
They may not be used for commercial or communication purposes outside of the organization of the Martinique Surf Pro and the official partners to the event.
If you have any special requests, please contact Fabrice Thomazeau:
fabrice.thomazeau@mer-media.com
TV Arrangements:
From Sunday 17th April, the organizers of the Martinique Surf Pro will make available to TV stations and photo agencies the Highlights and daily news reels as well as a clip lasting several minutes with the highlights of the competition on the final day of the event.
All of the video footage will be available after accreditation on the media download server:
http://martiniquesurfpro.com/index.php/media/
