The Mandurah Pro got off to a sizzling start over the weekend, with some of Australia's finest surfing talent took to the waters at Pyramids Beach for the opening heats on Saturday morning.
Small, clean and highly contestable conditions prevailed for the opening round of the men's and women's competitions, with the south side of the Dawesville Cut hosting surfers from nine different nations.
Sixteen heats highlighted an exciting day and as temperature soared above 30 degrees, the action in and out of the water was red-hot.
Surfers who were able to maximize their opportunities extracted big scores out of the small waves on offer.
Men's heats kicked off the day with West Australian stalwart Luke Campbell (Margaret River) an early standout, winning his opening round heat on the strength of some solid and smart backhand surfing.
Campbell posted a two-wave combined total of 12.20 (from a possible 20), which included a heat-high 6.60 (from a possible 10).
"It's always nice to get an event started with a win," he said.
"It was definitely tough out there, but I found a couple of runners and got the job done."
Alex McGuffin (Bicton) was another West Australian who found the conditions to his liking, posting the highest combined total for the men's on day one.
McGuffin's 13.65 (from a possible 20) came off the strength of his innovative forehand attack, where he took to the sky, nailing multiple aerial reverses and booking his place in round two with ease.
Other male surfers to impress on day one included, Tully Wylie (Jan Juc), Darcy Crump (Avalon), Lucas Wrice (Wollongong), Samson Coulter (Manly), Cy Cox (Margaret River) and Dylan Moffat (Narrabeen) who all won their opening round heats.
In the women's event, number one seed and former Championship Tour surfer Claire Bevilacqua (ITA) kicked off her campaign in style, winning thanks to some strong backhand surfing.
Bevilacqua posted a 6.50 (from a possible 10) and backed it up with a 4.75 to finish on a combined total of 11.25 (from a possible 20).
"It's a beautiful day down here and I've been loving just hanging out with my friends," said Bevilacqua.
"Conditions are offering us opportunities for big scores still so I can't complain, just head down and get the job done."
Another former Championship Tour surfer that has close ties to Western Australia is Felicity Palmateer (Burleigh Heads).
Despite years of experience in the waves around Mandurah, Palmateer struggled to find quality waves, but did enough to get a hard-fought win ahead of WA rising star Coral Durant (Red Bluff).
Joining Bevilacqua and Palmateer in the winner's circle was Brittany Penaroza (HAW), Saffi Vette (NZL), 2019 Australasian pro junior champion Molly Micklum (North Shelly), Mandurah Pro local wildcard April McPherson (Falcon), Vittoria Farmer (Noosa) and Yolda Hopkins (PRT).
The action came to a pause on Sunday, with poor conditions forcing surfers into a lay-off day.
The competition has since resumed with participants returning to the water on Monday morning, vying for a spot in Tuesday's finals.
For more information and results head to worldsurfleague.com
