Latest news with #MargaretRiver
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Bells Beach to open expanded 2026 World Surf League season
An expanded 2026 World Surf League season will start at the iconic Bells Beach, with more spots on the women's tour part of drastic changes for its 50th year. The mid-season cut has been ditched and a new finals system is set to crown the world champions. Bells Beach will again host the first of three Australian events, with a rejigged order moving Snapper Rocks after Margaret River, which has been the event where the mid-season cut has been made since its inception. The three Australian events will kick off the 12-event season, with nine regular-season stops and two post-season events before a revitalised Pipe Masters that will close the season with a high-stakes, all-inclusive finale. 'These changes reflect our commitment to honouring surfing's legacy while continuing to shape its future as the sport enters its 50th year,' WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby said. Jack Robinson celebrates bafter winning the final at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Picture: Cait Miers/World Surf League) 'With the updated formats, we'll see higher stakes from day one, with every heat carrying real consequence throughout the season. Combined with iconic locations, the expanded women's field, and Pipeline as the pinnacle, we're building a tour that better serves our athletes and fans and leads the sport into its next chapter.' As well as the schedule changes, with the WSL covering nine countries across nine months, the majority of the season will feature 36 men and 24 women. Then the tour will narrow to 24 men and 16 women after the ninth event at Lower Trestles in the US for two post-season events in Abu Dhabi and Portugal. Each surfer's best seven of nine results from the regular season will count towards their qualification for the post-season, while the final season rankings, and ultimately the world titles, will be determined by a surfer's best nine of 12 results. The cumulative full-season rankings that will determine the world champions will be heightened by the season closer at Pipeline, where the full 2026 men's and women's Championship Tour fields from the start of the season will all compete. That's a major shift from the top five who will contest a single day, winner-take-all event this year at Teahupo'o for the world title. Australian star Molly Picklum is currently the women's world No.1, with Ethan Ewing the highest-ranked Aussie male, at number five. Australia's Molly Picklum is world No.1 Picture: Thiago Diz/World Surf League 2026 Championship Tour schedule Stop No. 1 - Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 - 11 Stop No. 2 - Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 17 - 27 Stop No. 3 - Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 2 - 12 Stop No. 4 - Punta Roca, El Salvador: May 28 - June 7 Stop No. 5 - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 12 - 20 Stop No. 6 - Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 10 - 20 Stop No. 7 - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 - 18 Stop No. 8 - Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 - September 4 Stop No. 9 - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 - 20* Stop No. 10 - Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 - 18** Stop No. 11 - Peniche, Portugal: October 22 - November 1 Stop No. 12 - Banzai Pipeline, Hawaiʻi, USA: December 8 - 20*** *Last regular-season event **Start of postseason, reduced field **Full CT fields rejoin postseason surfers to compete for Pipe Masters Titles
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
World Surf League season will open at Bells Beach in 2026 with huge changes to the finals format
An expanded 2026 World Surf League season will start at the iconic Bells Beach, with more spots on the women's tour part of drastic changes for its 50th year. The mid-season cut has been ditched and a new finals system is set to crown the world champions. Bells Beach will again host the first of three Australian events, with a rejigged order moving Snapper Rocks after Margaret River, which has been the event where the mid-season cut has been made since its inception. The three Australian events will kick off the 12-event season, with nine regular-season stops and two post-season events before a revitalised Pipe Masters that will close the season with a high-stakes, all-inclusive finale. 'These changes reflect our commitment to honouring surfing's legacy while continuing to shape its future as the sport enters its 50th year,' WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby said. 'With the updated formats, we'll see higher stakes from day one, with every heat carrying real consequence throughout the season. Combined with iconic locations, the expanded women's field, and Pipeline as the pinnacle, we're building a tour that better serves our athletes and fans and leads the sport into its next chapter.' As well as the schedule changes, with the WSL covering nine countries across nine months, the majority of the season will feature 36 men and 24 women. Then the tour will narrow to 24 men and 16 women after the ninth event at Lower Trestles in the US for two post-season events in Abu Dhabi and Portugal. Each surfer's best seven of nine results from the regular season will count towards their qualification for the post-season, while the final season rankings, and ultimately the world titles, will be determined by a surfer's best nine of 12 results. The cumulative full-season rankings that will determine the world champions will be heightened by the season closer at Pipeline, where the full 2026 men's and women's Championship Tour fields from the start of the season will all compete. That's a major shift from the top five who will contest a single day, winner-take-all event this year at Teahupo'o for the world title. Australian star Molly Picklum is currently the women's world No.1, with Ethan Ewing the highest-ranked Aussie male, at number five. 2026 Championship Tour schedule Stop No. 1 - Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 - 11 Stop No. 2 - Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 17 - 27 Stop No. 3 - Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 2 - 12 Stop No. 4 - Punta Roca, El Salvador: May 28 - June 7 Stop No. 5 - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 12 - 20 Stop No. 6 - Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 10 - 20 Stop No. 7 - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 - 18 Stop No. 8 - Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 - September 4 Stop No. 9 - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 - 20* Stop No. 10 - Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 - 18** Stop No. 11 - Peniche, Portugal: October 22 - November 1 Stop No. 12 - Banzai Pipeline, Hawaiʻi, USA: December 8 - 20*** *Last regular-season event **Start of postseason, reduced field
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Climate
- News.com.au
Western Australia's stormy cold front to cross the country
Western Australia has been battered by a stormy cold front, but the weather system is only just beginning its march across the country. The past few days have brought the most widespread rainfall of the year so far to Australia, with rain in every state and territory and snow in alpine areas. But a severe storm in WA has hit the state's south west and will crawl eastwards to bring more rainfall across the nation. A warning was issued for WA as Perth was hit hard by lightning and hail. There was also risk of flash flooding in the western capital. Wilyabrup in the Margaret River region recorded 72mm of rain in just six hours overnight, while peak winds of 98km/h were experienced in Cape Naturaliste. Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Angus Hines said the stormy cold front will cross the south of the country by Tuesday. 'We'll watch this band of rains start to sweep eastwards again into South Australia, once again back into New South Wales and southern parts of Queensland on Tuesday next week. 'So this is going to be a follow-up spell of wet weather across the parts of the country which have just had a band of wet weather. 'And for most places, this will be another welcome spell of rain.' The country's east has already faced a weekend cold front as almost every capital city experienced downpours. Dry parts of South Australia, Victoria and NSW welcomed wet weather, however it still has not caught up with rainfall deficiencies this year. The upcoming band is not set to be as heavy as the weekend weather, but some areas will receive a 'top up' of up to 15mm. Monday will be dry in the north of Australia under a high pressure system. WA will still experience some showers, storms and strong winds.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Family heartbreak inspires John Haddow's victory at Australian longboard titles
A family tragedy has inspired a West Australian grandfather to become the country's oldest surfing champion. Some of John Haddow's fondest memories are riding his longboard with his granddaughter Mina on his shoulders at their home breaks around Margaret River. The 71-year-old was overcome with emotion this weekend when he won the over-70 masters division at Surfing Australia's national longboard titles at Kingscliff on the Tweed coast. He dedicated the victory to Mina, who lost her battle with brain cancer this year at the age of three. Mr Haddow said he felt the presence of an angel on his shoulders as the two best waves of the final came his way. "The last 12 months has been completely life changing," he said. "It was only this cancer thing when I realised every day is precious. I'm trying to enjoy life because it's too short. In an era defined by high-performance equipment when surfers ride boards that cost thousands of dollars, Mr Haddow competed on an old board borrowed from a friend and was wearing an op shop wetsuit. His wife, Dea, is his biggest supporter and was on the beach cheering him on. "He's just smashing it," she said. Mina fought bravely but died nine months after her diagnosis. The family's heartbreak was compounded by the fact the doctors told them the first round of treatment had worked. "The cancer went away. She rang the bell and we thought she was cancer-free, but it came back in three weeks," Ms Haddow said. "It's not fair, it's just too little." They cherished every minute together — singing, dancing and watching every episode of Bluey "at least 100 times". While nothing can take away the pain of losing a grandchild, the newly crowned champion said the tragedy had given him a new lease on life. "A lot of people spend their life with nasty thoughts in their head, but we all live on one planet and we have got to get along."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
Mummy blogger Constance Hall reveals the 'extremely low' amount she got from the sale of her marital home with estranged husband
Famed blogger Constance Hall has finally found a buyer for her bushland property in Western Australia 's Margaret River. First listed for $1.3 million by the social media star in April, the six-bedroom, two-bathroom multi-level pad is now 'under offer' ahead of the final settlement. Located in a forest 271km from Perth, it features a herb garden and jacuzzi bath. Known as a 'mummy blogger', the 41-year-old mother of seven children moved out of the home after her partner Denim was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2020. On Thursday, the Courier-Mail reported that no details of the sale - including the final price - have been released. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. However, Constance has been outspoken about her experience of selling the property, revealing that she was presented with 'extremely low' offers ahead of the final sale. Taking to her Facebook on Wednesday, Constance announced triumphantly, 'My beautiful home has sold, you guys, it settles in a month.' 'That was more stressful than I thought it would be, between extremely low cash offers from very very rich well known families to people's finance falling through,' she gushed. Elsewhere in the share Constance said, 'So, opening my home every week for the local public to judge hasn't been amazing.' She also said that while the house languished on the market for four months she feared that the 'right buyer would never come.' Constance moved out of the home after her partner Denim was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2020. The family relocated to Perth so that Constance's mother could help look after her children, The West Australian reported. 'The house is breathtaking and that never wore off,' she told the publication. 'You feel it every single day. I've had to get used to different stress levels while living in Perth because I don't have that forest to unwind in every day. 'People don't realise the impact clean air and a huge tree have on them, but you notice it retrospectively when it's gone.' Surrounded by large gum trees, the original three-bedroom abode was constructed in 2008. Major renovations added three more bedrooms in 2018. Highlights include oversized timber ceilings and an expansive entertainment deck. Meanwhile, the main bedroom features a private balcony that offers a stunning view of the surrounding forest. The outdoor setting also has a shower, water feature and a timber pergola. The unique interior styling includes a wall mural and elaborate decorative tiling throughout. Constance and Denim, who met in 2017, 'married' and had their son Raja in 2018. The controversial mummy blogger explained up until recently, she was still legally married to her first husband, British carpenter Bill Mahon, because she couldn't cope with the red tape involved with getting a divorce, hence she and Denim are not legally married at this time.
