For the second time in less than a month, the WSL has ended a contest without declaring a winner. Unlike the J-Bay Pro’s abrupt ending in the final heat between Mick Fanning and Julian Wilson, this time it was massive surf that put a stop to the festivities. The Maui and Sons Arica Pro, held in Chile, saw waves exceeding 20-feet at El Gringo. The maxed out size made competing unsafe for its four semifinalists, who, along with the WSL staff, decided unanimously to call off the final heats and split an equal 3rd among them. Manuel Selman (CHL), Andy Criere (FRA), Leon Vicuña (CHL) and Miguel Tudela (PER) split the prize money as well, each taking home $4,150 and 840 QS points.
“The waves are really big, with sets over twenty feet, which makes it impossible to surf at El Gringo,” said Klaus Kaiser, WSL South America Tour Manager. “We had a meeting with everyone involved, especially the four Semifinalists, and it was a unanimous decision to call off the event. Putting the athletes in those conditions was unthinkable and we were not authorized to finish the event at another location here in Arica, such as El Buey.”
The authorization, or lack thereof, Kaiser referred to was the last minute plan to move the event. The Ex Isla Alacran government and the Chilean Navy stepped in to shut down any ideas of having the event anywhere but El Gringo though. Ironically, that didn’t stop some of the competitors from getting in the water.
