Stars align for the Pro Am

The SunSmart Pro Am series will take place in Margaret River this weekend, with big names from Margaret River and Yallingup headlining the event.

Starting tomorrow, and with finals expected on Sunday, surfers from the region will ride the waves of Margaret River’s Gas Bay in hopes of scoring a place in April’s World Surf League’s Pro in Margaret River.

The men’s division would see Margaret River’s Jerome Forrest and Jack Haslau take on Yallingup’s Zak Ogram and Jake Patterson.

Forrest said he would strive to defend his Open Men’s title.

“It's great to see so many quality surfers have entered this weekend, it should be a really fun couple of days,” he said.

“It looks like there will be some fun waves on offer over the next few days.”

Surfing WA events manager Justin Majeks said the competition was important for the local surf community.

“This weekend’s Pro Am Series essentially acts like a trials for the trials, with the Open Men’s winner set to join an elite field of West Australian sur-fers who will compete for one position into the main event of the Margaret River Pro to take on the world’s best on home soil,” he said.

Now living on the Gold Coast, WA’s Felicity Palmateer will also compete this weekend, returning to the event that helped launch her professional career. “It’s always a delight to come back to my roots here in the West,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends and feeling the raw power of the Indian Ocean under my feet again.” The competition will kick off at 7.40am tomorrow at Gas Bay and heat scores will be posted live at surfingwalive.asn. au.