Competition is underway at the J-Bay Open, stop No. 6 on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). The world's best surfers will run through Round 1 in four-to-six foot surf at Jeffreys Bay.
"The swell has definitely improved this morning," Kieren Perrow, WSL Commissioner said. "There's some decent sets in the head-high range and the wind is holding off, which is nice. We are on, starting at 7:40 a.m. with aim of finishing Round 1 and we're looking at some really nice waves".
First to compete will be Taj Burrow (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF) and Brett Simpson (USA) in the opening heat of Round 1.
Surfline, official forecaster for the World Surf League, are calling for:
Surf will come up a notch on Friday as SW groundswell fills in further and mixes with easing, short period S swell. Unfortunately, onshore wind will also continue. The swell/surf will ease through the day on Saturday, as conditions improve: N/ NW devil wind looks likely in the morning, with a shift to more favourable W flow by the early afternoon. Favourable wind looks likely to continue Sun/Mon and possibly into Tues morning, with some modest WSW to SW swell mix possible. Into the long range, we’ll be tracking some possible E swell for around mid next week and a decent looking SW swell for the very end of the event waiting period.
The J-Bay Open will be webcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com.
The world's best surfing will also be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports in Australia, MCS Extreme in France, EDGE Sports in China, South Korea, Malaysia and other territories and on Globo TV in Brazil.
The J-Bay Open is the showcase event at the J-Bay Winterfest, a multi-sport and music festival in Jeffreys Bay from July 8 - 19. More details at www.jbaywinterfest.com .
J-Bay Open Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF), Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS), Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Matt Banting (AUS), Tomas Hermes (BRA)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kolohe Andino (USA), Slade Prestwich (ZAF)
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 9: Nat Young (USA), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 10: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Jadson Andre (BRA), Fredrick Patacchia (USA)
Heat 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Ricardo Christie (NZL)
Heat 12: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Joel Parkinson (AUS), Keanu Asing (HAW)
