Gracetown surfer Bronte Macaulay has taken third place at the recent Super Girl Pro event in California as she continues her fight for re-qualification on the 2020 Women’s Championship Tour.
The podium finish earned the 25 year-old valuable ranking points, and marked career best result at the Super Girl Pro at her third attempt. The result was also her best performance of the 2019 Qualifying Series to date.
Macaulay – who is the daughter of WA surfing legend Dave Macaulay – said the result would prove a confidence boost ahead of the US Open QS event, which carries with it big qualifying points for the 2020 Championship Tour.
“I’m actually really stoked with a third or better being my goal here since I’ve got a ninth and a fifth, so that was nice to get it going,” Macaualay said.
“It’s a keeper result and just to surf a lot of heats is always really nice. It’s my best result here which is good and feel like I’m surfing well so I’ll take everything from this week moving forward to the first-ever 10,000 which is really exciting.”
The goofy-foot rider is currently the third highest ranked Australian on the women’s pro-scene, behind the well-established surfing identities of Sally Fitzgibbons (2nd) and Stephanie Gilmore (3rd).
But with the advances the plucky south-west talent has made over the past 24 months, it appears only a matter of time before she’s threatening the duopoly in the domestic sports pages.
Her 11th world ranking is only just outside the top 10 automatic qualification spots for the 2020 Tour, and if she can replicate her form from the Super Girl Pro, in up-coming events, she stands good chance of cracking a fourth straight Championship Tour passport.
2020 is also set to be a big year on the international surfing calendar when the sport makes its debut as an Olympic event at the Tokyo Games.
Qualified nations can send two athletes in men’s and women’s shortboard events, meaning Macaulay is not out of the conversation to make history for Australia.
Surfing at the Tokyo Games will take place at Tsurigaski Beach, within the Chiba Prefecture of the Greater Tokyo Area. It is approximately an hour’s train ride from central Tokyo.
Photo: © WSL – Kurt Steinmetz
