THE World Surf League has confirmed the its opening event of the 2020 season on the Gold Coast has been cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Due to the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our athletes, fans, and staff, the World Surf League (WSL) has made the decision to cancel all events yet to commence at all tour levels, worldwide for the remainder of March, including the opening event of the 2020 Championship Tour (CT) on the Gold Coast in Australia.,” the WSL said in a statement.

The Corona Open was due to start on March 26 down at Snapper Rocks.

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“Coronavirus is having massive consequences for sporting events and gatherings of all kinds around the world, and we are no different,” said WSL CEO Erik Logan.

“We did not take this decision lightly as we are aware that it has a significant impact on the surfing community. However, the health and safety of our athletes, fans, and staff are paramount. From the standpoint of social responsibility, we also take very seriously the role our events might play in accelerating the spread of the virus. We’ve been in close contact with our athletes and we feel strongly that this is the right thing to do right now.”

“The fluid nature of this situation is forcing us to evaluate things day-by-day, and even hour-by-hour,” Logan said. “As this continues to evolve, we’ll continue to adapt, endeavouring to make the next right decision each day.”

Out of caution and concern for the safety of athletes, fans and staff, the WSL has decided to cancel all upcoming events in the month of March, including the opening of the 2020 Championship Tour on the Gold Coast of Australia. For more information go to https://t.co/ie0ZfNdmHw pic.twitter.com/LxpMT7fxgg — World Surf League (@wsl) March 12, 2020

“Based on the information we have at this time, we are not currently canceling any additional events beyond this time frame. That said, the situation continues to evolve, and we are closely monitoring and evaluating the status of our upcoming events, including our next CT event at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.

“The WSL is carefully considering the impact of these cancellations on our tours and we will provide further information in due course.

“For all events currently in progress, we have implemented a range of safety protocols as well as protective guidelines for athletes and staff. These include information on travel advisories and restrictions so anyone traveling can plan their travel routes to and from our events to best limit their potential exposure; additional hand-washing facilities and hand sanitizer at events; and minimizing surfer and fan interactions.

List of currently canceled or postponed WSL events: