Sally Fitzgibbons in tears as controversial new World Surf League rule bundles her off tour
A controversial new World Surf League rule left Australian golden girl Sally Fitzgibbons in tears and Olympic medallist Owen Wright in career limbo.
The WSL this year introduced a mid-season cut, which halves the total number of competitors in both the men's and women's draws for the second half of the season.
This week's Margaret River Pro is the mid-point of the season and so acts as the last chance saloon for surfers looking to avoid the cut and progress in the championship.
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Aussie surfing stars Fitzgibbons and Wright were among those who failed to make the cut line, and so their 2022 seasons are done and dusted.
For Fitzgibbons, it's the first time in 14 years she will not compete on the WSL tour. It also ends her streak of 108 consecutive events in the league.
Aussie surfing star Sally Fitzgibbons is consoled by Johanne Defay after being knocked off the World Surf League tour. Getty
She broke down crying in the water after losing to Johanne Defay, and was consoled by her opponent before returning to the beach to a swarm of support.
Australia's surfing golden girl later posted to Instagram.
"The unconditional love that comes with putting on my jersey #89. Everything about this sport, the surf community and my dream keeps me coming back for more," Fitzgibbons wrote.
"I felt every one of those cheers and hugs from you yesterday and hope I can reciprocate when we cross paths in your big moment."
The surfers who missed the cut will now head to the Gold Coast to compete in the Challenger Series.
They need to win their way back onto the World Surf League tour if they want to contest the 2023 season.
For Wright, who won a surfing bronze medal for Australia at the historic Tokyo Olympics last year, missing the cut could mean the end of his professional surfing career.
"I know I'm surfing really well, but I've got a lot of life outside of the tour – kids and wife and what not," Wright said.
"Whatever I do will be a family decision. We'll kind of go through the motions of what's next.
"There's a lot more questions to be had. We'll see what happens."
The mid-season cut rule has caused plenty of controversy within the sport, and the surfers themselves don't seem overly pleased with the added drama.
"It's just kind of hard the whole cut thing. No one really likes it," Kolohe Andino - who made the cut - told the WSL broadcast.
"We're all friends on tour and we all love each other, so you don't want to knock the guy off tour.
"It just seems like it's a TV show a little bit, like drama all the time. Watching the women's the other day it was just heartbreaking with the girls that were losing. They were crying all day."
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