ENJOY the world's best surfers in action while you can, this could be the one and only time Newcastle hosts the Championship Tour.
Announced only eight weeks ago and due to begin on Thursday at Merewether, the Newcastle Cup will see 36 male and 18 female surfers take to the water for the first CT event since December.
The contest officially replaced the cancelled Bells Beach tour stop - an iconic staple of world surfing's top tier for decades - but also Surfest, Newcastle's annual lower-tiered competition.
The World Surf League has already announced the CT will return to Bells next year, but management who have previously said the Newcastle Cup would be a "one-off" event, have left the door slightly ajar for a return.
"As an international sport, we're just trying to run during a pandemic. We didn't come here with the intention of continuing it on the world tour. It is a location we've chosen due to COVID. Let's hope we're not in that situation next year, but you never say never in this world," the WSL's Asia-Pacific general manager Andrew Stark said.
"But at this stage we've just got to get through this year.
"It seems like a long way to get to the end of the next four events [in Australia], so we'll focus on that at the moment and think about 2022 in the upcoming months."
The Newcastle Cup was one of two CT events NSW secured after the state government agreed to accommodate the WSL's international athletes and officials in hotel quarantine.
Four CT events will be held in Australia this year at Newcastle, Narrabeen, Margaret River and Rottnest Island, rather than the regular three of Snapper Rocks, Bells Beach and Margaret River.
And while lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes kicked off a campaign on Wednesday to bring the CT back to town "next year, the year after and the year after that", the World Surf League hopes to ensure as many Novocastrians can attend this year as possible by releasing extra tickets.
The event's capacity has increased from 3000 to 5000 people after the NSW government eased its COVID-19 restrictions last week, but accommodating the extra spectators is not so easy.
"The issue we have is the beach can only take so many people," Mr Stark said.
"So if we go to Dixon Park, because of the high tide mark we'll only be able to keep it at 3000. If we're at Merewether we do plan to open up and allow more tickets.
"We'll try and push up to that 5000 but we have to work with the NSW Police and look at the size of the swell and beach space. It's very different to a stadium where you know exactly how many seats you've got."
Mr Stark said the WSL would likely make the extra tickets available at short notice due to the need to ensure there is space on the sand, but they would still be distributed through Ticketek.
"We'll put communications out that you can get more tickets through Ticketek, and you can do that very quickly on your phone - so even if you're here and we open up more tickets, you'll be able to QR code a scanner and come in," he said.
Men's world No.1 John John Florence, who is visiting Newcastle for the first time, said he was excited to compete at an alternative site.
"It's always fun coming to a new place on the tour, each year we go to the same place over and over again," he said.
Despite spending a fortnight in quarantine, reigning world champion Italo Ferreira said his time in Australia had been "super fun".
"I did a lot of workouts in the room," he said. "I'm so happy to walk on the street and talk with all the locals after being in quarantine."
"It's a nice place, I've never been here before. There's a lot of waves around. I'm so glad to be here."
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