April McPherson and Macklin Flynn.
Camera IconApril McPherson and Macklin Flynn. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Two Mandurah surfers wildcards in World Surf League Mandurah Pro

Staff writerMandurah Coastal Times

MANDURAH surfers April McPerhson (17) and Macklin Flynn (12) will be wildcards in the upcoming World Surf League Mandurah Pro.

McPherson, from Falcon, and Flynn, from Dawesville, were nominated by the Mandurah Boardriders for the coveted positions.

They will have the opportunity to compete on home soil against some of the best surfers from across the Australia Oceania region.

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The Mandurah Pro will be the first ever internationally sanctioned surfing event to take place off the shores of Mandurah.

McPherson and Flynn will be flying the flag for the entire region when they hit the waves in October.

McPherson has grown up surfing the waves around Mandurah since she was six and claimed the 2018 WA Open Women’s State Championship and finished runnerup in WA’s Under-18 Junior Girls State Title.

April McPherson in action.
Camera IconApril McPherson in action. Credit: Supplied/Rafael Maia

“It’s an amazing opportunity and I’m pretty excited to compete,” she said.

“It definitely helps surfing all the breaks around here for so long, hopefully it gives me an advantage against some of the girls who’ll be coming over to compete.

“I’ve just been trying to surf as much as I can and I’ll be practicing even harder now.”

Flynn will be the youngest competitor in the Mandurah Pro and is one of the best young surfers in WA. He won a multitude of junior events in a short space of time and qualified for his maiden Australian Junior Surfing Titles in 2018.

Macklin Flynn.
Camera IconMacklin Flynn. Credit: Supplied/Rafael Maia

Flynn cannot wait to compete in his maiden WSL qualifying series event.

“It’s an awesome feeling to know I’ll be surfing in a WSL event, a big thanks to Surfing WA, City of Mandurah and the Mandurah Boardriders for making this all happen,” he said.

“I’m a little bit nervous to be honest, but hopefully the waves are small which will be to my advantage over the bigger guys.”

Surfing WA events manager Justin Majeks said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to surf in a World Surf League event in your back yard and it furthers Surfing WA’s high performance pathway.

City of Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams congratulated the young wildcards.

April McPherson, Mayor Rhys Williams and Macklin Flynn.
Camera IconApril McPherson, Mayor Rhys Williams and Macklin Flynn. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

“This is massively exciting for our community and definitely all about giving these two young surfers the opportunity to come out show us and the other competitors what they’ve got,” he said.

The Western Australian Pro Surf Series starts with the Mandurah Pro from October 13 to 16, before heading south to Yallingup for the Cape Naturaliste Pro on October 18 to 21.

Entries are open via World Surf League.