This Year's Oi Rio Pro Could be the World Surf League's Most Controversial Event Ever

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Australia.

Every year the World Surf League Championship Tour has 11 stops around the world, spread out from March to December – three in Australia, one in Brazil, one in Fiji, one in South Africa, Tahiti, the USA, France, Portugal and finally, one in Hawaii.

For the most part each of these locations offer up world-class waves and a spectacular backdrop for the world's best surfers. The Oi Rio Pro in Brazil, which kicks off tomorrow morning, is no exception – but this year, things are a bit controversial.

Why? Well, first off, Rio has always had a touch of speculation around it. In Brazil there are hundreds of phenomenal waves, but by comparison, the breaks around their capital aren't always up to standard. On that front, it's not an ideal site. But then there's the fact that Rio has money, fans, accommodating areas, crowds, media, and sponsors… everything you need to through a WSL event, minus the waves.

But it's not just the quality of the waves raising questions in Rio—it's also the cleanliness of the water. Last year multiple athletes contracted pretty nasty illnesses due to extensive water contamination. One surfer commented, "The water stunk and it was a yucky brown colour. Everyone was out surfing trying to practice for the event, but also they were just trying their best to keep their heads out of the filthy water! And it's such a rad comp here in Rio. There were so many fans on the beach during the event last year; it was amazing! They are so passionate about the surfing, it would be great if they were aware of what is happening in their oceans and would try to help do something about it!"

The water quality seems to have improved a little since last year but it definitely still is a problem, particularly with all of the sewage runoffs in the area.

And then we have, of course, the Zika virus – a problem that the Olympic committee has expressed concerns for over the past few months.

We asked the WSL VP of Communications, Dave Prodan, what the WSL had done thus far to address the Zika situation with their athletes. Via email, he responded that, "the WSL has been in regular discussion with its athletes regarding the Zika virus and the upcoming event in Brazil. The League continues to monitor all updates from global health and sporting organizations (e.g. the CDC) and provide information to athletes and staff as appropriate. As it stands, we're moving forward with the Oi Rio Pro and look forward to a great event."

And, most of the athletes are, too. But not all of them. So far Joel Parkinson, Kelly Slater, Kai Otton, Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning (although Mick had decided to skip certain events long before the controversies surrounding Rio began) have all pulled out of the event. It seems that they didn't want to travel halfway around the world only to deal with potentially sub-par waves, disease and pollution sickness.

Their exits from the event may also be due to the fact that Brazil is known for its sometimes overzealous fans. The beach in Rio is, by far, the most crowded of any event site throughout the season. This year the WSL has literally had to build a bridge for athletes to enter the water, to make sure they're not harassed en route to the water. Last year, Kelly Slater wore a full-on disguise whenever he left his hotel – if he didn't, he simply wouldn't get anywhere.

Adding to all this stress is the fact that Postinho, the slated site for the competition, was destroyed last week due to a violent storm. The event has now been forced to move about 45 minutes west to Grumari. The WSL doesn't see this as a setback, however. "Surfing is unique, because in addition to normal live-event challenges, we're dealing with things like what we're doing now in Rio," said Megan Grant, General Manager of the WSL. "We have to be prepared to move when the surf moves and sometimes that's at a moment's notice, sometimes we have a day heads-up, and sometimes we have two hours. It's essentially like moving a circus."

But to top all of this off, someone was shot just by the contest site, and both World Champion Carissa Moore and first-year tour rookie Connor Coffin were eye witnesses.

So, yeah… there's a fair bit of controversy surround the Oi Rio Pro this year. But like all arguments, there are two shores. After all, there's a huge contingency of Brazilian athletes on tour, and it's a nation that has adopted surfing as it's own and continues to support the sport through it's fans and sponsorships. Do they not deserve a World Tour event, as America and Australia both have? Remember, Australia has three.