The QS 3000 in the Azores, which was scheduled to take place between October 18 and 23, has been cancelled for “reasons beyond our control,” the WSL announced. Two storms hit the island, giant waves that organizers say are “unsurfable” and the structure was damaged on the first day of the waiting period, justified the decision.

“It was a tough decision and a tough week. Basically two big storms hit us. We only had very short windows to do the event but Elmar is still very big. We did everything we could but we can’t control what the ocean does,” said event organizer Rodrigo Heredia.

WSL Tour Manager Rob Gunning said: “We looked at all the options; doing both events or just one, but the conditions just don’t make it possible. You can’t surf from morning to night and there’s a new swell coming. There are still several QS 3000s left so there are points to be awarded.

The event is cancelled due to force majeure and therefore no one will be held responsible for the incident, the statement said.

At the El Gringo QS, Arica in 2015, something similar happened with the sea getting too big for the final day, stopping the competition in the semi-finals.