On Friday, organisers were still considering their options, however, Port Kembla is favoured over North Beach or Wollongong.

The next generation of elite surfers, including Jarrod Szele and Billie Melinz will compete against rivals from Australia, Brazil and New Zealand.

“(Organisers) have all come to the unanimous decision to move this weekend’s event to Wollongong,” WSL Australia-Pacific regional manager Will Hayden-Smith said.

“The Kiama surfing community is going through a challenging time after one of their own was recently attacked by a shark.

“With the safety of our athletes in mind and out of respect to the local community, we thought it would be best to move up the coast to Wollongong.

“We’d like to thank Kiama and Wollongong Councils for their cooperation and support, and wish Brett Connellan all the best and offer any support that we can.”

Kael Walsh (WA), Kyuss King (Byron Bay, Sandon Whittaker (Avoca), Reef Heazlewood (Qld), Harley Ross-Webster (Curl Curl) and Kai Warner (Narrabeen) are among the leading contenders. Preliminary rounds will be held on Saturday, before the finals on Sunday.

The seven-leg Subway series, which started on the Gold Coast in January, will conclude on April 30 and May 1 at Cronulla.

The world junior qualifying series provides a platform for entry into next year’s world junior titles.