Ballito on KZN’s north coast is about to be drenched in surfing action. The World Surf League has arrived in South Africa and will be kicking off their three week stay in Mzansi with the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong this Sunday, 28 June.
10 of SA’s best, including Beyrick De Vries, will be competing in the Monster Energy Expression Session.
We’re excited about the opportunity to witness the surfing world’s biggest talents ripping our local waves, and even more stoked to present an Expression Session to showcase the skills of 10 of SA’s best in front of the hometown crowd.
The Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag will feature 10 South African surfers going head-to-head in a 30-minute heat to determine the winner of R20 000 cash. Zigzag is going to be on the panel of judges, and we’ll be looking out for who shreds the hardest during the half hour session. ‘Overall Impression’ is how the winner will be chosen, and we’re expecting big airs, bigger turns and hopefully some incredible tubes as well when the Expression Session runs before the final of the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong.
Spectators on the beach will be asked to judge the Expression Session too, and if they predict the winner and enter their scorecard into the beach raffle, then they will be in with a chance to win one of three custom Clayton Surfboards plus a subscription to Zigzag. Be on the lookout for a scorecard handout on the final day.
The 10 spots in the Monster Energy Expression Session will be filled by:
1) All South African surfers already seeded in the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong.
2) The top five South African surfers from the Ballito Pro Trials (to be decided).
3) 1 x wildcard chosen by Zigzag. We’ll be watching the freesurfs around the Ballito Pro action and the Saffa we see ripping the hardest will be recruited.
4) If one or more Saffas make the final of the Ballito Pro and are unable to surf the Expression Session just prior, then the next highest placed SA surfer/s in the trials will grab their spot/s.
Zigzag will also be in Ballito presenting the ’Monster Energy Wave of the Week’, which will encourage competitors in the Ballito Pro to shred even harder on their way through the heat draw. Each day we’ll be recording the biggest scores dropped and featuring them on zigzag.co.za, and by the end of the event we’ll be awarding the winner R25 000. Look out for the daily videos of the contenders.
Yadin Nicol (AUS) was going mad at last year’s event.
It’s going to be an action packed week. Head down to Ballito’s Willard Beach to catch the action live from 29 – 5 July, or watch the event via webcast on worldsurfleague.com
You can also follow the action on social media:
Facebook – The Ballito Pro
Instagram – @TheBallitoPro
Twitter – @TheBallitoPro
Hashtag – #BallitoPro