Adin Masencamp Wins Super Heat to Reach U18 Boys’ Final at Billabong Junior Series in Ballito
Adin Masencamp (Strand) earned a spot in the final of the premier U18 Boys’ division of the Billabong Junior Series at Willard Beach in Ballito by posting the highest heat total of the contest in a ‘Super Heat’ semi-final victory over KwaDukuza local Bevan Willis today.
After a low-scoring first semi-final, where top seed Jordy Maree (Kalk Bay) defeated Jake Elkington with heat scores of 9.64 to 6.83 in the wind-affected head-high waves, Willis shot out of the blocks in the second semi by producing a near-perfect ride of 9.0 out of 10.
Masencamp stayed busy, locking in an excellent 8.83 and minutes later adding an 8.57 to take the lead, with Willis requiring 8.40 to win the heat. The Umdloti resident took his challenge to the air, landing a massive air-reverse but came up just short when the judges awarded him 8.07.
Both surfers continued to hunt for more waves as the clock wound down. Masencamp closed out the victory by using his priority to block Willis on his final ride, claiming a 17.40 vs. 17.07 win before they rode in together on the same wave in great display of sportsmanship.
The final, a top of the rankings showdown between undefeated current WSL Africa Junior No. 1 Maree and No. 3 ranked Masencamp, promises to deliver fireworks on Saturday. Both have already qualified for the two spots in the SSA Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong which takes place on Sunday.
The winner of the 32-man all-South African trials event earns a spot in the R4 million Ballito Pro presented by Billabong which runs from 27 June to 3 July at Willard Beach
The final of the U18 Girls’ division will see the only international competitor in the event, Zoe McDougall (Hawaii), take on Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) after both came through hard fought semi-final duels.
The Hawaiian was made to battle all the way to the last seconds before overcoming Kai Woolf, who spends half the year in Jeffreys Bay and the other half in New Zealand. McGillivray saw off the challenge of Sophie Bell from nearby Salt Rock in a tense, low-scoring encounter.
Bell will be satisfied with the fact that she advanced to the final of the U16 Girls’ where she will take on Woolf, Kayla Nogueira and up and coming talent S’Nenhlanhla Makhubu, while the U16 Boys’ final features Karl Steen, Luke Slijpen, Max Elkington and Eli Beukes.
Nogueira and Makhubu are also in the U14 Girls’ final, along with Gabi Lailvaux and Zoe Steyn. The U14 Boy’s final will pit semi-final winners Tide-lee Ireland and Mitch du Preez against their respective runners-up York van Jaarsveldt and Nate Spalding.
The U12 Boys’ final, which gets proceedings underway on Saturday, is made up of James Ribbink, Alex Townsend, Luke Thomson and Dan Emslie
There are a number of specialty awards that will be determined on Saturday, including:
- VonZipper Airshow – surfer landing the best aerial manoeuvre – R2,000
- Zigzag Blowing Up Award –standout performance, most impressive surfing over the week – R2,000
- BOS Award – Best Carve of the Contest – wins a surfboard
- Neff – Forever Fun – “The surfer that spits out something new, exciting and has the most fun doing it” – R2,000
- Skull Candy – #StayLoud Award – “Takes risks, steps away from the herd, expresses themselves in their surfing style and lives life to full volume” – R2,500
The U12, U14 and U16 divisions are Surfing South Africa 3A Pro Surf Tour events with prize-money of R2,600 for the U12’s and while the other divisions each share R4,600.
The premier U18 Boys’ and Girls’ events are World Surf League (WSL) Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 1,000 rated events offering prize-purses of R20,000 and R10,000 respectively.
The U18 boys have an added incentive as the top two placed surfers will be awarded wildcards into the SSA Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong on Sunday 26 June. The winner of this 32-man, all-South African trials event will earn the last spot in the R4 million Ballito Pro presented by Billabong that runs from 27 June to 3 July at Willard Beach.
Scheduled for Wednesday to Saturday, 22-25 June, the Billabong Junior Series is supported by KwaDukuza Municipality, VonZipper, Zigzag, BOS, Neff, Skull Candy, Surfing South Africa and the World Surf League.
Adin Masencamp (Strand) carving his way to the highest heat total of the event and a berth in Saturday’s U18 boys’ Final of the Billabong Junior Series at Willard Beach in Ballito. © Kelly Cestari
Hashtag: #BillabongJNR
RESULTS
(Names in order 1st to 4th ; All South African unless indicated)
Billabong Junior Series U18 Girls Semi-Final Results
S1: Zoe McDougall (HAW) 11 .67 def. Kai Woolf (Jeffreys Bay) 9.44
S2: Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) 6.16 def. Sophie Bell (Salt Rock) 3.73
Billabong Junior Series U18 Boys Semi-Final Results
S1: Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay) 9.64 def. Jake Elkington (Kommetjie) 6.83
S2: Adin Masencamp (Strand) 17.40 def. Bevan Willis (Umdloti) 17.07
Billabong Junior Series U18 Girls Round of 8 Results
Heat 1: Kai Woolf, Zoe McDougall (HAW), Olivia Izzard, Taghiti Gericke
Heat 2: Sophie Bell, Kirsty McGillivray, Natasha Van Greunen, Kayla Nogueira
Billabong Junior Series U18 Boys Round of 8 Results
Heat 1: Jordan Maree, Jake Elkington, Alexander Van Rijswijk, Ford Van Jaarsveldt
Heat 2: Adin Masencamp, Bevan Willis, Koby Oberholzer, Liam de Villiers
Billabong Junior Series U16 Boys Semi-Final Results
S1: Karl Steen, Luke Slijpen, Calvin Goor, Ryan Lightfoot
S2: Max Elkington, Eli Beukes, Sebastian Williams, Koby Oberholzer
Billabong Junior Series U16 Girls Semi-Final Results
S1: Kai Woolf, S’Nenhlanhla Makhubu, Zoe Steyn
S2: Sophie Bell, Kayla Nogueira, Zoe Smith
Billabong Junior Series U14 Boys Semi-Final Results
S1: Tide Lee Ireland, York Van Jaarsveldt, Alex Townsend
S2: Mitch Du Preez, Nate Spalding, James Ribbink
Billabong Junior Series U12 Boys Semi-Final Results
S1: James Ribbink, Alex Townsend, Matt O’Brien
S2: Luke Thomson, Dan Emslie, Christian Venter
