J-Bay’s Gina Smith found some great scoring waves in her heats.
Long Beach, Kommetjie – Consistent 3-foot waves and light winds greeted the competitors in the third Billabong Junior event at Long Beach in Cape Town this morning. With the morning low tide there were predominantly left-breaking waves coming through, but they were highly contestable and there were some excellent rides from the get-go. “Some great waves coming through here at Long Beach,” said Billabong Marketing Manager Chad D’Arcy of the morning conditions. “We have been watching some top-class action from the best junior surfers in the country and there have been high-scoring rides aplenty in the early rounds.”
As the tide came in the waves improved even more, and there were standout performances from surfers like Ntando Msibi (Dbn), Simo Mkhize (Umzumbe), Matt McGillivray (Jbay) and Max Armstrong from Scarborough. Jordy Maree (KalkBay) and Josh Smit (Warners) were also showing some inspired surfing, along with Britney Linder (PE) and Crystal Hulett (St Francis).
Ntando Msibi swoops on a running left.
The U18 Boys division was where all the action was taking place today, with the home surfers showing their local knowledge. Josh Smit was a stand-out, as previously mentioned, but it was Kommetjie surfers Josh Fairley, John Olive and Armstrong who were in top form, along with Ethan Pentz from Kalk Bay and Jason Harris from Durban.
The U18 Girls division was also action-packed, and the division surfed all the way through to the final, which will be held tomorrow. In the final will be Chanelle Botha from Warner Beach, Crystal Hulett from St Francis Bay, Anoush Zakarian from Melkbos and Gina Smith from Jeffreys Bay.
The swell filled in throughout the afternoon, and the forecast looks even better for tomorrow, the final day of the event. Solid three to four-foot of swell and light offshore winds predicted, along with a sunny, pleasant day. With a few top Junior surfers not present in Cape Town due to them competing in international surfing events, the field is wide open for surfers to get points and make their move for series wins in their respective divisions, heading into the final event in September. This final event will take place on 21-22 September at Seal Point, Cape St Francis.
Being the coach to more than a few of the competing groms, Quintin Jones has had his hands full making sure they perform their best.
The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS showcases the top junior surfing talent in the country, and is a stepping-stone for the country’s best junior surfers wanting a professional surfing career. Our junior surfers of today are our world champions of the future, and Billabong South Africa prides themselves with the fact that they have helped nurture many of the nations best junior surfers all the way to the professional levels of surfing. The Billabong Junior Series will continue to provide training and experience to our talented junior surfers.
The Billabong Junior Series is the premier junior surfing series in South Africa and offers R750,000 in cash and prizes to the top junior surfers in the country. All Aboard Travel have also put up a Sportsmanship Award of a return ticket to Bali with four nights accommodation, valued at R17k for the surfer who displays the best sportsmanship over the series. BOS have an award of cash and prizes worth R20k for the Surfer Of The Series. There is also the VonZipper Flair Up Award and the DaKine Youthful Movement Award, as well as the Nixon Winner Takes All (WTA) contest where the surfer posting the highest heat score of the event receives a WTA engraved Nixon watch. Division winners will also be receiving an array of high-tech products from Sony.
There are many ways to keep in touch with the event:
FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/Billabong.South.Africa
www.facebook.com/BillabongWomensSA
TWITTER:
twitter.com/billabongsa
twitter.com/@bbwomens_za
INSTAGRAM:
@BillabongSA
@Billabongwomens_za
