Mr Price Pro Trial Will Decide Ballito Wildcards

In just under two weeks time the Mr Price Pro Ballito will kick-off on the KZN North Coast. The event carries a 6-Star Prime rating, which means only surfers within the top 96 of the WQS are eligible to enter.

Casey Grant slotted at the Mr Price Pro Ballito.

However, two more locals will be joining the likes of Jordy Smith, Travis Logie, Beyrick De Vries, David Van Zyl and Dale Staples in the main event, as the top two performers in the 48-man Mr Price Pro Trial will earn wildcards into the main event.

The Mr Price Pro Trial, which takes place on Saturday, 28 June, is a 3A rated SSA PST event that will not only give 48 local surfers a chance to compete for a healthy share of prize money, but also the opportunity to mix it up with some of the world’s best in front of a supportive home crowd (plus even more prize money).

The event will be a hotly contested battle and a precursor to what will hopefully be another exciting event in Ballito, which has over the years seen some spectacular battles – like last year’s final between Jordy and Julian Wilson for example, or the Backdoor-esque barrels of the 2011 event.

Backdoor or Ballito? Blake Thornton blurring the lines in 2011.

Check out the official press release below.

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MR PRICE PRO BALLITO TRIAL PRESENTED BY SURFING SOUTH AFRICA TO PRODUCE TWO QUALIFIERS FOR MAIN EVENT

Dylan Lightfoot will be looking to earn a wildcard into the Mr Price Pro Ballito.

On Saturday June 28th forty eight surfers will get the chance to win two qualifying spots in the Mr Price Pro Ballito when they compete in the Mr Price Pro Trial at Willard Beach, KwaDukuza. The one day 3A Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST) event will comprise 25 heats and surfers will not only have their eyes on the two slots in the ASP Prime event but will also be hoping to win a share of the prize money on offer and boost their PST points.

Almost 30 of the 48 slots have already been taken with just over 10 days to go before entries close and Surfing South Africa have indicated that only 48 entries can be accepted as no more than 25 heats can be run on the day.

The Trial is open to all PST members, even those who already have been allocated a wildcard into the Mr Price Pro Ballito as they can win a share of the prize money and earn PST points. The qualifying slots will be allocated to the top two surfers who are not already seeded into the ASP contest.

One of the surfers to keep an eye on at the Ballito Trial is Dylan Lightfoot of Jeffreys Bay whose victory in the RVCA JBU Supertrial at Supertubes in J Bay earned him a slot in the J Bay Open, South Africa’s only ASP World ChampionshipTour (WCT) event.

Other top surfers who have booked their spots in the Trial are RVCA JBU Supertrial finalists Slade Prestwich of Durban North and Matt McGillivray of Jeffreys Bay; Quiksilver Takes One to Know One Cape Town winner Dan Redman and Quiksilver team mate Brandon Jackson (both Durban North); 2014 SA Junior Team members Shane Sykes of Salt Rock, Jordy Maree of Kalk Bay, Steff Burrows of Stellenbosch, Ethan Fletcher of Kommetjie and Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand, the winner of the U20 title at the Quiksilver TOTKO in Umdloti.

With only about 18 slots left in the Trial event, surfers who have not gone to www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and completed their online entry might leave it too late to get into the Mr Price Pro Ballito Trial and their chance of qualifying for one of the two Mr Price Pro Ballito slots, a share of the 3A prize money and PST points will disappear.

Surfers must be members of the PST to compete in the Trial and the qualifiers must join the ASP as full members and pay the required entry fee to compete in the Mr Price Pro Ballito.

The Mr Price Pro Ballito Trial is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. SSA is working in partnership with the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Africa regional office at this event. Surfing South Africa is the recognised governing body for the sport in South Africa and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).