It was another amazing day of competition on Day 4 of the Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by Bos. Competitors were greeted by near perfect conditions at Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay, which resulted in the day’s schedule being strategically extended to include the under 17 semi finals for both the boy’s and girl’s division.
The morning of Day 4 was looking lined up to say the least.
Kirsty McGillivray of Nelson Mandela Bay showed that local knowledge pays off during her under 15 quarter final, and scored the event’s second perfect 10 after stringing together a series of driving cutbacks and ending with a floater in front of the judges, surfing with a level of maturity beyond her years.
“There’s a lot of new competitors this year that I haven’t seen before, so I’m not sure how everybody surfs, but I think anyone can win if they get the right waves. Billabong has put on a really good event, with the music and table tennis and all the extras it’s been really cool. It’s also been nice to just support each other in our teams. I’m riding for Nelson Mandela Bay and ya it’s really fun to be part of a team.” – Kirsty McGillivray
Kirsty McGillivray (Nelson Mandela Bay) scored the second perfect 10 point ride of the event during the under 15 girl’s quarter final.
With the inclusion of the under 17 girl’s and boy’s semi-finals, the final four remaining surfers in the boy’s premier division consists of Ethan Fletcher, Jordy Maree and Jake Elkington (all part of Cape Town Surfriders), and Ford van Jaarsveldt, who is representing Cape Winelands but also lives in the South Peninsula. Both the under 17 boys semi’s were stacked with talent, and a few big names who had shone throughout the event, such as Adin Masencamp, Bevan Willis and Donovan Wichmann, were unfortunate not to make it through.
Adin Masencamp fought hard during the under 17 boy’s final, but was unfortunate to get eliminated by Ethan Fletchar (CTS) and Jake Elkington (CTS).
After an exciting round of semi finals in the under 17 girl’s division, local standout Chrystal Hulett (Nelson Mandela Bay) and the rapidly improving Taghiti Gericke (Eden) managed to make it through to tomorrow’s final, after winning the first of the semis. They were joined by Pippa Jones (Cape Town) and Kia Fenton (Nelson Mandela Bay) who will also be competing for a spot in the SA National team.
Pippa Jones (Cape Town Surfriders) was on top form and advanced to the under 17 girl’s finals which takes place tomorrow.
With the run of good swell and light winds expected to continue, tomorrow should be a cracker of a final day where SA’s Junior Champs of 2015 will be decided. For more details read the FULL PRESS RELEASE below.
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MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATON
Saturday 3 October 2015
Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by BOS
Lower Point, Jeffreys Bay
September 30 – 4 October, 2015
Pulsing Waves and Another Perfect 10 Point Ride on Day 4 of the Billabong SA Junior Champs in Jeffreys Bay
Kirsty McGillivray Posts 10 Point Ride in the Quarter-Finals of the U15 Girls!
The perfect waves that have cemented Jeffreys Bay’s reputation as one of the world’s best surf spots pulsed down the Lower Point lineup for a fourth successive day as South Africa’s top young surfers rampaged through the business end of the Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by BOS on Saturday.
All six divisions were in action on Day 4 with the semi-finalists decide in the U13 and U15 age categories and the finalists in the U17’s to set up a great final day on Sunday.
Kirsty McGillivray, who has been a standout in her home break, posted the second perfect 10 point ride of the event and the first for the girls. Catching one of the set waves in her U15 girls Round 4 heat, the Nelson Mandela Bay team member seamlessly combined radical manoeuvres and then finished strongly to advance to the semi-finals.
“There were some really nice sets out there, it was really clean and there were some nice sections,” said McGillivray. “When that wave came through I really wanted to get a good score and have fun on it. I did some snaps and at the end I did a floater that I almost fell on, but managed to land it.”
Jordy Maree (CTS) going 12 O’ Clock with a vicious back-hand attack on his way through to the under 17 boy’s final.
The U17 boys completed their quarter-finals early in the day and then took their performances to another level in the tightly contested semis. This year’s South African Champion will be one of Ethan Fletcher, Jordy Maree and Jake Elkington, the first to third seeds in the Cape Town team, and Ford van Jaarsveldt, who is represented Cape Winelands but also lives in the South Peninsula.
The U17 girls also competed twice today with local standout Chrystal Hulett (Nelson Mandela Bay) and rapidly improving Taghiti Gericke (Eden) moving through to tomorrow’s final from the first of the semis. They were joined by Pippa Jones (Cape Town) and Kia Fenton (Nelson Mandela Bay) from the second semi to set up what promises to be an exciting encounter with the SA Junior title and a spot in the SA national team at stake.
Taghiti Gericke’s (Eden) surfing has improved dramatically over the past year, and has earned her a place in tomorrow’s under 17 girl’s finals.
Eli Beukes and Cape Town teammate Luke Slijpen along with Nelson Mandela Bay’s Sebastian Williams and Angelo Faulkner were the top performers in the U15 boys’ quarters. They will be joined by Max Elkington and Joe Webster (both Cape Town), Calvin Goor (eThekweni) and Ryan Lightfoot (Nelson Mandela Bay) in the semis where the top two in each heat advances to the final.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s Sebastian Williams didn’t fail to impress and comfortably made it to the under 15 boy’s semi finals.
In addition to McGillivray’s heroics, Sophie Bell (eThekweni) and Anna Jellema Butler (Cape Town) won their U15 girls’ quarter-finals and the trio will be up against Christy Gilmore and Olivia Izzard (both eThekweni) and Nina Harmse (Eden) in the battle for spots in the final.
Dillon Hendricks (Nelson Mandela Bay) showed his command of the Lower Point and posted an U13 boys quarterfinal victory, as did close friends Manoa Robb (Cape Town) and York van Jaarsveld (Cape Winelands). There are only four slots available in the final and tomorrow that trio will have to get past Tide-Lee Ireland and fellow eThekweni team member Brayden Bergset as well as Mich du Preez (Buffalo City) in the semis.
Dillon Hendricks (NMB) dominated his under 13 boy’s quarter final and will be looking to snatch a home-town victory tomorrow.
eThekweni’s Gabi Lailvaux and Kayla Nogueira dominated their U13 girls’ heats today to progress to the semis of the division. They will take on Kelly Fiet and Lisa van Heerden from the Cape Winelands, Summer Sutton (Cape Town) and Kelly Fenton from the host Nelson Mandela Bay district when competition resumes.
The team standings in the race for the coveted Freedom Cup see Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay out in front heading into the final day of competition, with defending cup-holders trailing in third place.
Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager Chad D’Arcy was happy with what was a great day of action at the country’s premier junior surfing event.
Ethan Fletcher (CTS) took out some big names on the way to the under 17 boy’s finals, adding more strength to the Cape Town Surfriders 2015 campaign.
“We had really, really good waves today, probably the best waves of the event so far,” said D’Arcy. ‘We’re down to the business end and there were some extremely good performances. Kirsty McGillivray got the first 10 for the girls and the second 10 for the event, and then we finished the day with the premier U17 girls and boys semi-finals that set up a really good final day tomorrow with a couple of Semi’s still to go and the VonZipper Air Show. ”
The Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by BOS runs until Sunday when the winners in the U17, U15 and U13 boy’s and girl’s divisions will be crowned the 2015 SA Junior Champions. The district team accumulating the highest point tally across all divisions will be awarded the highly prized Freedom Cup and the winners of the U17 and U15 divisions will be awarded national team blazers.
The event also offers specialty awards totalling more than R20 000 for both surfers and their teams. These include the Billabong / Bad Billy’s Tag Team Paddle Battle, BOS Highest Heat Score, VonZipper Airshow, DaKine Most Progressive Manoeuvre, Skull Candy Stay Loud Team Spirit and the Zigzag Blowing Up awards.
As part of Surfing South Africa’s commitment to transformation, the South African Development Academy team is participating thanks to a grant from Sport and Recreation South Africa.
Bevan Willis (ETK) has been an exciting competitor to watch since Day 1. His heavy-footed power surfing will be missed in tomorrows under 17 boy’s final.
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Kirsty McGillivray (Nelson Mandela Bay) sweeps into a cutback on her way to scoring a perfect 10-point ride in the U15 girls’ quarterfinals at the Billabong SA Junior Champs at Jeffreys Bay.
The Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by BOS is proudly supported by DaKine, VonZipper, Skull Candy, Neff and Zigzag Surfing Magazine.
Surfing South Africa is the recognised governing body for surfing in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA)
