 Jordy Maree and Josefina Ane Clinch Titles at Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic pres by Quiksilver
Jordy Maree (Cape Town) and Josefina Ane (Argentina) earned the biggest wins of their professional surfing careers today when they clinched the men’s and women’s World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) titles at the Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver. Veteran former two-time ISA World Longboard Champion Matthew Moir (Cape Town) celebrated his first victory in a WSL rated event by defeating former WSL No. 2 Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) in a high performance final that highlighted the talent of local longboard surfers. The inaugural Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver, Stop No 2 of 13 on the 2018 WSL Africa Tour, enjoyed great waves and conditions at East Beach in Port Alfred, bringing WSL competition back to the Kowie Rivermouth for the first time since the 1990’s. On a day when goofy foot surfers (those who ride with their right foot in front) dominated proceedings by filling all six spots in the three finals, Jody Maree led the charge with an outstanding win over red hot Australian Jordan Lawler. Maree opened his account in the final with two massive backhand turns and then safely completed the close-out re-entry to earn 7.25 out of 10, which ultimately was the highest score of the encounter. He continued to build his heat total with mid-range scores, but Lawler blasted back into contention with a 6.0 and then took the lead with a 6.90 with seven minutes still on the clock. Holding his nerves in check and using the priority system intelligently, Maree waited for a wave that peeled down the sandbar and hooked into two huge backhand blasts that were rewarded with a 6.45 to regain the lead. Needing a 6.81 with just two minutes remaining, Lawler went for broke on a high flying aerial manoeuvre but couldn’t land it and Maree claimed the win. “I’m really happy to win my first QS event and want to thank all the people that made the event possible,” said Maree on the podium. “I also want to thank all those who have supported me – my coach, my sponsors, my family and my girlfriend. Thank you so much for helping me get this win.” Maree was very fortunate to advance from his first heat in the event when he was penalised for a priority interference but managed to progress with a single ride score of 6.75. On finals day he outpointed established QS surfer Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) in the semi-finals and scored a narrow win over another seasoned traveler in Slade Prestwich (Durban) in the quarter-finals. His victory earned Maree R12,000 and 1,000 points on the QS and regional rankings which, combined with his haul of 560 points for a third-place finish in Port Elizabeth last week, sees him jump to the top of the WSL Africa leaderboard. Lawler started his finals day by eliminating Cape Town based junior Max Elkington (Kommetjie) in the quarters and then delivered the only perfect 10 point ride of the event in his semi-final win over Greg Emslie (East London), one of South Africa’s most celebrated surf stars. The Australian had already posted an excellent 8.0 score and finished with a heat tally of 18.0 out of 20, the highest in the entire men’s event. Josefina Ane arrived in South Africa last week fresh off a career-best runner-up finish in a QS1,000 event in her hometown of Mar del Plata. The 19-year-old was elated to secure her first title by defeating 14-year-old standout Zoe Steyn (East London) today. The highest QS ranked woman in the event at No. 56, the Argentinean ousted reigning WSL Africa Junior and QS champions Sophie Bell (Salt Rock) and Nicole Pallet (La Lucia) in the quarters and semis respectively. In the finalshe selected great waves and used her exciting backhand attack to build what became an insurmountable 13.75 point total that her younger rival could not match. “This is my first QS win and I’m really happy and thankful for all the people who have this event,” said Ane in her heavy Spanish accent. “My English is a little bit bad but I’m really happy and thank you to all the people for coming to this event.” Steyn usually competes in the junior events but was unfazed by her older opponents in Port Alfred and consistently produced high heat totals throughout the event. She ousted women’s longboard winner Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) from the event in their quarter-final match up and then reached the final by eliminating Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay) in the semis. The result saw the youngster leapfrog into joint first place on the WSL Africa women’s rankings after two events. The introduction of Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) events to the WSL Africa schedule added an exciting new dimension to the contest and the performances produced by the top men and women proved that there is a hotbed of talent in the country The highest heat total of the entire event – a near perfect 18.50 out of 20 – was delivered by Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) in his semi-final win over Michael Hill. Matthew Moir has been at the top of the worldwide longboard scene for two decades and put on a master class to capture the LQS men’s title by defeating Sawyer by 15.25 vs. 13.90 in a pulsating final that saw both men effortlessly combine traditional and new school manoeuvres on their nearly three metre long surfboards. “It’s amazing that the sponsors let longboarding be part of a shortboard contest,” said Moir. “It is also so good that the World Surf League recognises longboarding again in South Africa. The contest was extremely well and I’m just stoked to win it.” The final of the LQS1,000 women’s event was run on Saturday with Crystal Hulett taking the win over Marishka Myers (Jeffreys Bay). The event also hosted activities designed to foster and encourage surfing among young people, regardless of their background. These were coordinated by Surfing South Africa, the national controlling body for the sport, and run by SSA Development Officer, Danielle Powis. Full results, news, photos and video footage from the Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver can be found at: QS1,000 Men: https://bit.ly/2q99Kfd QS1,000 Women: https://bit.ly/2qcAw6G LQS1,000 Men: https://bit.ly/2H2i8H4 LQS1,000 Women: https://bit.ly/2HhKbQD Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver Results QS 1,000 Men’s Final 1. Jordy Maree (Cape Town) 13.70 2. Jordan Lawler (Australia) 12.90 QS 1,000 Men’s Semi-Finals SF1: Jordy Maree (Cape Town) 14.40 def. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) 13.25 SF2: Jordan Lawler (Australia) 18.00 def. Greg Emslie (East London) 12.50 QS 1,000 Women’s Final 1. Josefina Ane (Argentina) 13.75 2. Zoe Steyn (East London) 7.50 QS 1,000 Women’s Semi-Finals SF1: Josefina Ane (Argentina) 11.25 def. Nicole Pallet (La Lucia) 3.70 SF2: Zoe Steyn (East London) 9.75 def. Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay) 5.05 LQS 1,000 Men’s Longboard Final 1. Matthew Moir (Cape Town) 15.25 2. Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) 13.90 LQS 1,000 Men’s Longboard Semi-Finals SF1: Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) 18.50 def. Michael Hill 14.50 SF2: Matthew Moir (Cape Town) 17.85 def. Thomas King (Cape Town) 11.75 LQS 1,000 Women’s Longboard Final 1. Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) 11.25 2. Marishka Myers (Jeffreys Bay) 9.50 LQS 1,000 Women’s Longboard Semi-Finals SF1: Marishka Myers (Jeffreys Bay) 10.0 def. Mia Baard 4.15 SF2: Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) 10.75 def. Tarryn King (Cape Town) 9.25 WSL Africa – Men’s QS Rankings (after event #2 - Port Alfred Classic) 1 Maree,Jordan (Cape Town) 1560 2 Van Zyl, David (Glenashley) 1420 3 Masencamp,Adin (Strand) 1050 4 Lightfoot,Dylan (Jeffreys Bay) 980 5 Kidd,Richard (Ballito) 745 WSL Africa – Women’s QS Rankings (after event #2 - Port Alfred Classic) 1 Pallet,Nicole (La Lucia) 1310 1 Steyn,Zoe (East London) 1310 3 Woolf,Kai (Jeffreys Bay) 1300 4 Smith,Emma (Jeffreys Bay) 955 5 Hogg,Teal (uMhlanga) 860 Next weekend sees the Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro pres. by Reef Wetsuits at Nahoon Reef in East London, Stop No. 3 of 13 on the 2018 WSL Africa Tour and the second of five events in the City Surf Series. 2018 WSL Africa Schedule of Events Completed Port Elizabeth *Volkswagen Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro pres. by Billabong Completed Port Alfred Royal St Andrews Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver Apr 13-15 East London *Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro pres. by Reef Wetsuits May 18-20 Durban *ZigZag Durban Surf Pro pres. by G-Force Surfboards Jun 1-3 Lamberts Bay Vans Surf Pro Classic Jun 14-17 Cape Town *Jordy Smith Cape Town Surf Pro pres. by O'Neill Jun 19-24 Port Elizabeth *Volkswagen SA Open of Surfing pres. by Hurley Jun 22-24 Ballito Billabong Junior Series #1 Jun 25-1 Jul Ballito Ballito Pro pres. by Billabong Aug 29-2 Sep Dakar, Senegal Senegal Pro (Tentative) Sep 4-9 Casablanca Anfaplace Pro Casablanca Sep 27-30 Cape St Francis Billabong Junior Series #2 Jan 1-31 Dec Durban Cell C Good Wave * City Surf Series (CSS) events
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 Exciting Finish at the Volkswagen Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro pres. by Billabong By Craig Jarvis/WSL | Images: Ian Thurtell/WSL Monday, April 2, 2018 There has been a lot of talk about Kai Woolf, with surf raconteur Derek Hynd long expounding her skills and talents as world class. Growing up on the walls of Lower Point and then Supertubes in J-Bay, she has honed her backhand skills to a point where she can often seems totally unbeatable. That was the result today, with Kai winning both the JQS division and the Women's division at the VW Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro pres by Billabong at Pollock Beach in Port Elizabeth. Not known as ‘The Windy City' for nothing, the contest site had the full wind switch during the event, that made for some challenging conditions through a few of the finals. After blowing light onshore and making the waves difficult to find walls and thus high scores, there was a story that a gale-force west wind was heading up the coast. As forecast, it hit the contest site during the women's final, causing the surfers to change their approaches somewhat.  It didn't faze young Kai though, who is used to surfing the waves of J-Bay in the howling offshore winds that are common there, and which see surfers carving off the top or turning mid-face to ensure that they don't get stuck in the lip and blown off the back of the wave. Her approach was successful, and she put Sophie Bell, Anna Jellema-Butler and Olivia Izzard into the minor placings in the JQS final, and defeated Nicole Pallet in the Women's final. Kai has a long and illustrious professional surfing career ahead of her. Her brave approach when the waves get solid at places like Supertubes draws admiration from surfers and spectators, and she has been winning junior events for a good few years now. It was an exciting men's final, and a proud moment for David Van Zyl, who took the win from Adin Masencamp. Van Zyl is a hard-working WQS campaigner and this win might see him off on a trajectory that could get him into the big leagues that he is striving for. Without wishing to detract from Adin's performance throughout the event - he was electric from his first heat - Van Zyl is relentless on the Qualifying Series, and this excellent result is just what is needed to get him fired up and winning more heats and events. He's highly skilled in all conditions, charges when it gets bigger, and has the full repertoire of aerial moves when it's smaller and punchy. Van Zyl could possibly be the next South African to climb on and represent on the Championship Tour alongside Jordy Smith and Michael February.  "I remember watching Mikey doing so well in these events last year and then going on to qualify," said Van Zyl. "It's definitely a great start to the year to get a result here, and I'm really hoping I can do the same as Mikey." Van Zyl will need to keep consistency and a positive approach going into the next two events. Both the next two contests take place this month, being the Royal St Andrews Port Alfred Classic pres by Quiksilver at East Beach in Port Alfred, followed soon thereafter by the Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro pres by Reef Wetsuits at Nahoon Reef in East London. Not long after will see the ZigZag Durban Surf Pro pres by G-Force take place at New Pier in Durban. Along with @Dillon Hendricks winning the JQS Men, the first event of the City Surf Series proved to be an exciting start to a massive year of surfing for South Africa. This year Africa is set to host 14 events, offering prize-money totaling over R18 million, with the South African domestic tour specifically looking exceptionally healthy.   Day 2 wrap - Sunday 1st April 2018 (all images Ian Thurtell/WSL) A serene ocean greeted the surfers at the VW Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro pres by Billabong this morning with a general drop in swell and beautiful glassy conditions the order of the day. The morning low tide did little for the power of the waves, with small-wave wizardry winning the heats. Those that could whip it around in the weak conditions were the surfers getting the big scores. An interesting sidebar to this event and to judging on the whole is that the new head judge of the World Surf League's Championship Tour - the tour that every young surfer aspires to be on - has changed the judging standard on this premier tour. Pritamo Ahrendt - the new head judge - has raised the bar, and it's very high. Last year's Corona Open JBay was literally raining tens, and this is no more. Being a WSL rated Qualification Series event, the new judging criteria has already filtered down to the judges for this event, and the scores were lower than usual. It's good to see - with the raising of the judging bar, surfers have to work that much harder to get the good scores. Dillon Hendricks did well to be awarded 7 points for his highest scoring ride in the Open Men, Round 3, heat 1 today. It was Dylan Lightfoot however; who emphatically showed that his WQS training and hard work over the last few months has reaped great rewards. His energy and speed in the following heat was next level, and he went to town on his first wave, fitting in a number of hooks and carves, all perfectly flowing into each other, for a score of 8 points. Together with a back-up score of 7.5, Lightfoot took the heat with ease. One of the most exciting heats of the day was heat 4 of the same round. Local JBay surfer Joshe Faulkner was up against a foreign triumvirate consisting of Ty Watson and Jordan Lawler from Australia as well as Daniel Farr from New Zealand. The odds were stacked against him, but Joshe is a seasoned and tenacious competitor and rose to the occasion, banking an 8.5 for his best wave score, and doing enough to win the heat from second placed Ty Watson. In the process both Lawler and Farr were eliminated from the event. Unfortunately Lightfoot, Faulkner and Watson were all eliminated from the event in their respective quarterfinals, with both Lightfoot and Faulkner shock eliminations, despite showing good form.  Adin Masencamp has been on a roll in this event, and this continued throughout the day today. He dominated his round three heat, winning with relative ease against highly rated Richard Kidd, Brandon Benjamin and Chad Du Toit, before continuing his performance by beating Ty Watson in the quarterfinals. Masencamp is a fast and radical natural-footer who loves to compete, and loves it more to compete and win. "The QS events mean a lot, especially for South African surfers," said Adin after his heat win. "It's really great for South African surfing to have such highly rated events in in the country so you don't have to travel, and you obviously feel a lot more at home than you would overseas. I feel like I'm surfing with a lot more confidence than if I were overseas. This is my home, and it's great to have a hometown advantage. The prize money is definitely great, but it's the points that matter at the end. I would love to be in the sixes (WQS 6000 events) and tens (WQS 10,000 events) by the mid year cut-off or by the end of the year, which is most definitely my goal."  In the women's event, much lauded local ripper Emma Smith from JBay had a close one, just managing to get a final wave with less than a minute to go in her round two heat. "We surfed the heat on pretty much dead low tide, so I knew it was going to be a bit inconsistent and than I needed to sit a bit closer in," said Smith. "I started the heat with getting nothing really, just a few close-outs and low scores, and then I had to play catch-up the whole heat. I paddled down the beach to try and get a few insiders, and in the last minute I managed to get a wave and I just milked it all the way to the beach and just managed to get the score required to get me into second place and through the heat." While Smith's story was one of positivity, unfortunately last year's champion Crystal Hulett bowed out of the event in this round after a poor performance saw her finish her round 2 heat in fourth place.  A long but great day's worth of surfing sees the event organisers facing the final day with plenty of time in hand and a great day of surf approaching. The forecast shows light offshore winds, sunshine and waves for the final day of the first event of the City Surf Series.  A long but great day's worth of surfing sees the event organisers facing the final day with plenty of time in hand and a great day of surf approaching. The forecast shows light offshore winds, sunshine and waves for the final day of the first event of the City Surf Series.
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