PENICHE, Portugal (Saturday, October 20, 2018) - Italo Ferreira (BRA) has won the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Stop No. 10 of 11 on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), over Joan Duru (FRA) in a Final held in clean three-to-four foot (1 - 1.2 metre) surf at the iconic Supertubos beach break. Tens of thousands of fans flocked the beach and dunes of Supertubos to support the athletes and enjoy high-performance surfing at one of Europe’s finest surfing spots. The electric vibe peaked every time surfers took their act to the air and fans lit up in loud cheers. The 10th edition of the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal witnessed incredible performances by the world’s best surfers earlier this week as Supertubos pumped heavy surf, and culminated today with Ferreira’s first-ever win on Portuguese soil. “This is crazy, I can’t believe it,” Ferreira said. “In my first year I got a second here, so now I’ve got my first win here. Thank you Portugal and thank you to everyone on the beach and my family and friends. I’m so excited. That was a crazy year for me, I got a couple of wins and some bad results, but I’m just living my dream and this is the best feeling.” World No. 4 Ferreira claimed his third event victory of the season after winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and the Corona Bali Protected earlier this season. Despite being inconsistent with six early losses, the 24-year-old is in his best-ever season on the Championship Tour and will be a strong contender for the World Title race in years to come. In an incredible air show, Ferreira defeated compatriot Gabriel Medina (BRA) in the Semifinals and effectively sent the World Title race to Hawaii by depriving Medina of a win in Portugal. “I’m still learning and enjoying myself,” Ferreira added. “This is the best job in the world!” Duru pulled the trigger first in the Final with a combination of two critical backhand turns for a 7.00 (out of 10) to apply pressure on Ferreira early on. But the Brasilian just went to what he does best and landed two back-to-back forehand rotations for a 7.43 and an excellent 8.50 to turn the situation mid-heat. The ocean, unfortunately, did not provide many more opportunities for Duru and the result remained unchanged for the remainder of the Final, giving Ferreira the win. World No. 33 on the Jeep Leaderboard coming into this event, Duru posted with this runner-up result, his career-highest placing and will rocket up ten spots in the rankings to No. 23, to give himself a strong shot at re-qualifying in the final event of the year in Hawaii (only the Top 22 male surfers will requalify from the Jeep Leaderboard). Duru was the event’s giant-killer, having previously eliminated Filipe Toledo (BRA) in Round 3, Julian Wilson (AUS) in the Quarters and Owen Wright (AUS) in the Semifinals. “I’m so stoked and I didn’t have many results before,” Duru said. “I just came here to have fun and make some heats so I’m really stoked to be here and it’s amazing. I really didn’t think about requalification and rankings, I just wanted to surf and that’s it. I’m stoked I had my family, my grandparents and my mom here with me, and thanks to all my friends for the support.” In the first Semifinal, Ferreira got a quick start with a 7.17 in the early minutes of his exchange with Medina, launching what would become an incredible air show, with a good forehand rotation. Medina did not wait long to reply with a similar wave for a 6.83 and later upgraded to a 7.90 with an alley-oop to take the lead. Both surfers continued to showcase the different variations of their aerial repertoire and Medina seemed in control of the heat. But, out of nowhere, Ferreira pulled the biggest maneuver of the whole event for an incredible 9.30 to upset the 2014 World Champion and advance into the Final. With his equal 3rd result in Peniche, Medina further extended his pole position on the Jeep Leaderboard, finishing ahead of his two rivals in the World Title Race, Toledo and Wilson. Coming off of four consecutive excellent results, Medina is undoubtedly the form surfer of the back half of the 2018 season and seems poised to claim a second World Title as the year winds up. “It was a good heat against Italo as always,” Medina said. “He’s a good friend of mine and he deserved that one. I’m happy with my performance. I know I did my best and now my focus is on Pipe. We didn’t hassle each other, we knew it was going to be an air show. I come from two wins and two thirds so I’m happy with my performance and Pipe is a wave that I like so now I’ll focus on that.” The Men's World Title Scenarios going into the last event of the season, the Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii, are as follows:
- If Gabriel Medina finishes 1st or 2nd at the Billabong Pipe Masters, he wins the World Title; - If Gabriel Medina finishes 3rd at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Julian Wilson & Filipe Toledo will need to finish 1st; - If Gabriel Medina finishes 5th-25th, Julian Wilson & Filipe Toledo will need a 2nd or 1st at Pipe. In the second Semifinal, Duru took on Wright in another goofyfoot showdown, but this time most of the action happened on the wave face. Both surfers attacked the rights on their backhand, but the best wave of the heat came to the Frenchman and he posted a 7.83 to distance himself from Wright and take the spot for the Final. With an Equal 3rd place, Wright posted his second-best result of the season and moved up ahead of Jordy Smith (ZAF) to No. 5 on the rankings before the Billabong Pipe Masters. Michel Bourez (PYF), the first surfer eliminated today in Quarterfinal 1, kickstarted a return to form with an Equal 5th place in Peniche. The Tahitian surfer started his 2018 season strong with two 5th place results and a runner-up result in the first four events, but then suffered a heavy setback with four consecutive 13th place finishes and an even more unusual last place loss in France. A former Pipe Master, Bourez will have one more chance to redeem himself at the final event of the season in December. In the second Quarter, World No. 1 Medina lit the beach on fire with aerial mastery and gave his opponent Matt Wilkinson (AUS) no chance with a 16.16 heat total (out of a possible 20). The Australian stuck to a different peak with clean little rights to exploit on his backhand but eventually bowed out in equal 5th place at Supertubos. Duru continued his giant-killing spree and once again played spoilers in the World Title race as he eliminated Wilson in the third Quarterfinal. In a slow heat, Wilson waited too patiently to start putting scores on the board while his opponent was building his scoreline on smaller waves. Eventually, the gap was too big for the Australian to fill and he placed equal 5th. Wilson needed to advance through to the Semifinals to push the title race to Pipeline. The last Quarterfinal continued with the slow pattern and once again it was a goofyfoot who found the best opportunities early on. Wright surfed a very similar heat to Duru’s and put together a 5.00 and a 6.17 (out of a possible 10) to eliminate Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) in equal 5th. The Japanese surfer failed to advance into a fourth Semifinal this season but put on a satisfying result following a disappointing 25th in France. For highlights from the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com. The men will now head to the North Shore of Oahu for the final event on the Championship Tour, the Billabong Pipe Masters. The event window will open on December 8 and run through December 20, 2018. The women’s World Title will also be decided in Hawaii at the Beachwaver Maui Pro, which holds a competitive window from November 25 - December 6, 2018. Both events will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the WSL’s Facebook page. Also check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com. MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Final Results: 1 - Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.93 2 - Joan Duru (FRA) 10.77 MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Semifinal Results: SF 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 16.47 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.73 SF 2: Joan Duru (FRA) 13.60 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 12.00 MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Quarterfinal Results: QF 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 16.10 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 5.20 QF 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.16 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.03 QF 3: Joan Duru (FRA) 11.57 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 5.10 QF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 11.17 def. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 4.60 2018 WSL Men’s CT Jeep Leaderboard (After MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal): 1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 56,190 pts 2 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 51,450 pts 2 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 51,450 pts 4 - Italo Ferreira (BRA) 43,070 pts 5 - Owen Wright (AUS) 35,570 pts For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
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PLAGE DES CULS NUS - Hossegor, Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France (Friday, October 12, 2018) - Today, Julian Wilson (AUS) and Courtney Conlogue (USA) won the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro France, Stop No. 9 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). The final day of competition witnessed Wilson and Conlogue plow through a stacked field to earn their momentous wins at the 17th running of the iconic French event. Wilson’s victory in France is his second of the season after the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast earlier this year. Only a month before the 2018 season opener on the Gold Coast, Wilson suffered a serious shoulder injury and it was unclear whether he would be able to compete. The win today proves his determination and the fact that the 29-year-old is not giving up his hopes for a maiden World Title. Wilson now strengthens his third place position with only 4,645 points separating him and World No. 1 Gabriel Medina (BRA). “My emotions come from dedicating this win to Pierre Agnes,” Wilson said. “He was such a beautiful human being. Thank you, Pierre. All the surfers love you. The moment of silence before the Final shook me, everything he’s done for surfing here in France and I’ve always dreamt of winning this event." Conlogue has been fighting her way back to the top following a foot injury that sidelined her for the first half of the season and today’s victory marks a triumphant confirmation of her new-found form following a win at the Vans US Open of Surfing and a fifth-place finish at the Surf Ranch Pro. The Championship Tour veteran, in her eighth year competing with the Top 17, claims her first-ever win in France and the eleventh of her career, pushing her up to No. 8 on the Jeep Leaderboard. “This whole event has been quite the journey,” Conlogue stated. “I had a lot of fun out there today, the conditions were so clean in that Final and I was just frothing. I had to keep my cool cause I was feeling like a grom! I wanted to be here in this position [with two event wins], but it was a matter of believing and working really hard. I came here with a little injury, but it was good cause it made me slow down a bit and forced me to maintain energy over the lay days." In a slow start to the men’s Final, Ryan Callinan (AUS) fired first with a good left, hitting the lip multiple times all the way into the shorebreak for a 6.83 (out of a possible 10) and the lead. Following a short interruption due to the evening fog coming through the lineup, Wilson answered with a tail-high full rotation for a 6.67 to tighten up the battle. Just before the 10-minute mark, Callinan laid into a powerful layback snap to grasp the Final’s lead with a 7.40. But Wilson picked up where he left off in the Semifinals and launched a big backhand full rotation for an excellent 8.67 to steal the lead off the wildcard. Time ran out on Callinan chasing a 7.95 and Wilson took the win. “To share the Final with Ryan (Callinan) was incredible too,” Wilson added. “I loved surfing against (Gabriel) Medina, too. There’s just so much I can be thankful for. I had to bring my A-game to beat Ryan in the final. I’ve lost my first Final here against Medina and I think I hold a grudge since then and this year finally it happened.” Callinan comes off a tear on the Qualifying Series, culminating with his win at the QS 10,000 in Ericeira two weeks ago, which sealed the deal on his qualification for the 2019 Championship Tour. The goofyfoot from Newcastle perfectly transitioned to the big leagues in this event, showing he deserves a full-time spot with the world’s best surfers. Callinan spent one season on the CT in 2016 but never made it past 9th place back then, and the runner-up result today marks a career-best achievement for the 26-year-old. “This doesn’t feel real but more like a dream,” Callinan said. “I’m sure it’ll sink in soon though and I’m just so happy to be here and be a part of it in France. It’s really exciting. I couldn’t have asked for anything better [than sharing the final with Julian Wilson], even finishing second to him, I know he’s going for something special and that was a big event for him. We’ve grown to be really good friends and I was happy to share that special moment with him.” Callinan will have another opportunity to show his place amongst the world elite as the wildcard on the next stop on the men’s CT, the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, which opens on October 16, 2018. The 2018 WSL Title race previously heated up in the men’s second Semifinal as Medina and Wilson fought it out for a place in the Final. The 30-minute heat was an unbelievable exchange of aerial mastery between two of the most progressive surfers on the planet. Wilson launched and landed a crazy inverted backhand rotation to post the event’s first Perfect 10 point ride and defended it with a good 6.67 for the win. Medina fought back with a great wave on which he performed two airs, a straight air with a grab first and a forehand rotation to finish it, but the score came in as a 7.77, short of the 9.01 required score to turn the heat. Wilson’s incredible performance deprived the 2014 World Champion of a shot at a third straight event win in France and put a stop to his incredible streak on the Championship Tour lately. The 3rd place finish now vaults Medina to first on the leaderboard and he will now wear the yellow Jeep Leader Jersey at the upcoming MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal. Roxy Pro France winner Conlogue started the Final against Macy Callaghan (AUS) with a massive layback snap on a set wave to post a 7.33 (out of a possible 10) on this single, highly technical maneuver. The Californian quickly backed it up and continued to build momentum, surfing the long rights with her aggressive forehand attack to eventually build a 14.74 heat total (out of a possible 20). Callaghan fought on a similar playing field, catching several good rights but couldn’t quite match Conlogue’s power in the turns or link together a long wave to get back in the fight. With only two average scores on the board, the 17-year-old Australian never really threatened Conlogue for the win. "I said before the Final that if I can find some rhythm and if the ocean and I can link up and have the same high voltage then I can put in a statement performance, which I think I did," said Conlogue. "It's a huge win in a place I love. I couldn't be happier." Callaghan, 17, is Australia’s next up-and-coming superstar. As the 2016 World Junior Champion, all eyes have been on the young surfer as she has been given the opportunity to compete on the WSL CT as a replacement for injured CT competitors. Today’s finish marks Callaghan’s career-best result in only her eighth time competing at the most elite level of professional surfing. On the cusp of qualification for the 2019 season, she will undoubtedly be a competitor to watch and a key player in surfing’s next generation. "I had a bad run at the start of the year and Bells was probably the low point,” Callaghan stated. “I was emotional and not in a good place. I wasn't believing in myself or my surfing. I haven't even made the Final of a big Qualifying Series event before, so to make my first Championship Tour Final is unbelievable. I'm disappointed that I didn't perform to my best in the Final, but the bigger picture is so positive. There's been a big change and that is that I believe in myself and my surfing. I've learned so much here in France and had so much fun doing it. I'll never forget this experience."
Callaghan had an amazing road to the Final in France, defeating many great surfers on her way to a career-best result. It started in Round 2 with a victory over Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), continued with a second place in Round 3, eliminating veteran Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in the process, and two wins over Coco Ho (HAW) and Bronte Macaulay (AUS) in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals. Three-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) started her Semifinal with a good sized right and a beautiful drawn-out carve, finishing the wave with a radical snap for a 7.83 and the early lead. But while her opponent - eventual winner Conlogue - was keeping busy catching waves, the Hawaiian scoured the lineup unable to find a wave to her liking. Moore eventually picked up a wave in the last minute of the heat but it shut down too early and she couldn’t score the required 6.31, placing Equal 3rd and missing her chance to earn a third-straight event title in France. In the second Semifinal, Macaulay couldn’t keep the excellent form she’s been displaying since the start of the event and was forced to watch Callaghan’s success story continue. The Australian goofyfoot captured a career-second Semifinal berth, the first of her 2018 season. The final stop on the Women’s WSL Championship Tour will be the Beachwaver Maui Pro. The holding period will open November 25 and run through December 6, 2018. During this time, event officials will monitor the conditions and run the event during the best conditions. The World Title scenarios are as follows: - Gilmore will win the World Title with a 3rd or better at the Beachwaver Maui Pro. - If Gilmore finishes 5th or worse, Peterson must win the event to force a surf-off* for the World Title. *In the event of a tie for any World Title at the end of the Surfing Season, the tied Surfer will have a “surf-off” during the final Event, which will have the format determined by the Commissioner’s Office. The next stop on the Men’s WSL Championship Tour will be the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, which holds a competitive window from October 16 - October 27, 2018. As the penultimate stop for the men’s CT, the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be critical to the 2018 World Title race. The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the WSL's Facebook page. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners. For highlights from the Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro France, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com. Quiksilver Pro France Final Results: 1 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.34 2 - Ryan Callinan (AUS) 14.23 Quiksilver Pro France Semifinal Results: SF 1: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 15.30 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 11.43 SF 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.67 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.44 Quiksilver Pro France Quarterfinal Results: QF 1: Conner Coffin (USA) 13.50 def. Adriano De Souza (BRA) 7.83 QF 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 15.77 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.03 QF 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.10 def. Mikey Wright (AUS) 14.23 QF 4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.44 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 10.73 Quiksilver Pro France Round 4 Results: Heat 1: Conner Coffin (USA) 12.50, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.20, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.80 Heat 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 18.53, Adriano De Souza (BRA) 16.50, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 12.44 Heat 3: Mikey Wright (AUS) 13.96, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.90, Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 6.70 Heat 4: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 15.90, Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.10, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.07 2018 WSL Men's CT Jeep Leaderboard (After Quiksilver Pro France): 1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 51,770 pts 2 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 51,450 pts 3 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 47,125 pts 4 - Italo Ferreira (BRA) 33,490 pts 5 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 32,020 pts Roxy Pro France Final Results: 1 - Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.76 2 - Macy Callaghan (AUS) 10.96 Roxy Pro France Semifinal Results: SF 1: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.14 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.26 SF 2: Macy Callaghan (AUS) 14.33 def. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 10.73 Roxy Pro France Quarterfinal Results: QF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.67 def. Malia Manuel (HAW) 10.33 QF 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.50 def. Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.83 QF 3: Macy Callaghan (AUS) 13.60 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 10.87 QF 4: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 12.83 def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 12.40 2018 WSL Women's CT Jeep Leaderboard (After Roxy Pro France): 1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 61,175 pts 2 - Lakey Peterson (USA) 54,260 pts 3 - Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 44,770 pts 4 - Carissa Moore (HAW) 44,235 pts 5 - Johanne Defay (FRA) 39,895 pts The 2018 Sea Harvest SA Junior Surfing Championships has ended at Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay with the Cape Town Surfriders team successfully defending the coveted Freedom Cup which is awarded to the team accumulating the highest points across all divisions at the five day tournament. Their victory margin over traditional rivals, eThekweni Surfriders from KZN, was 45375 points to eThekweni’s 45140 points. The Capetonians claimed two of the eight individual national titles at stake while eThekweni took three championship titles. Buffalo City Surfriders from East London scored 42965 points and came third, their best result at the national junior championships since their runner up spot in 2003. They claimed two national titles while hosts Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders 38066 points gave them fourth place overall. They produced one new national champion. Cape Winelands Surfriders came fourth with 33985, Ugu Surfriders from the KZN South Coast were sixth with 27360 points came sixth. The Garden Route based Eden Surfriders team posted 24058 points for seventh, Ilembe Surfriders from the KZN North Coast were eighth with 20640 points and the six strong SA Academy Team took ninth spot with 8960points. The 22nd edition of the national junior championships will be remembered for five days with sunshine, offshore and onshore surf, great vibes and excellent memories. Although the final day of competition was held in tough onshore surf the finalists put on an excellent show and the 2018 can proudly add their names into the annals of South African surfing history. The new champions are Max Elkington (Cape Town Surfriders) who adds the U18 Boys Title to his previous age division success at the SA Junior Championships. The Kommetjie surfer is the only surfer to win every age group at this event. Nelson Mandela Bay surfer and Sea Harvest Surfing Excellence Award winner in 2018, Angelo came second with 2017 U16 Boys Champion Eli Beukes (Cape Town) ending third ahead of Karl Steen (eThekweni). Kai Woolf (Nelson Mandela Bay), the 2017 U16 Girls champion added another SA title to her name by winning the U18 Girls Final. Former champion Sophie Bell (eThekweni) was second Tayla de Coning (Buffalo City) came third and Maya Shefer – Boswell (Cape Town) came fourth. Tide Lee Ireland (eThekweni) took gold in the U16 Boys final edging fellow SA Junior Team member Mitch du Preez (Buffalo City) into second place. Manoa Robb and York Van Jaarsveldt (both Cape Town) came third and fourth respectively. SA Open Women’s champion and 2014 winner last year, Zoe Steyn (Buffalo City) showed her class in taking honours in the U16 Girls final. Talented Kayla Nogueira (eThekweni) came second, Ceara Knight (Cape Winelands) was third and Gabi Lailvaux (eThekweni) was fourth. All four surfers are members of the SA Junior Team going to the ISA World Championships in three weeks’ time. SA Junior Team member Luke Thompson (eThekweni) continued his good run of form by winning the U14 Boys title. Daniel Emslie (Buffalo City), who named male Surfer of the Contest, was runner up with Brad Scott and Connor Slijpen (both Cape Town) taking third and fourth respectively. A stoked Aimee du Preez (Buffalo City) had a fantastic contest and sealed it with a win in the U14 Girls Division. Buffalo City teammate Adriel Wolmarans was second, Chloe Ribbink (eThekweni) came third and Gia Gillmer (Ugu) was fourth. After some good results in the early round Nate Colby (eThekweni) won gold in the U12 Division beating Kai Hall (Ilembe) into second spot. Buffalo City surfers Josh Malherbe and Joel Fowles were third and fourth respectively. Dynamic Sarah Scott (Cape Town) not only won the U12 crown but was also named as the female Surfer of the Contest for her efforts during the championships. Anastasia Venter (Cape Winelands) was second, Sea Harvest Surfing Excellence Award winner Zia Hendricks (Nelson Mandela Bay) was third and Mayah Potgieter (Ilembe came fourth). According to Alex Milne, SSA Operations Manager and Event Director, the 2018 Sea Harvest SA Junior Championships was a huge success. “This contest has been amazing. The weather was good, the waves have been contestable and all the surfers have enjoyed themselves. The surfing standard has been really high and it is good to see new faces claiming the titles. Without a great partner such as Sea Harvest, Surfing South Africa would not have been able to present a five star tournament such as this one. We are already looking forward to the 2019 SA Junior Surfing Championships.”
Seal Point, Cape St Francis – Breezy onshore conditions and a slight surge in swell greeted competitors on the final day of competition at the Billabong Junior Series Finale, and the first heat of the day – the U12 Girls Final was sent straight out. Gabi Herbst was the surfer of the morning with a few incredible rides in the mixed up conditions, including an 8.0 ride for the title. Sarah Scott was the runner up. Kai Hall was the champion in the U12 Boys final, banking one huge score for two critical turns on a big set wave for a score of 9.33 and an unassailable lead, closely followed by Joel Fowles who surfed impressively on his backhand. The U14 Girls division was a slow heat, with low scores and at the end of the heat it was Aimee Du Preez who emerged as the winner, with Olivia Winter in second place. Luke Thompson caught 11 waves in his Final heat to defeat James Ribbink in what was an exciting and fast U14 Boys heat. Thompson’s strategy of hard and fast surfing, catch anything that moves proved to be the winning formula, with Ribbink Daniel Emslie and Brad Scott filling up the minor slots. As the tide dropped out and the onshore waves continued to pour through relentlessly, the U16 Girls headed out for their final, and it was an action-packed exchange, with three of the girls on their backhand and one on her forehand. Zoe Steyn emerged victorious with a safe win against her counterparts, with Kayla Nogueira, Ceara Knight and Caroline Brown in second, third and fourth respectively. The U16 Boys was another final dogged by few sets and low scores, with Tide-Lee Ireland snagging the win from York Van Jaarsveldt with a combined score of less than 9 points. Mitch Du Preez and Reilly Mare’ finished off the results with third and fourth spots. The Pro Junior Women was a nail-biting affair as Zoe Steyn and Kai Woolf took center stage. Both surfers had been surfing phenomenally all event, and it was going to be about the surfer who caught the best waves. That was Steyn, and she won the final by a close margin from Woolf. Then Max Elkington and Luke Slijpen took to the water to battle it out for event honours in the Pro Junior Men’s division. It was all about Elkington who took the win and broke his year-long victory drought with his first place. “I haven’t had a win this year, and for a bit of last year, so I am really happy with the win today,” said a stoked Elkington. “I also won it last here two years ago, so just very happy with the win.” Final Results:
U12 Girls Gabi Herbst Sarah Scott Anastasia Venter Meka Loots U12 Boys Kai Hall Joel Fowles Ntokozo ‘Surprise’ Maphumalo Asha Steytler U14 Girls Aimee Du Preez Olivia Winter Adrian Wolmarans Kaylee Shaw Nell U14 Boys Luke Thompson James Ribbink Daniel Emslie Brad Scott U16 Girls Zoe Steyn Kayla Nogueira Ceara Knight Caroline Brown U16 Boys Tide Lee Ireland York Van Jaarsveldt Mitch Du Preez Reilly Mare Pro Junior Men Max Elkington Luke Slijpen Pro Junior Women Zoe Steyn Kai Woolf VonZipper Expression Session Luke Slijpen BOS Highest Heat Score Award Zoe Steyn Billabong Junior Series Results U12 Girls Gabi Herbst Anastasia venter U12 Boys Ntokozo Maphumalo Joel Fowles U14 Girls Aimee Du Prees Olivia Winter U14 Boys Luke Thompson Dan Emslie U16 Boys Mitch Du Preez York Van Jaarsveldt 2018 Billabong Junior Series Pro Junior Champions. Women: Zoe Steyn Kirsty McGillivray 2018 Billabong Junior Series Pro Junior Champions. Men: Luke Slijpen Max Elkington 2018 WSL Africa Pro Junior Champions. Men – Luke Slijpen. Women – Kai Woolf. 2018 WSL Africa Juniors to attend the WSL World Junior Championships – Taiwan. Men – Luke Slijpen, Max Elkington, Eli Beukes, Luke Thompson. Women – Kai Woolf, Zoe Steyn. Facebook: Billabong South Africa: www.facebook.com/Billabong Billabong Women’s South Africa: www.facebook.com/BillabongWomens @billabongwomens_za @billabongsa Hashtag: #BillabongJNR The Billabong Junior Series is supported by BOS, VonZipper, Surfing South Africa and the World Surf League. Comp report by Gregg Clarke. All photo's Dirk Tolken unless otherwise stated. So Cobbles is a super consistent longboard wave, the only conditions it won't handle is an onshore or any big ground swell….Pretty much exactly what we got, except it was a spectacular 15 ft on the outside, with the last day adding a stiff onshore to the mix, to complicate matters even more! None the less, when the country s best loggers pull in to the Bay for a classic weekend of jolling and surfing- you can expect the conditions to have very little affect on the surfing. Many surfers still scored in the excellent scoring range. Well over 40 contestants were from out of town, and we were really hoping that the Classic would be, well….classic, and as always, it was! The okes were super stoked with the weekend. We have said this many times before, it is also the only contest were someone will get knocked out of the event only to be sitting 5 minutes later on the beach with a big smile on their face watching the classic surfing that goes down. Surfing is always celebrated here, and not only the winners.! Guys were really so stoked to all hang out together and look at the different boards, appreciate the subtle differences in styles and learn more about the art of styling a classic longboard. This year the whole format was amended. The idea was to focus more on the surfing and less on the winning, so we introduced the session based format. Every surfer got to surf 3 heats/sessions with points being allocated for each position as well as an aggregate heat total which decided the top 16 mens and top 12 ladies who would then go into the standard elimination rounds. We also added the Old Mal division, which saw surfers having to ride legitimate 60’s boards. We saw some Whitmores, Seal Points, Max Wettelands, Bobby Jouberts and a Baron being ridden. I’m sure some of those boards have never been turned or nose ridden like those dudes rode those boards. It was insane to watch. Anyway lets get down to the surfing! The standard this year was incredible and it seems like every year the bar is being raised…another important reason we do the classic- to grow classic longboarding. To make the final cut from the 48 men and 20 ladies was a tough ask. Stand outs at this stage were Shaun Simpson, Craig Cuff and Mia Baard who were all top of their respective divisions. The mens final saw two familiar faces, Dean “Porp” Simpson and Ludi Du Toit, with two new faces to the finals, Matt Macleod and Sam Christonson. Porp had started off a bit slow in the event with no real sign of what was yet to come....But then Porp decided to show up, albeit a little late! The 30 min final was the Porp show, with some excellent scoring rides he was able to secure a comfortable win, with Sam from Durban finishing second. Matt pulled a third, with Ludi finishing fourth. The ladies final saw completely new faces from last years final, Crystal Hullet, Susannah Leigh, Michelle Von Kempen and Caitlyn Broukert. The tough conditions definitely opened up the playing field which suited Crystals approach to heats. She was able to dominate the final with the type of clever surfing which has seen her win so many events in both shortboarding and longboarding. In a close second place from Cape Town, was Susannah Leigh who was able to log with grace and style in really tricky conditions. Michelle secured third place, which was exceptional after the board drama she encountered, having to ride a borrowed board in the final. Caitlyn from the South Coast finished fourth. The Old Mal was won by Ludi Du Toit with Matt Macleod taking second place. Special awards:
The Best Noserider of the event: Dylan Swindale (from CT) Style Master: 12 year old Levi Mayes (from CT) Surfers Choice: Your truly, Gregg Clarke I quick thanks to the following sponsors: RYD Land and Sea Loggers Union Relik Surf Store St Francis Brewing Company O Neil Nixon Watches Timberblock Techni Construction Sharkbanz Surfsense The prizes this year were amazing with a combined value of about R 40 000! Again an event like this is simply not possible without the involvement from the sponsors, so ja, on behalf of the 70 odd surfers a big thank you all!!! Till next year, Gregg Clarke |
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July 2021
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