Day 3 of ISA Surfing Games

​Maree and Lightfoot Keep Hopes Alive :: SA Women Drop into Repecharge rounds

South Africa’s Jordy Maree was the standout performer on Day 3 of the of the INS ISA World Surfing Games at Jaco Beach in Costa Rica, posting the highest single ride score and the fifth highest heat total of the event date yesterday.

Competing in overcast conditions and solid 1- 1.5 metre waves, the Kalk Bay teenager and reigning South African U17 champion was awarded a near perfect 9.63 out of 10 for a ride in which he seamlessly executed a series of vertical backhand lip bashes with power and flow.

Combined with his backup ride of 7.0, Maree’s 16.63 heat total left his opponents trailing in his spray as he advanced to Men’s Repecharge Round 2 along with heat runner-up Joaquin del Castillo (PER).

Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) was similarly dominant in his Repercharge heat, winning with a total of 15.10, the 15th highest of the event, to claim a berth in the next round and keep his hopes of reaching the Men’s final via the torturous Repecharge route alive.

The celebration of Women’s Day in South Africa was not kind to the team’s girls as they struggled in the early morning lumpy high tide conditions and both dropped into the Repercharge rounds after finishing fourth in their respective Women’s Main Event Round 2 heats.

Faye Zoetmulder (Cape St Francis) could only muster a heat total of 7.0 as Latin Americans Emily Gussoni from hosts Costa Rica and Melanie Giunta (PER) tied for first with 11.33 points. USA’s Maddie Peterson joined SA’s team captain in the Repercharge rounds when she finished third with 9.67.

In the next heat, Tanika Hoffman (Hout Bay) came up against an on-fire Anali Gomes (PER) who racked up a tally of 16.27 to win the encounter, with reigning ISA Women’s champ Tia Blanco (USA) grabbing second spot and the experienced Nao Omura (JAP) in third.

For the second consecutive day France’s Pauline Ado recorded the highest heat total of both the men’s and women’s action. Yesterday’s total of 17.93, which included an outstanding 9.50, eclipsed the former WCT’s campaigner’s 17.77 on Monday and Ado now holds two of the top three heat tallies in the event.

The completion of the first round of Repecharge rounds resulted in 24 men and 10 women being eliminated from the event after failing to place in the top two positions for a second time. South Africa, along with nine other nations, still has all six team members in contention with their respective finishing positions in the event counting towards the team’s total.

Surfline, the official event forecaster, is predicting that a new South West swell will start to build on Wednesday, August 9, and fully materialize on Thursday, August 10. This South West swell will hold solid, providing 1 – 1.5 metre waves for the remainder of the contest period, which ends with the finals on Sunday.

All six South Africans will be in action today at Jaco Beach. Shane Sykes (Salt Rock) and Matt McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) are first up in Men’s Main Event Round 3 followed by Zoetmulder and Hoffman in Women’s Repecharge Round 2 and then Maree and Lightfoot in Men’s Repecharge Round 2.

Schedule: Day 4 – Thursday 10 August

(South African time & SA team member’s heat number)
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm: 6 heats Men’s Main Event Round 3 (Sykes H2; McGillivray H6)
5.30 pm – 7.30 pm: 6 heats Women’s Repecharge Round 2 (Zoetmulder H1; Hoffman H4)
7.30 pm – 11.30 pm: 12 heats Men’s Repecharge Round 2 (Maree H4; Lightfoot H9)


All the action from the INS ISA World Surfing Games, including news, results, video footage, images and LIVE webcasts, can be found athttp://isaworlds.com/wsg/2016/en/ with results and news on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

Article via Surfing South Africa