The annual SA Masters Championships took place from Wednesday May 20th – Sunday May 24th in tough but contestable conditions at Seal Point in Cape St Francis and involved over 140 surfers from eight districts based along the South African coast.
The event featured a number of the legends of the sport who still compete from the Over 35 to Over 65 divisions.
Before the contest got under way, the teams gathered at the Cape St Francis Resort for the traditional opening Function and met again at the River Club on the third day for a social gathering.
Despite driving rain, strong winds, onshore conditions, small surf, thunder and lightning and a visit by a Mako shark, competitors entered into the spirit of the occasion and gave it their all. Highlights of the contest were the posting of two perfect 10 point rides by Greg Emslie (Buffalo City) and Roxy Davis (Cape Town).
Over the five days of competition, Buffalo City surfers not only dominated the individual results but they also won the coveted SA Masters Cup for an unprecedented 15th time in the twenty year history of this event. The SA Masters Cup is awarded to the District whose surfers accumulate the most points at the end of the competition.
Buffalo City scored 40825 points, hosts Nelson Mandela Bay were runners up with 36580 points, Ugu took third place with 31120 points, Winelands came fourth with 29960 points and the 2025 SA Masters Championships hosts, Cape Town, were fifth with 29950 points, just ten behind their neighbours.
Eden scored 29740 and finished sixth with KZN districts, eThekweni and Ilembe ending 7th and 8th with 29383 points and 23459 points, respectively.
Of the eight divisions that were contested over the five days of competition, four individual titles were won by surfers from the Buffalo City team.
The East London surfers who took home gold were multiple SA Open Champion, SA Masters Champion, ISA World Masters Champion, World Surf Tour campaigner and Olympic Coach Greg Emslie (Over 45), multiple SA Masters Champions Tyrell Johnson (O40) and Gareth Sepp (O55) and Keegan Nel ( O35).
Other winners were the legendary Heather Clark (Ugu) who has won more national titles than any other surfer, female or male, in the history of South African surfing. She took the O35 crown, while 1980’s legend Michael Burness (Nelson Mandela Bay) won the O60 title, former ISA World Masters silver medallist Gary van Wieringen (Ugu) took gold in the O50 division and Stephen Hair (Eden) won the O65 final.
Greg Emslie was named Surfer of the Contest with Heather Clark and Tyrell Johnson winning the Blow Up Awards.
For all the results from Round One to the Finals, go to www.liveheats.com/surfingsouthafrica
The 2026 South African Masters Championships was sponsored by the Cape St Francis Resort, Spar – St Francis Village, Jack Black, Vissla, the River Club and streamed by Open Plan Pictures.
The event was hosted by the Nelson Mandela Surfriders and sanctioned and presented by surfing South Africa.