It was an epic day at Lower Point for the start of the RVCA Junior Challenge, with hardly a breath of wind and lined-up three footers rolling consistently down the long, rocky shelf.
Lower Point was firing for the lighties.
And it’s expected to get even better, which is why the call was made for the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA to be run on Sunday too, just around the corner at Supertubes. So while the country’s best groms fight it out for the title, SA’s top competitors will be giving their all for a chance to surf in the J-Bay Open next month. It’s going to be a heck of a Sunday.
In the meantime, check out the press release from Day 1’s action below. And stay tuned for updates as Jeffreys Bay enjoys a splendid weekend.
Click the links below for Day 1 results:
U10 Boys | U12 Boys | U14 Boys | U16 Boys | U16 Girls | U20 Boys | U20 Girls
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EXCELLENT SURF CONDITIONS FOR DAY 1 OF THE RVCA JUNIOR CHALLENGE
Lower Point, Jeffreys Bay – Perfect, lined-up three-foot waves greeted all the best junior surfers in the country, assembled at Lower Point for Day One of the RVCA Junior Challenge. While the wind forgot to blow, the best junior surfers in the country had a field day in the reeling Lower Point waves.
The excitement kicked in with the U16 Boys round of 24, heat one. Sebastian Williams from Jeffreys Bay opened up with a cracker wave that ran all the way through to the inside, allowing him to string together a series of moves all the way through to the shallows and finish off with a forehand reverse for a score of 9 points, the highest single wave score of the day. Williams was the eventual winner of this close heat. Local surfer Ryan Lightfoot was also on his game, and showed his local knowledge for a strong second place finish, stringing some long rides together, with Tristan Lev and Timothy Shelver coming third and fourth.
“When I took off I could see that it was walling up nicely, so I knew it could be a good score,” said Sebastian of his 9-pointer. “I wanted to go for a bigger air but thought, ‘ah, it’s only my second wave, so I played it a little safe.’”
Sebastian is number 6 in the current Surfer Magazine Hot 100 Grom Ratings.
Sebastian Williams was a stand-out on Day 1.
Other standouts from the round included York Van Jaarsveldt (Kommetjie), Luke Slijpen (Hout Bay) and Riel Viviers from Mossel Bay.
In the Boys U12 quarter-finals, top performers were Alex Townsend (Kommetjie), Kye McGregor (Port Alfred), Nathan Spalding (Durban) and Christian Venter (Melkbosstrand).
Surfers who impressed in the U20 Girls division included Kai Fenton (PE), Sophie Bell (Umdloti), Kai Woolf (JBay), Olivia Izzard (La Lucia), and Robyn Van Der Merwe from Port Elizabeth.
“It was an awesome day of surfing today for the juniors,” said RVCA South Africa Marketing Manager Melissa Williams. “The waves were pouring through the whole day, getting better and better with the incoming tide, and the kids were ripping.”
Great surf for day one of the RVCA Junior Challenge
The RVCA Junior Challenge is also going to feature the Paddle Battle in association with Red Bull. This paddle battle is open to surfers 16 years and older, and there will be a Rayne Camera, Stance socks and other sponsor products in the prize package.
The forecast for the rest of the event looks promising, with an improving swell predicted for the next two days of competition.
RVCA Junior Challenge co-sponsors include Stance, Firewire, Future Fins, Posca, Havaianas, Nixon, Rayne Cameras, Zigzag Magazine, and Red Bull.
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The RVCA Junior Challenge is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), and recognised by the Dept. of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing.
Event Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RVCA.South.Africa
Twitter: @RVCA_SA
Event hashtag: #RVCAChallenge