A south west swell peaking at a hefty 5.7m on Friday afternoon is expected to ease through Saturday at Cape St Francis – where they are all set to host the final stop of the Billabong Junior Series this weekend.
Accompanying the swell will be gale force offshore winds, rain, and all the other stuff you see for much of winter in the Eastern Cape. The strange thing is, it’s no longer winter, but the swell and cold won’t let up.
The country’s best Under 20 surfers won’t let up either, with Seal Point their final shot at grabbing the points needed to become Billabong Junior Series Champion.
Check out the official press release below.
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JUNIOR SURFERS DESCEND ON CAPE ST FRANCIS FOR BILLABONG JUNIOR SERIES PRESENTED BY BOS FINALE
Seal Point, Cape St Francis – the final event in the Billabong Junior Series 2013 is set to take place this weekend Saturday 21 – Monday 23 at Seal Point, Cape St Francis. The forecast by www.wavescape.co.za looks good at this point, with favourable winds and a clean, long-range swell predicted for the whole weekend.
The top junior surfers in the country will all be present and vying for their respective series titles as well as a number of specialty awards. The series has R750,000 in cash and prizes for the surfers, and is the premier junior surfing series in the country.
The U12 Boys division has been all about Max Elkington from Hout Bay, who has won all three of the events and holds a convincing lead at this stage. Angelo Faulkner from JBay and Saxton Randall from Durban have also posted good results in this division.
In the U14 Boys division, Adin Masencamp from Strand has been dominating, with Ethan Fletcher (Kom) and Jose Faulkner (JBay) posting good results along the way.
The U14 Girls sees a bit of a tussle between Kai Woolf from JBay who has a slight lead over second placed Sophie Bell from Durban. Olivia Izzard (La Lucia) in third is still within striking distance of the leaders and this promises to be an exciting finish.
Jordan Maree from Kalk Bay has a solid lead in the U16 Boys Division, leading from Tim Baard (JBay) in second and Durban surfer Ntando Msibi in third.
Chanelle Botha from Warner Beach is leading the charge in the U18 Girls division, with three contest victories under the belt already. Gina Smith and Tahra Uren, both From Jeffreys Bay, are tussling it out for second and third spot
The U18 Boys division is a two-horse race at this stage, with very little separating Max Armstrong (Scarborough) and Josh Smit from Durban.
Bluff surfer Heidi Palmboom has a convincing lead in the U20 Girls division, but Emma Smith (JBay) is hot on her heels and Chanelle Botha is lying third.
Mikey February is in front in the premier U20 Boys division, having posted good results in all three events thus far. Mikey Venter is currently in second and Jarred Veldhuis is lying third.
Apart from the series titles, there are also a number of specialty awards for the junior surfers:
BOS Surfer Of The Series award – This award will go to the surfer who has performed the most consistently across the whole series. It will be open for entries from all divisions and the winner will walk away with a 20K overall prize consisting of R10K cash, a custom made Bos surf board, special Bos merchandise and a year’s supply of BOS Ice Tea.
All Aboard Travel have put up a Sportsmanship Award of a return ticket to Bali with four nights accommodation valued at R20k for the surfer from any division who displays the best sportsmanship over the series.
The DaKine Youthful Movement Award – goes to the surfer who performs the most innovative or progressive move performed during the competition.
The VonZipper Flair Up Award – will go to the surfer who successfully lands the biggest or most sylish aerial move of the event.
The Nixon WTA (Winner Takes All) – prize of an engraved Nixon watch will go to the surfer with the highest heat score.
Nixon have also put up a limited edition 48-20 All Black / Multi LTD Watch, one of only 15 in the country, to the winner of the U20 Boys Division, as well as headphones for every competitor in the event.
The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, recognised by the Dept of Sport and Recreation as the national controlling body for surfing.