A bevy of blonde South African surfers have just washed up on the shores of the Azores… Sophie Bell (KZN), Crystal Hulett (St Francis), Kirsty McGillivray (J-Bay) and Kai Woolf (J-Bay), pictured above, have earned their spots in the SA team by shredding hard… and they couldn’t be more stoked! The team arrived early yesterday morning and have been all over the line up with the 300 other junior surfers who have already registered.

“Being here has been a totally different experience,” said team member Crystal Hulett (18). “Our whole team is getting along really well and the guys have been giving us waves which is cool! Yesterday the waves were huge and powerful and the water was really warm. Today is smaller with more people!”

As a final preparation for the ISA World Junior Championships, South Africa will compete in a Tag Team contest against New Zealand and Great Britain on Friday morning. The other SA team members are: Jordy Maree (CT), Adin Masencamp (CT), Joshe Faulkner (JBay), Bevan Willis (KZN), Max Elkington (CT), Angelo Faulkner (JBay), Sebastian Williams (JBay) and Koby Oberholzer (KZN).

The World Championships first rounds will start on Sunday morning with the event being streamed live on www.isasurf.org and on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za.