O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers Kicks Off In Ballito

Willard Beach, Ballito – An icy winter morning greeted competitors on the opening day of the O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers event as excited junior surfers headed down to register.

This popular contest starts two weeks of competition surfing in Ballito, around the Ballito Pro Festival.

The waves were small and highly contestable, and the event had a full entry list, so it was early into the water for Heat 1.

Small but highly contestable for Day One of the O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers

© Kody McGregor/Ballito Pro.

The first heat win in the first heat of the day, the U12 Boys Quarterfinal Heat 1, went to local surfer Tyler Balfour, who took out Slayde Shooter (St Francis Bay) and James Gunning (Ballito).

Jumping forward to U16 Boys Round One Heat Three, Matt Canning (Durban) put on an explosive performance to outpoint his competitors and took a comfortable win, advancing to the following round. Canning went on to do the double, winning his U18 Boys Round One Heat as well, with another inspired performance in the small conditions.

The low tide around midday made the conditions punchy, allowing the surfers to go for aerial moves and other high-scoring manoeuvres. With the sudden-death format, junior surfing is always exciting and sometimes brutal. Ntokozo Maphumulo (Dbn) clutched a second place behind Clayton Turrel (South Coast) in their U18 Round One heat with a tight surfing and a huge forehand air reverse, edging Ben Esterhuyse (CPT) into third and out of the event along with Rylan Jarvis (CSF).

Surprise advanced with Turrell © Kody McGregor/Ballito Pro.

In the U18 Girls quarterfinals, Louise Lepront (Scottburgh) continued her winning ways, along with Lily Heny (PA), Sarah Scott (CPT), and Anastasia Venter (CPT), who all won their respective heats.

The U16 Girls Semi One saw Emily Jenkinson (CPT) advance to the finals along with Louise Lepront, while the Semi Two saw Taylor Emslie (EL) and Nina Bone (Strand) advance to join them in tomorrow’s final.

Levi Vosloo and Tyler Balfour advanced in the U12 boys’ semi-finals. They will meet Marcello Zedde (Ballito) and Lazaro De Bruyn (Garden Route) in the Finals tomorrow.

With a slight bump in the swell forecast for tomorrow, event organisers are looking forward to an exciting finals day.

The O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers will commence tomorrow (Wednesday, 26 June) at 7 am.

Outside of the surfing arena, there is still plenty of action happening with a full festival programme at the Ballito Pro Festival activities, events, and entertainment. More here – https://theballitopro.com/

The heats and schedule of the O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers can be viewed on Liveheats.

Wave scores and heat results will be published on www.liveheats.com/surfing as they are posted by the judges on both days of the competition. These can be accessed on any mobile device, laptop, tablet or PC

Surfing South Africa is the recognised governing body for Surfriding in South Africa. It is responsible for the activities of all its disciplines, such as surfing, longboarding, bodyboarding, kneeboarding, para surfing and SUP surfing. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). More on Surfing South Africa here – SSA