Everyone's a Winner

SURF OF THE CONTEST: Louise Lepront was unassailable throughout the event. Photo Ruthnum

With life stretching ahead of you at the tender age of any number below 18, you've got nothing to lose. The youngsters enjoyed five straight days of kiff waves at the tail end of the best righthand point in the world. What's there not to love when you have it all to yourself? And the gees showed, with eThekweni winner of the Loud and Proud Award, while the Male and Female Surfer Of The Contest went to Nate Colby and Louise Lepront.

A magical time of the year in the Eastern CapeIt's a magical time of the year in the Eastern Cape, with many sunny days and clean rollers moving in before the beastly easterlies do. After a quick semi-finals round, it was straight into the finals, kicking off with the U12 Girls division. Leah Lepront, who has been dominant the whole year, finished her season with another win and the U12 Girls Title for 2022. Camilla Heuer finished in 2nd spot, with Jasmine Venter in 3rd and Mikayla Jeffries in 4th.

The U12 Boys is always a fierce tussle, and today's final was no different. Ben Esterhyse's first scoring ride was a solid 7.77, but Carl Wiersma also pushed hard and banked a 7.5. In reply, Ben hooked an absolute bomb and went vertical on his backhand for an excellent score of 9.33 and the win. Callum Loftus was 3rd, and Damien Roeloffze came 4th.

DASHING DACE: Made it abundantly clear to all watching that he was in it to win it. Photo Ruthnum

"The waves were so good, and I saw this set wave coming. Carl went on the first one, and I got the second one," said Esterhyse. "I did a couple of turns, found this nice rhythm along the inside section, and did enough to get that 9.33. I was pleased with the result."

In the U14 Girls, all eyes were on Louise Lepront, who wowed the crowd yesterday with her 10-point ride. She didn't disappoint and put a 9.5 on the scoreboard, followed by a 6.77 for the U14 Girls title. Remi Fourie, who surfed excellently all week, was in 2nd, with Emily Jenkinson in 3rd and Sophia Jackson in 4th

No one knew which way the U14 Boys final would go, with four talented and determined young surfers all determined to get their SA Champs title. But there can be only one, and Rory Dace made it absolutely clear from the outset that he was in it to win it. A heat total of 14.17 saw the Cape St Francis surfer win his title, with Loghan Tilsley, Josh Malherbe and Asbjorn Gwenin in the minor spots.

FOWLES PLAY: Joel Fowles smashed his last wave to the bricks for the win. Photo Ruthnum

Gemma Hanafey from Buffalo City was in the lead for most of the U16 Girls final, but as the time ticked away, the last set came through. With Gemma sitting out of priority, Maya Potgieter caught the first good one. After that, she jumped straight into first place, with Anastasia Venter doing the same and leapfrogging into 2nd spot, leaving Hanafey in 3rd. Gia Gilmer was a disappointed 4th, not finding any of the set waves during the final

It was a perfect opportunity for the three goofy footers to work against the one natural footer in the boys' U16 Final. But Nate Colby was quick out of the gates and showed everyone why he is one of the country's top U16 surfers. Then the three goofy footers got waves, and high scores fell everywhere. Surprise Maphumulo and Joel Fowles were battling it while David Emslie was looking for the bombs. Colby just kept finding the perfect inside runners

Surprise and Joel picked up set waves as the heat drew to a close. Surprise smashed it to the bricks, while Joel did the same with power and precision. The exchange went to Fowles, and he ended up the Boys U16 SA Champion 2022, with Surprise Maphumulo in 2nd. Nate came 3rd and David 4th.

UNDER SIXTEENS: The podium finishers for the Girls U16 were pretty stoked. Photo Ruthnum

"It is by far the highlight of my career," said Fowles on the beach afterwards. "I have always wanted to be SA Champion, and now I have a title, so I am stoked."

After a week of excellent surfing, Adriel Wolmarans finished her week with the U18 Girls Division win. She took the title from Aimee Du Preez, who was in 2nd. Demi Row, who had also been impressing all week, finished 3rd, and Maya Figl was 4th

As the event drew to a close and the U18 Boys final paddled out, there was a minimal indication of who would be the new U18 Boys SA Champion. All four surfers had impressed the whole event, with Joshua Myburgh showing form in the earlier rounds. However, nothing much gets past Dan Emslie at the moment. He found his bombs at the end of the heat. He scored an 8.33 and an excellent 9.5 for a heat total of 17.83, the win and the title U18 Boys SA Champion 2022. Myburgh was second, James Ribbink in 3rd, and Connor Slijpen was 4th.

ALL THE WINNERS: One way up for the groms. Now to attract more interest. Photo Ruthnum

U12 Girls
1 Leah Lepront (UGU)
4 Mikayla Jeffris (ESA)
3 Jasmine Venter (CW)
2 Camilla Heuer (BC)

U12 Boys
1 Ben Esterhyse (CTS)
2 Carl Wiersma (NMB)
3 Callum Loftus (NMB)
4 Damien Roeloffze (CW)

U14 Girls
1. Louise Lepront (UGU)
2. Remi Fourie (CW)
3. Emily Jenkinson (CTS)
4. Sophia Jackson (Eden)

U14 Boys
4 Asbjorn Gwenin (CTS)
1 Rory Dace (NMB)
2 Loghan Tilsley (CW)
3 Josh Malherbe (BC)

U16 Girls
4 Gia Gilmer (ESA)
2 Anastasia venter (CW)
3 Gemma Hanafey (BC)
1 Maya Potgieter (ILM)

U16 Boys
1 Joel Fowles
3 Nate Colby
4 David Emslie
2 Surprise Maphumulo

U18 Girls
1 Adriel Wolmarans
2 Aimee Du Preez
3 Demi Rowe
4 Maya Figl

U18 Boys
1 Daniel Emslie
2 Joshua Myburgh
3 James Ribbink
4 Connor Slijpen

Male Surfer Of The Contest
Nate Colby

Female Surfer Of The Contest
Leah Lepront

Loud and Proud Award:
eThekweni Surfriders

Freedom Cup: (Team Title)
1. Buffalo City - 44068 points.
2. Cape Town Surfriders - 40890
3. Ethekweni - 38976
4. Winelands - 37888
5. iLembe - 34570
6. Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders - 34349
7. Eden - 27455
8. UGU - 24277

South African Surf Tour Ratings 2022
U12 Girls
1. Leah Lepront
2. Jasmin Venter
3. Maya Malherbe
4. Camilla Heuer

U12 Boys
1. Ben Esterhyse
2. Morcello Zedde
3. Carl Wiesma
4. Callum Loftus

U14 Girls
1. Louis Lepront
2. Emily Jenkinson
3. Taylor Emslie
4. Sophia Jackson

U14 Boys
1. Cooper Smith
2. Rory Dace
3. Josh Malherbe
4. Matt Canning

U16 Girls
1. Anastasia Venter
2. Sarah Scott
3. Zia Hendricks
4. Gemma hanafey

U16 Boys
1. Luc Lepront
2. Nate Colby
3. Joel Fowles
4. Levi Epenetos

U18 Girls
1. Louise Lepront
2. Anastasia Venter
3. Adriel Wolmarans
4. Sara Scott

U18 Boys
1. Connor Slijpen
2. Christian Venter
3. Joel Fowles
4. Luke Thompson