Cape Town Surfriders district clinched the coveted Freedom Cup for the team accumulating the highest points at the 2015 Billabong SA Junior Champs which was completed in good one-metre waves at the Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay on Sunday.
The Cape Town team also clinched two of the six individual titles at stake and provided eight of the 24 finalists, earning 32 576 points to finish well ahead of hosts Nelson Mandela Bay (27 956) and third placed defending cup-holders eThekweni (25 170). Cape Winelands repeated their fourth place in the team standings of last year, followed by Buffalo City, Eden, Ugu, the SA Development Academy and uThungulu.
‘All around the event has been really well organised with the directors making good decisions to add heats and starting early to get more done on some days,” said Cape Town coach Chris Bond. ‘The waves have been absolutely firing the entire time with kids getting the best waves of their lives in heats. And the surfers have really been pushing their limits with many excellent scores and a couple of 10 point rides.”
Jody Maree (Cape Town) triumphed in the premier U17 boys’ final where all four finalists came from the South Peninsula area. Maree posted a winning heat total of 16.17 out of 20 with runner-up Ford van Jaarsveldt representing Cape Winelands earning 12.80 to finish just ahead of Cape Town’s Jake Elkington and Ethan Fletcher.
‘I’ve been training really hard and it is great to finally win after so many second places – it was awesome,’ said Maree. ‘It was hard out there, the conditions changed quite a lot from when I was watching. I managed to get two good waves but it was hard to hear the PA so I didn’t know what position I was in or who I must sit on.’
Chrystal Hulett (Nelson Mandela Bay) finished well clear of second placed Pippa Jones (Cape Town) in the premier U17 girls’ division, earning 15.87 points to the 10.40 for the runner-up. Taghiti Gericke captured Eden’s only podium finish with third place while Kia Fenton from Nelson Mandela Bay was fourth.
The U15 boys’ title went to a plucky Max Elkington (Cape Town) who recovered from a serious arm injury earlier in the year to secure a nail-biting 15.67 vs. 15.50 victory over local favourite Sebastian Williams (Nelson Mandela Bay). Luke Slijpen (Cape Town) and Angelo Faulkner (Nelson Mandela Bay) finished third and fourth respectively.
Jeffreys Bay local Kirsty McGillivray, who earned one of the two perfect 10 point rides earlier in the event, carried that form into the U15 girls’ final where she racked up a heat tally of 12.84. Defending division champion Sophie Bell took second place ahead of eThekweni teammates Olivia Izzard and Christy Gilmore.
Surfers from eThekweni dominated the U13 results with Brayden Bergset putting 15.50 points on the scoreboard to take the title from the Cape Town pair of York van Jaarsveld (13.83) and Manoa Robb while Dillon Hendricks (Nelson Mandela Bay) grabbed fourth spot.
The 2015 U13 girls’ SA Champ is Gabi Lailvaux (eThekweni) whose heat tally of 16.0 gave her a dominant win over Cape Town’s Summer Sutton (10.94), teammate Kayla Nogueira and Lisa van Heerden (Cape Winelands), who finished in that order.
The specialty awards for individuals and teams saw Cape Town win the Billabong / Bad Billy’s Tag Team Paddle Battle and R5 000 for the association. Hosts Nelson Mandela Bay earned the Skull Candy ‘Stay Loud Team Spirit Award’ and R2 500 for their association.
Adin Masencamp (Cape Winelands) is the proud owner of custom BOS surfboards signed by big wave legend Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker for posting the BOS Highest Heat Score, Joshe Faulkner (Nelson Mandela Bay) took home the DaKine product hamper worth R5 000 for the DaKine Most Progressive Manoeuvre, Dillon Hendricks (Nelson Mandela Bay) pocketed R2 000 plus a year’s subscription to Zigzag Magazine in the Zigzag Blowing Up Award and Bevan Willis delivered the best aerial manoeuvre in the VonZipper Airshow and earned R2 000 and a BOS hamper.
The 2015 Billabong SA Junior Champs will be remembered by all who attended for the five days of flawless waves at the Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay and the stellar performances by the country’s top young surfers.
Picture of the victorious Cape Town Surfriders courtesy of Ian Thurtell
2015 Billabong SA Junior Champs
Results
Freedom Cup (Provincial team points)
1. Cape Town – 32 576 points
2. Nelson Mandela Bay – 27 956 pts
3. eThekweni – 25 170 pts
4. Cape Winelands – 21 526 pts
5. Buffalo City – 18 735 pts
6. Eden – 17 620 pts
7. Ugu – 16 314 pts
8. SA Development Academy – 12 955 pts
9. uThungulu – 6 920 pts
Boys U17
1. Jordy Maree (Cape Town)
2. Ford van Jaarsveld (Cape Winelands)
3. Jake Elkington (Cape Town)
4. Ethan Fletcher (Cape Town)
Girls U17
1. Chrystal Hulett (Nelson Mandela Bay)
2. Pippa Jones (Cape Town)
3. Taghiti Gericke (Eden)
4. Kia Fenton (Nelson Mandela Bay)
Boys U15
1. Max Elkington (Cape Town)
2. Sebastian Williams (Nelson Mandela Bay)
3. Luke Slijpen (Cape Town)
4. Angelo Faulkner (Nelson Mandela Bay)
Girls U15
1. Kirsty McGillivray (Nelson Mandela Bay)
2. Sophie Bell (eThekweni)
3. Olivia Izzard (eThekweni)
4. Christy Gilmore (eThekweni)
Boys U13
1. Brayden Bergset (eThekweni)
2. York van Jaarsveldt (Cape Town)
3. Manoa Robb (Cape Town)
4. Dillon Hendriks (Nelson Mandela Bay)
Girls U13
1. Gabi Lailvaux (eThekweni)
2. Summer Sutton (Cape Town)
3. Kayla Nogueira (eThekweni)
4. Lisa van Heerden (Cape Winelands)
Specialty Awards
Billabong / Bad Billy’s Tag Team Paddle Battle – R5 000 to District Association
Cape Town Surfriders
BOS Highest Heat Score – Custom BOS surfboards signed by Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker
Adin Masencamp (Cape Winelands)
VonZipper Airshow – R2 000 plus BOS Hamper
Bevan Willis (eThekweni)
DaKine Most Progressive Manoeuvre – DaKine product hamper worth R5 000
Joshe Faulkner (Nelson Mandela Bay)
Skull Candy Stay Loud Team Spirit Award – R2 500 to District Association
Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders
Zigzag Blowing Up Award – R2 000 plus Zigzag Magazine subscription
Dillon Hendricks (Nelson Mandela Bay)
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