Emily Jenkinson of Cape Town Surfriders snatched the South African U18 girls’ title with a wave in the closing seconds of her final, as Ilembe produced three of the four girls’ champions at the 30th Sea Harvest SA Junior Surfing Championships, completed in 2- to 3-foot surf at Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
Jenkinson, the 2025 U16 girls’ champion, took the lead with her final wave to secure the 2026 national title. She set the standard early in the tournament, posting 15.43 out of a possible 20 in her U18 girls’ Round 3 heat, the highest heat score of the opening three days.
Ilembe dominated the younger divisions. Lila Aszalos won the U16 girls’ title, while Ella van de Made, the 2025 U12 girls’ champion, added the U14 trophy to her cabinet. Lexi Lockhart completed the haul for Ilembe as U12 girls’ champion.
Brin Jarvis of Nelson Mandela Bay, runner-up in the U14 girls’ division, earned the award for the Highest Wave Score in the girls’ divisions, impressing the judges with her backhand surfing at Lower Point throughout the contest.
Other standout performances in the early rounds came from Skyla Nadauld of Ugu, who scored 12.50 in her U14 girls’ Round 2 heat, and Emma Schermbrucker of Cape Town Surfriders, who posted 11 points in her U16 girls’ Round 1 heat.
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In the team competition, Cape Town Surfriders reclaimed the Freedom Cup, awarded to the team accumulating the highest points across all divisions, from 2024 and 2025 champions Buffalo City. Cape Town Surfriders finished on 46478 points, ahead of Buffalo City on 41894 and Nelson Mandela Bay on 39917. Ilembe placed fourth on 34412, Cape Winelands fifth on 29299, Ugu sixth on 29281, Eden seventh on 28621 and eThekweni eighth on 28453. Cape Town Surfriders last won the title in 2023.
Buffalo City Surfriders received the Loud and Proud Spirit Trophy, awarded to the team that displays the most spirit and teamwork during the five days of competition.
The championships ran from Tuesday, 29 September to Saturday, 3 October 2026, with more than 170 surfers from eight districts contesting 120 heats in conditions that ranged from warm weather and strong onshore winds to rain and offshore winds on a contestable final day. First held in Durban in 1996, the event is the biggest junior surfing championship in South Africa and Africa.
The 30th edition also marked ten years of partnership between Surfing South Africa and Sea Harvest, the longest-running sponsor of South African junior surfing. The partnership has helped grow transformation and development programmes and expanded opportunities for young surfers from communities where the cost of equipment and travel can make progress in the sport difficult.
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The championships were supported by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and Reef South Africa. Full results from Round 1 to the finals are available on LiveHeats at www.liveheats.com/surfingsouthafrica.
Original Copy: Robin de Kock for Surfing South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Emily Jenkinson of Cape Town Surfriders claimed the U18 girls’ national title with a wave in the closing seconds of her final, while Ilembe’s Lila Aszalos, Ella van de Made and Lexi Lockhart won the U16, U14 and U12 girls’ crowns at the 30th Sea Harvest SA Junior Surfing Championships, completed at Lower Point in Jeffreys Bay on Saturday, 3 October 2026. Photo: Nick Harris
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