Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) and the Kommetjie pair of Tarryn Chudleigh and Holly Armstrong clinched the prestigious series titles in the respective Open, Pro Junior and U15 divisions of the Billabong ‘Girls Get Out There’ Summer Surf Series, after another day of great surfing at the final event in Scottburgh on Sunday.
Warm sunshine, light winds and excellent one to 1.3 metre waves produced the ideal platform for the country’s top female surfers to strut their stuff while their counterparts on the beach reveled in the festival activities.
Clark secured the Open title by the narrowest of margins when she placed third in the final behind WQS campaigner Tammy-Lee Smith (Chaka’s Rock), whose explosive forehand attack and powerful carves off the top and bottom of the waves earned her the R8,000 winner’s cheque, and 1 300 ratings points in the 4A rated event.
Stacey Guy (Melkbosstrand) took second in the final to finish the series rated third, while Chudleigh failed to reach the final for the first time, placing fifth overall and securing just enough points to grab the runner-up spot in the series ratings.
Chudleigh also held on to top the ratings in the Pro Junior division, despite slipping to fourth place in that final. Heidi Palmboom from the Bluff was on fire in Sunday’s final, clinching her first U20 title and vaulting into second place in the ratings ahead of Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand).
Sarah Baum, 14, from Athlone Park just South of Durban was the star performer on the final day, performing aerial manoeuvres at will to take second place in the Pro Juniors, fourth in the Open division and also grabbing the Von Zipper Expression Session title.
Bianca Buitendag (George) and Alice McGregor (East London), who had earlier upset the formbook by eliminating Rautenbach and Kommetjie’s Lisa Mace in their semifinal, took second and third respectively in the Pro Junior final.
Armstrong, the U15 ratings leader going into the final event, duly wrapped up the series title by winning the event although she was pushed all the way in the final by runner-up Cara McDonald (East London), who also overtook Tanika Hoffman (Kommetjie) for second place in the season-ending ratings.
It was tiny Chanelle Botha, 11, from Warner Beach who caused the upset of the division by tying first with Armstrong in their semifinal to eliminate established campaigners Heather Klug and Sabrina Scott, before going on to finish third ahead Hoffman in the final and earning the Kustomised Kreative award for the best performance by a local girl.
The Novices division was won by Inge McLaren (East London) who participated in all three of the free ‘Learn to Surf’ sessions over the weekend, and then defeated local girls Jordyn Vanhoutte, Demi Mason (both Warner Beach) and Janelle Rademeyer (Scottburgh) who finished in that order in the final.
Meanwhile those on the packed beach filled the ‘Learn to Surf’ and Soft Lips Yoga sessions, participated in the beach games and promotions for Seventeen Magazine, FNB and Tropitone and produced several excellent Marine Themed canvases with the winners taking home underwear for a year courtesy of Girl Inc.
The R110 000 Billabong ‘Girls Get Out There’ Summer Series started in Margate and then moved to Jeffreys Bay during December before visiting Cape Town earlier this month and concluding in Scottburgh.
R1,800
R1,200
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