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The 59th edition of the South African Surfing Championships returns to Victoria Bay for the sixth time on Friday.
The competition runs from Friday to Sunday at the popular right hand point break between George and Wilderness.
East London local, Thomas Lindhost will be looking to defend his title in the men's division, while the women's division will be open to everyone seeing that Louise Lepront will not compete at this year's event.
According to a statement by Surfing South Africa, Lepront will be competing in the US Open Challenger Series event at Huntington Beach
Among the surfers vying for the title is Shaun Joubert, two time champion Sean Holmes, Tasha Mentasti and Danielle Powis.
"It's always very special to have SA Champs at Vic Bay. It is where my career started, growing up here," said Holmes.
"It's like a natural amphitheatre for a surf contest, with the waves being so close to the walkway. The surfers are literally 50 feet away from the spectators and it feels like a place where everyone gets so involved. The wave can be tricky sometimes, with a couple of bumps and steps, but it is so consistent, and it looks like there are going to be fun waves this weekend; I can't wait," Holmes added.
Defending champions for the women's division Louise Lepront, will not participate in the competition.
Among the prizes to be won at the competition is the Surfer of the Contest trophy which was donated by Barry Wolins in 1996, and the most consistent surfer at the event is awarded the Dave Fish Trophy.
At SA Champs, the winning District is determined by a combination of all the allocated points scored by team members.
Buffalo City was the winner last year and was awarded the coveted 45-year-old President's Cup.
Organisors said with so many top surfers competing and coveted prizes and trophies on offer, this weekend's SA Champs event will be an exciting watch.
