Local surfers are flying the South African flag high in Nelson Mandela Bay at the end of day two of the World Surfing League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) rated Volkswagen Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro, presented by Billabong.
Australian Kai Woolf is the lone international survivor in the open women’s division.
In a statement on Sunday, organisors said that Jordan Maree delivered an epic performance to oust an on fire young Dylan Hendricks from JBay in their quarterfinal heat today and will be facing David van Zyl in the first semi-final on Monday.
“This was first-time man-on-man heat under such high-pressure conditions for Hendricks, who is still a junior. However, this is not the end of the road for Hendricks as he is still in the junior competition where he will be surfing in the semi-final on Monday”.
There was little to choose between David van Zyl and Dylan Lightfoot who had a very close quarterfinal heat with Van Zyl edging out Lightfoot by a touch-and-go 1.30 points.
Van Zyl will face Jordan Maree in semi-final one and Aiden Masencamp will go up against Richard Kidd.
“Not to be outdone by the men, the open women’s semi-finals will be contested by Nicole Pallet, Kayla Nogueira, Teal Hogg and Sophie Bell on the one hand and Kai Woolf, Emma Smith, Zoe Steyn and Danielle Johnson in the second semi-final,” the statement said.
Sophie Bell and Emma Smith both dug deep in the dying seconds of their heats to come from behind and produce scores that saw them progress to the open women’s semi-finals.
Smith produced the goods with only 30 seconds to spare while Bell locked in her come-from-behind score on the buzzer. This puts both of them in contention for the Mitchum On The Move cash prize of R2000.
Monday’s proceedings kicks off at 8 am at Pipe with the men’s longboard finals and the day will draw to a close with the open women’s final followed by the open men’s final.
The Nelson Mandela Bay event is the first of six competitions in the City Surf Series that affords South Africans the opportunity to earn international points on home soil.
2018 City Surf Series Event Schedule:
· VW Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Surf pres. by Billabong – 30 Mar – 2 April
· Royal St Andrews Port Alfred Classic pres. by Quiksilver (Inaugural event) – 6-8 April
· Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro pres. by Reef Wetsuits– 13-15 April
· ZigZag Durban Surf Pro pres. By G-Force – 18-20 May
· Jordy Smith Cape Town Surf Pro pres. By O’Neil – 14-17 June
· VW SA Open of Surfing pres. By Hurley – 19-24 June
(Statement: Supplied)
