Indonesian Rio Waida won the men's JQS of the 21st edition of the Billabong Junior Series Ballito Ballito pres. by BOS on Sunday 24 June, overcoming local favorite and event top seed, Luke Slijpen in the final of the event that kicked off the 10-day Ballito Pro Surf Festival.
Waida made the most of the shifty, onshore conditions at Willard Beach, flowing effortlessly from section to section and surfing with visibly more speed than most of his competitors. He posted an early 6.00 to take the lead in the Final and put the pressure on Slijpen.
Rio Waida showed impressive speed and flow on his way to victory in the Billabong Junior Series Ballito pres. by BOS - WSL / Kelly Cestari
Slijpen - who claimed the JQS title at the Volkswagen SA Open of Surfing pres by Hurley earlier in the week - is never one to back down however and kept busy, hunting for scores. He was unable to post anything more than an average score (4.0 - 5.9) and with 10 minutes remaining, Waida put the final nail in the coffin by dropping an excellent 9.25, the highest single wave score of the entire event, to leave Slijpen needing a perfect 10 to take the lead. That is how the situation stayed until the buzzer went.
The Capetonian will be happy with his result however, content in the fact that he surfed very well throughout the event and, more importantly, showed great composure under pressure. An example of which was how he came from behind to beat Mateus Herdy in the Semifinal.
Luke Slijpen finished runner-up in the Billabong Junior Series Ballito - WSL / Kelly Cestari
The Brazilian prodigy had been on a tear all weekend and looked like a contender for the title. He took to the air in his match-up with Slijpen and held the lead for most of the heat, until Slijpen manufactured the score he needed with less than two minutes to go.
Zoë Steyn took the JQS women's title in emphatic fashion, beating Kirsty McGillivray in the closely-contested Final. The difficult onshore conditions saw the two stay busy, each catching a variety of low scorning waves. Steyn eventually found some rhythm toward the end and managed to get her final scoring waves (a 4.75 and a 5.60) back-to-back.
Steyn was impressive throughout the event, scoring a 9.00 in her Semifinal against Kayla Nogueira. The win consolidated her No. 2 ranking behind runaway leader Kai Woolf who did not enter the Ballito event, moving Steyn ahead of her closest rival, Sophie Bell who was eliminated by McGillivray in the semi-finals.
Zoe Steyn went unbeaten throughout the Billabong Junior Series Ballito - WSL / Kelly Cestari
The points earned by each competitor are not only valuable towards the annual respective WSL Africa crowns, but also towards the selection of the squad of four men and two women who represent the WSL Africa region at the WSL World Junior Championships in Australia next January.
Waida and Steyn Claim titles at Billabong Junior Series Ballito
Jazz Kushka
Indonesian Rio Waida won the men's JQS of the 21st edition of the Billabong Junior Series Ballito Ballito pres. by BOS on Sunday 24 June, overcoming local favorite and event top seed, Luke Slijpen in the final of the event that kicked off the 10-day Ballito Pro Surf Festival.
Waida made the most of the shifty, onshore conditions at Willard Beach, flowing effortlessly from section to section and surfing with visibly more speed than most of his competitors. He posted an early 6.00 to take the lead in the Final and put the pressure on Slijpen.
Slijpen - who claimed the JQS title at the Volkswagen SA Open of Surfing pres by Hurley earlier in the week - is never one to back down however and kept busy, hunting for scores. He was unable to post anything more than an average score (4.0 - 5.9) and with 10 minutes remaining, Waida put the final nail in the coffin by dropping an excellent 9.25, the highest single wave score of the entire event, to leave Slijpen needing a perfect 10 to take the lead. That is how the situation stayed until the buzzer went.
The Capetonian will be happy with his result however, content in the fact that he surfed very well throughout the event and, more importantly, showed great composure under pressure. An example of which was how he came from behind to beat Mateus Herdy in the Semifinal.
The Brazilian prodigy had been on a tear all weekend and looked like a contender for the title. He took to the air in his match-up with Slijpen and held the lead for most of the heat, until Slijpen manufactured the score he needed with less than two minutes to go.
Zoë Steyn took the JQS women's title in emphatic fashion, beating Kirsty McGillivray in the closely-contested Final. The difficult onshore conditions saw the two stay busy, each catching a variety of low scorning waves. Steyn eventually found some rhythm toward the end and managed to get her final scoring waves (a 4.75 and a 5.60) back-to-back.
Steyn was impressive throughout the event, scoring a 9.00 in her Semifinal against Kayla Nogueira. The win consolidated her No. 2 ranking behind runaway leader Kai Woolf who did not enter the Ballito event, moving Steyn ahead of her closest rival, Sophie Bell who was eliminated by McGillivray in the semi-finals.
The points earned by each competitor are not only valuable towards the annual respective WSL Africa crowns, but also towards the selection of the squad of four men and two women who represent the WSL Africa region at the WSL World Junior Championships in Australia next January.
Mateus Herdy
Packed with the Family Legend heat, Erin Brooks qualifying for the '25 CT, Mateus Herdy's perfect 10, Marco Mignot qualifying for the '25
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A heat with two World Junior Champs, Mateus Herdy proves superior, snagging two 8s and looking extremely dynamic. Acknowledging that the
Billabong Junior Series Ballito
Semifinalists decided in variable conditions at Willard Beach in Ballito
21st edition of the Billabong Junior Series pres.by BOS gets underway
An international contingent joins the best U18 surfers in South Africa in the Billabong Junior Series JQS events in Ballito.
With 10,000 points on the line, it's surfers' first serious shot at making the 2019 Tour -- and excitement is growing.