A Feast of Winter Surf

LUKE OVER THERE: Luke Thompon took third in the Under 18 categorye Photo Alan van Gysen

As we emerge from the challenges of the Covid pandemic, there are South African surfers spread across not only the World Surf League Championship Tour, but also the Challenger Series, and the Qualifying Series for both men and women.

The 2022 South African Junior Surf Team did well in El Salvador at the recent ISA World Junior Championships, despite a two year hiatus from international events, and the fact that most of the 12 team members had never surfed competitively globally. South Africa finished 10th place out of 45 countries and Luke Thompson brought an U18 Boys bronze medal home.

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The window period of the Surf City El Salvador Pro - stop number seven of the season and also in El Salvador - started yesterday and ends on June 20. This is the first time the Championship Tour has ever competed at Punta Roca, which has a reputation of being the perfect point break. This will please Jordy Smith and Matt McGillivray, who are no strangers to perfect righthand pointbreaks.

The Ballito Pro Challenger Series event runs at Willard Beach, Ballito from July 3 to 10, and the men's and women's fields are stacked with former Ballito Pro champions and local favourites. The Corona Open JBay is the premier Championship Tour surf event in South Africa for men and women. It has a waiting period from 12 to 21 July and has Smith and McGillivray surfing after they made the cut. Jordy (DBN) is a two-time event champion and also has the distinction of scoring a perfect 20-point heat in 2017.

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Matt McGillivray (JBay) was on the cusp of the Championship Tour mid-year cut-offs and surfed a valiant contest in giant surf at Margaret River, Western Australia, to re-qualify. He is comfortable for the back half of the tour this year and has qualified for the 2023 season. The JBay local will be fired up for a big performance in front of his family and the home crowd, particularly after making the quarter-finals of the G-Land event in solid surf.

On the domestic front, we have a run of Junior events, including the Plakkie Pro at Victoria Bay, the O'Neill SMTH Shapes Ballito Pro Junior and the Rip Curl GromSearch at Seal Point. The latter is the second event in a three-event series that kicked off in Mossel Bay and Victoria Bay. The third and final event is set for Scottburgh in October.

SALTY SOUL: Vans brings the iconic longboarding event the Duct Tape Invitational Photo supplied

The Tiger's Milk Winter Classic longboarding event set to take place this weekend has been delayed due to tiny surf, much to the consternation of those who had travelled to attend. It has been postponed to June 25 to 26 in Muizenberg, and the Vans Duct Tape International - which brings the world's best longboarders to South Africa - is to be held in Muizenberg in early July.

This weekend also sees a South African crew of hopefuls compete in the Krui Pro QS 5,000 event in Krui, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Luke Slijpen (CT), Saxton Randall (DBN), Jordy Maree (CT), and Karl Steen (DBN) are all competing in this event in the perfect reeling lefts of Ujung Bocur, Krui. Updates to follow. In the meantime, watch it live at www.worldsurfleague.com or on the free WSL App.