E-Pro Prepares for Launch

There will be 12 four-man heats for the men, and two heats for the women, with R10k first prize for both, a R10k Red Bull Best Tube Award, and R10k worth of Oakley products.

Organisers say that they are encouraged to see younger surfers entering to compete against the older, more established surfers in the country. "This contest is about having fun, but crucially also serves to provide valuable coverage for surfers and their sponsors in a time when nothing is happening in South Africa in the way of surf tournaments," organiser Craig Jarvis said.

The Surf Web Series is a global online tour, with South Africa the second event after Mexico. The tour moves to Japan and Australia. The Rip Curl E-Pro Women’s event came about with support from the Kouga Municipality and from Rip Curl. It is a stand-alone event with R10,000 first prize, and it takes place during August, which is Women’s Month in South Africa. In a verbal agreement with Councillor Williams, the Municipality decided to get behind the event and the Kouga region surfers. The waves and the surfers of JBay and environs will play a big part in the virtual tournament.

Entries include top-rated women surfers like Zoe Steyn (EL) and Ceara Knight from Cape Town. Faye Zoetmulder will be representing the Kouga Region, and Anastasia Venter, the 13-year-old from Cape Town’s West Coast has entered. The rest of the surfers in the women’s event will be announced soon.

In the Rip Curl E-Pro Men’s event, JBay surfers Dylan Lightfoot and former world longboard champ Steve Sawyer are looking determined. Still, they will face off against the likes of Eli Beukes and Luke Slijpen from Cape Town. Chad Du Toit from Durban has also been on a tear lately, and the Durban crew of Chad, the Redman brothers Josh and Dan, as well as Brandon Jackson, are all committed and looking good. Surprise Maphumulo has also entered, to see how he fares against the best surfers in the country. Surprise is a High Performance Surfing Academy surfer and has a bright future ahead of him.

Shane Sykes, also from Durban is in the mix, as well as Dale Staples from St Francis Bay, and Joshe Faulkner from Pellsrus. Durban’s Davey Van Zyl has a few absolute banger clips as well, and could easily steal the thunder.

The heats start running on 1 August and will be hosted on the Surf Open League Instagram account - @surfopenleague while heats can also be viewed on the Surf Open League Facebook Page.

About the Event

The Rip Curl E-Pro is presented by Shaka Surf Store, an online store selling bespoke, eco-friendly surfboard fins of exceptional quality and design. Oakley has sponsored R10,000 worth of eyewear, with Oakley sunglasses going to the men and women’s winners and runners-up. The Rip Curl E-Pro is supported by Surfing South Africa, and www.wavescape.co.za is the official media partner. The Rip Curl E-Pro virtual surfing contest is powered TCS-WiFi and The Computer Shop, who have rigged the event head office with high-speed WiFi.

Full details https://www.surfwebseries.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurfOpenLeague/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surfopenleague/ or @surfopenleague