Dairy Beach, Durban: In epic conditions at Dairy Beach, Maxine Kauffman (Westbrook)and Nate Tayler (Ballito)  emerged victorious in the Premier U16 division of the Rip Curl GromSearch Dairy Beach, a Surfing South Africa event. Both put on outstanding performances that earned them wins in this highly competitive division.

“I’m so happy to have taken the win with my friends and family there to enjoy it with me,” said a triumphant Kauffman at the awards ceremony. 

Max Kauffman on her way to victory at Dairy Beach @ Dave Lindemann

The contest enjoyed the support of Sea Harvest, who were at the event the whole weekend, preparing Sea Harvest burgers for the contestants and all the Surfing South Africa officials. 

Sea Harvest, a key partner of junior surfing in South Africa, was also the presenting sponsor of the Rip Curl GromSearch tournament.

Sea Harvest supplied free burgers to all contestants and officials at the Rip Curl GromSearch Dairy Beach © Dave Lindemann

While the U16 age group might be the Premier Division, the U12 and U14 divisions are also vitally important, as they are the future of surfing in South Africa. There were some new faces in the U12 Girls division, with Ella Van Der Made taking the win from Brin Jarvis. 

Levi Vosloo triumphed in the U12 Boys division, with Tyler Balfour coming in second. The score sheets show Vosloo winning by a mere 0.04 of a point. 

Maxine Kauffman and Nate Tayler win Rip Curl GromSearch

Levi Vosloo © Dave Lindemann

In the U14 Girls, the young goofy-footer Leah Lepront emerged victorious against Lila Aszalos, while the experienced U14 Ben Esterhuyse won his division against an improved Sean Tayler. Full results are at the bottom of the release. 

Rip Curl GromSearch Finals At Seal Point

The long and perfect point break of Seal Point in Cape St Francis will host the final event in the Rip Curl GromSearch series 2024. This final tournament will be held from September 20 to 22.

Premier U16 series winners will be calculated using the top four events out of five. The Premier U16 winners will receive an entry into the Rip Curl GromSearch International Finals in Indonesia in November and a R20k travel voucher each for their travel arrangements.  

In the event that a surfer is unable to attend the International Finals, the prize and travel allowance will be rightfully passed on to the next highest surfer in the rankings. 

These prizes and travel allowances have been made possible through partnerships with Rip Curl South Africa, Zigzag Magazine, the Royal St Andrews Hotel, Sea Harvest, and Surfing South Africa.

Rip Curl GromSearch Dairy Beach

Final Results

U12 Girls:

1 Ella Van Der Made, 2 Brin Jarvis, 3 Lily Jameson, 4 Pippa Wang, 5 Lila Prinsloo.

U12 Boys:

1 Levi Vosloo, 2 Tyler Balfour, 3 Luc Jackson, 4 Jackson Myers.

U14 Girls:

1 Leah Lepront, 2 Lila Aszalos, 3 Coco Clark, 4 Maya Malherbe.

U14 Boys:

1 Ben Esterhuyse, 2 Sean Tayler, 3 Levi Vosloo, 4 Travis Turrell.

Premier U16 Girls:

1 Max Kauffmann, 2 Maya Malherbe, 3 Louise Lepront, 4 Leah Lepront.

Premier U16 Boys:

1 Nathan Tayler, 2 Matt Canning, 3 Rylan Jarvis, 4 Ben Esterhuyse.

U18 Girls:

1 Louise Lepront, 2 Kiera Fletcher, 3 Catherine Jacob, 4 Gabriella Herbst.

U18 Boys:

1 Levi Epenetos, 2 Surprise Maphumulo, 3 Clayton Turrell, 4 Luc Lepront. 

The Rip Curl GromSearch contest series is a Surfing South Africa series supported by Sea Harvest.