Seal Point, Cape St Francis – It is time for the final event of the Rip Curl GromSearch Series presented by Sea Harvest. The tournament is the culmination of a year-long series that has taken place at various venues along our coastline, including Long Beach in Cape Town, Nahoon Reef in East London, Dairy Beach in Durban and East Beach in Port Alfred.
What is the Rip Curl GromSearch?
Surfing South Africa runs this five-contest mini-series under the SA Surf Tour. The Rip Curl GromSearch is a global concept with tours in many countries worldwide.
Where is the final event going to take place?
The fifth and final 2024 Rip Curl GromSearch competition will occur at Seal Point in Cape St Francis. A perfect right-hand point break, Seal Point offers excellent right-hand waves conducive to high-performance surfing. The September time frame is historically a good and consistent time for waves in this area. The Kouga Local Municipality has recognised this event and has signed on as an event sponsor. Kouga Municipality supports and endorses surfing tournaments in this region, and their backing is greatly appreciated.
When is it going down?
The competition is a full three days of surfing and will kick off early on Friday, September 20. It will finish on Sunday, September 22. After the final heat, there will be a prize-giving on the beach.
Who will be competing in this illustrious competition?
This competition will feature the best junior surfers in the country competing for points, prize money, and prestige. Everyone will be in town for it, as it falls a few days before the Sea Harvest SA Junior Championships in Jeffreys Bay the following week. The contest has U12, U14, U16, and U18 Girls and Boys divisions, but the Premier Division is the U16s, and this age group is the series’ focus.
Louise Lepront © Keahlo Van Gysen
The U16 Boys’ and Girls’ winners will both receive an entry into the International GromSearch Finals, which will be held in Indonesia in November, and a R20k voucher to assist with their travel arrangements. This is thanks to healthy sponsorship from Zigzag Magazine, Royal St Andrews Hotel,and Sea Harvest.
Top seeds in the U16 Girls include, in no specific order, Louis Lepront, Camilla Heuer, Max Kauffman, Sophia Jackson, Leah Lepront and Emily Jenkinson.
In the U16 Boys’ rankings, Rory Dace, Ben Esterhuyse, Matt Canning, Kieren Murphy, and Rylan Jarvis are near the top.
Why is this event being held?
The Rip Curl GromSearch contests are fun events as well as crucial conditioning for training our country’s young surfers in the skills and expertise needed to become successful competitive surfers and how to surf to the best of their abilities in front of the top Surfing South Africa judges.
They also expose these surfers to the media, who often attend these tournaments and cover the events and the surfers for various media outlets.
The GromSearch series allows kids to compete against the best surfers in the same age bracket from their country. This format gives these groms insight into a life of competitive surfing. It gives them the invaluable experience of surfing and competing in different waves nationwide. On top of this, the series offers two entries into the Rip Curl GromSearch Global Finals.
Ben Esterhuyse © Keahlo Van Gysen
Media Partner
Zigzag Magazine is the official media partner for the Rip Curl GromSearch Seal Point and will cover the event extensively via its digital and social platforms. Zigzag Magazine will partner with further events as we advance with this collaboration.
The Rip Curl GromSearch Seal Point will have a live feed in collaboration with SuperSport Schools. To watch the live feed, download the SuperSport Schools app and register beforehand.
Find out more at SuperSport Schools.
The LiveHeats app will allow viewers to follow the heats throughout the event. To follow the event on liveheats – Live Heats.
TCS Wi-Fi will supply free high-speed Internet for competitors and spectators.
High-resolution images are available at no cost for media outlets.
Distributed by Rip Curl, South Africa.
Craig Jarvis
t. 082 376 4443
About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is the official National Federation for Surfing in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognised as the governing body by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Surfing South Africa is responsible for developing the sport, hosting National tournaments, sanctioning International events, and selecting National teams in all SSA disciplines. SSA is a member of the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA), the sport’s World governing body.
