Ethan Schermbrucker © Dave Lindemann
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Although the field narrowed, it was another great day of surfing at Willard Beach for Day Two of the O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers junior event, with awesome waves rolling through in glassy, windless conditions.
The waves at Willard Beach are a perfect canvas for these young surfers to display their skills and prowess to the Surfing South Africa judges.
Young Ethan Schermbrucker put other contestants on notice in the third heat of the day with a scintillating performance, earning him 16.83 out of a possible 20 points for his U12 Boys Quarterfinal heat.
The U18 Boys Quarterfinals saw some of the best male junior surfers in the country battle it out, with Josh Malherbe, David Emslie, Ben Esterhuyse, Levi Epenetos and Clayton Turrell all winning their respective heats. It’s interesting to note that Malherbe was the only natural footer, with all the other heat winners being goofy footers in the predominantly right-breaking waves of Willard Beach.
Field Narrowed
Another goofy-footer, Loghan Tilsley, put on a fine performance in his U16 Boys quarters, with the highest heat total of the round of 14.00 points. Other surfers to excel in this division included Ashton Sangster and the two St Francis Bay surfers Jesse Moulang and David Moussouris.
The lunchtime high tide put a slight wobble on the conditions, but with the wind forgetting to blow on the north coast, the conditions remained highly contestable throughout the day, offering consistent great rides throughout the day’s competition.
Another Schermbrucker, young Emma, also surfed exceptionally well in her U14 Girls Semifinal to advance through to the finals. Coco Ho, Wanyu Chen and Maya Malherbe will join her in the finals tomorrow.
The forecast for tomorrow is promising, with a fine day predicted along with some clean swell lines. The call is for the event to start with the U18 Girls Quarterfinals at 7:30 sharp. Please keep an eye on the schedule on LIVEHEATS to check for any changes.
The O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers is the first surf event to take place as part of the Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill Festival. For more information, visit
Click HERE for the full Ballito Pro festival calendar.
Willard Beach is a high-performance, predominantly right-breaking wave that provides the perfect canvas for competitors to impress the Surfing South Africa judging panel and win valuable rating points and prize money. The judging criteria comprise speed, power and flow, and judges are always looking for combination moves and progressive surfing techniques.
The Rookie Rippers comprises U12, U14, U16, and U18 Girls and Boys divisions, with all divisions competing for contest results, prizes, and rankings on the SAST. The Rookie Rippers contest is a premier SAST event, with 1,000 points awarded to the winners and prize money in line with all premier events.
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