Kowie Boardriders’s Lily Heny kept Port Alfred’s flag flying by coming in third in the girls O’Neill SMTH Shapes Ballito Pro Junior surfing competition on the KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast on Friday last week.
And, not to be outdone the previous day Lily’s brother, Owen, came in a credible third in the U14 division behind William Neill and Sebastian Copson in the annual international surf and lifestyle event featuring the rookie rippers who kicked off the event.
Lily was the top performing South African in the pro junior event, but couldn’t find any decent rides in the semifinal against Annete Gonzalez Etxabarri of the Basque Country who earned a consecutive Pro Junior Final appearance. However, Extabarri had to settle for the runners-up medal when she despite her best efforts, had to concede the title to Laura Raupp of Brazil. Etxabarri got off to a quick start in the final, finding the better waves and building on her score.
Raupp waited out the back for better opportunities needing only a small score, but it wasn’t until the final few minutes when she locked in a 5-point ride which was enough to snatch the win over Etxabarri.
Third-placed Lily – who surfed for South Africa at the World Junior Championships in Brazil in December – came out tops among her South African junior counterparts at the event, but couldn’t find any decent rides in the semifinal which saw Etxabarri notch up a consecutive Pro Junior Final appearance.
Lily said the quarterfinal heat leading up to her semifinal was a nerve-wracking experience due to the awkward conditions.
“The waves were very small which made it very difficult,” she recalled. However, I knew if I could go through [to semis] I would be in the lead among all the South African competitors in terms of the JQS rankings … because all of the other SA [junior women] surfers had been knocked out of competition by then.
“It was nerve-wracking surfing against all the pros … I wasn’t even entered in the pros. The girl I surfed against and got through from the quarters is an Olympian, [from Basque Country] and the girl I surfed against in the semis is her sister, also an Olympian,” said Lily.
Lily said despite securing third spot, she was very happy with her result.
“I am very happy with the result, as it has left me at the top of the rankings for the WSL Africa JQS tour and if I end up 1st or 2nd in the rankings by the end of the year, I will be selected to surf overseas representing SA at the WSL Junior Championships later this year.”
Lily said the experience has taught her that she is capable of competing with the some of the top junior surfers in the world “and has given me the determination to train harder and work harder as I strive to get to that level of surfing. It was a big eye-opener for me”.
The junior men’s final was won by Australian Jarvis Earle after with less than 10 minutes to go in his match-up against Hawaii’s Kai Martin, Earle found a great wave to unleash three massive backhand turns and got rewarded with the highest single wave score of the event, a 9.33. Earle secured the win with a total of 17.16 (out of a possible 20), the highest heat total of the event, with Martin taking 2nd spot.
Earlier, on the previous day against the backdrop of a balmy June morning on the north coast, with a slight bump in swell size as predicted, no wind for most of the day, conditions were highly contestable.
The mainly right-breaking wave at Willard’s Beach had given way to some clean left-handers coming through, and the goofy-footers (right-foot forward surfers) had their chance to shine. There were some tricky moments, with the waves tempting surfers to commit to final moves on the rocks, but discretion was the ultimate call for the high tide heats.
There were plenty of inspired performances during the morning, with Rory Dace (Cape St Francis) banking 12.50 points (out of a possible 20 points) in the boys’s U16 quarter-finals and Louise Lepront (Scottburgh) throwing down 12 points in her U18 girls’ semi-final. Further strong performances came from the likes of Sarah Scott (Cape Town), Matt Canning (Durban) and Kai Stubbs (Cape Town).
The finals were a mixed bag. Some heats got plenty of waves, allowing for scintillating surfing and big moves. Other heats saw the ocean go tepid, with very few waves coming through and low scores predominating.
Lepront’s exceptional performance made her the star of the day, winning both the U16 and U18 girls divisions. “The conditions were really good for the finals,” said Lepront after the results were announced. “I just went out there for both finals and tried to have some fun, and a few good waves came to me. Stoked with the wins.”
The U18 men’s division winner, Levi Epenetos (Melkbos), was equally stoked. “I got some sick waves in the finals and am super stoked to take the win,” said Epenetos. “It was quite tight towards the end, but I remained peaceful and took it all the way. It has been great here in Ballito, with good waves, and it’s so good to be here.”
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, July 4, 2024 with additional reporting by Mark Carrels. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
