Surfing today with Rip Curl – Junior Surfing in South Africa

It has been an excellent year for junior surfing in South Africa. The Rip Curl GromSearch kicked off again and held three fantastic events in Victoria Bay, Seal Point and Scottburgh. It was a coincidence that they were all perfect right-hand point breaks; the events weren’t set to favour the natural footers. Anyway., these days surfing with your back to the wave is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. 

They were all great fun, hugely exciting, and run with excellent staff from Surfing South Africa, the governing body of the sport in South Africa. 

There were many other contests for the juniors. Here are some of the highlights:

Pumping surf at Port Alfred for the Sea Harvest Grom Event. The waves were firing all weekend, getting up to six-foot at times, and the groms were frothing. Those who enjoyed the bigger stuff excelled in this tournament. Port Alfred is an excellent venue for a surfing event; next year, this contest will be a Rip Curl GromSearch event. 

The inaugural Plakkie Classic Tournament at Victoria Bay was a fantastic success. That success can be directly attributed to the stoke of the juniors and the steady contest directing by Surfing South Africa. It is Surfing South Africa that trains and steers our junior surfers to a possible pro career, and it is these sorts of events that make it all worthwhile. 

Plakkie recap here!

Ben Esterhuyse, Seal Point, gliding over Full Stop- photo Louis Wulff

The Sea Harvest Cape Crown was another of those gem events that everyone loved, and everyone was talking about. The waves were small at Long Beach, but the vibe amongst the best junior surfers in the country was intense. Rory Dace put a win here on his long list of contest victories.

Rory Dace from Cape St Francis in action at Long Beach © Alan Van Gysen

There were more contests, and the year finished with the Sea Harvest South African Junior Surfing Championships presented by SMTH Shapes at Point in JBay. It was another cracker of an event, a fitting end to a great season for the best junior surfers in the country.

In 2023 the Rip Curl GromSearch is going to five events across the country. These dates and venues will be announced soon, along with a few surprise announcements. More to come