News Release

21 June 2022

Plakkie Classic Junior Surf Competition A Great Success in Victoria Bay.

Vic Bay – the inaugural Plakkie Classic Jnr surf tournament was a fantastic four-day event. The contest and contestants enjoyed good weather and great waves in Victoria Bay. Plakkie came to the party by delivering some serious prize money to the event, the largest prize pool for a junior event this year.

Plakkie’s first venture into competition surfing was exceptionally well received, and the best junior surfers in the country were all in attendance for the event. Victoria Bay is a popular venue amongst the surfers with a fairly easy wave zone, and high-performance waves running down the point. For this event the waves were on fire for the entire four days, resulting in some incredible surfing from all divisions.

The swell stuck around for the entire four days, and despite some pretty chilly mornings, there were generally excellent waves for the competitors for the duration of the event. 

There were some fresh new faces and some wily competitors in the event, and every heat seemed to have a standout.  

There is always plenty of attention on the U12 divisions. These divisions are the future of the sport in our country. Jasmine Venter was impressive in the U12 Girls division and Joel Gernetsky in the U12 Boys.

In the U14 Boys division, St Francis surfer Rory Dace dominated, beating Cooper Smith into 2nd, with Matt Canning and Kieran Murphy 3rd and 4th.

“I’m so stoked to be back at Vic and to take the win, said Dace on his victory. “I feel super comfortable at that wave since my local is a point break! Thanks to my sponsors, Vissla, Pyzel and all the others, and my parents! Thanks to Plakkies and Surfing South Africa for putting on an insane comp. I enjoyed surfing the final with some of my best mates. It’s always fun when we push each other to the limits.”

dace’s performance was smooth and powerful, and he made it two in a row after taking out the inaugural Rip Curl GromSearch u14 victory earlier this year. His strong forehand performance perfectly suits the waves of Victoria bay well and he took full advantage of the good waves to cement his victory and dominance in this division.

The U16 Girls division was a closely-fought battle between East London’s Gemma Hannafey and Sarah Scott from Cape Town. With very little between them, Hannafey emerged victorious, winning by a narrow margin of 0.6 points. Zia Hendricks and Anastasia Venter placed 3rd and 4th, respectively.

Hanafey was fresh from El Salvador where she competed in the ISA World Juniors and showed her competition savvy and steely nerves in the final to take the win over Scott. Her powerful forehand performance was just what the judges were looking for, and the Rip Curl athlete was a popular winner.

Everyone was surfing exceptionally well in the highly contestable conditions. Other surfers who had flashes of brilliance over the weekend were Ben Esterhuyse, Surprise Maphumulo, Zia Hendricks and Anastasia Venter. Surprise was looking exceptionally flash, especially after taking the win in the inaugural Plakkie Air Show at the beginning of the event waiting period. His surfing at the point was fast and powerful, and his backhand hooks were throwing spray into the sky. Always polite and humble, Surprise is a grat ambassador for the sport and has a great future ahead of him.

Full results below 

U12 Girls

Jasmine Venter

Leah Lepront

Camilla Heuer

Jordan Van Eek

U12 Boys

Joel Gernetsky

Carl Wiersma

Ben Esterhuyse

Callum Loftus

U14 Girls

Louise Lepront

Emily Jenkinson

Taylor Emslie

Nina Bone

U14 Boys

Rory Dace

Cooper Smith

Matt Canning

Kieran Murphy

U16 Girls

Gemma Hanafey

Sarah Scott

Zia Hendricks

Anastasia Venter

U16 Boys

Blake Crankshaw

Nate Colby

Surprise Maphumulo

Luc Lepront

U18 Girls

Sarah Scott

Louise Lepront

Zia Hendricks

Anastasia Venter

U18 Boys

Luke Thompson

Luke van Wyk

Connor Slijpen

Nate Colby

 

Surfing South Africa is the National Governing body for the sport in South Africa. In addition, SSA is a member of the South African Sports Commission and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). 

 

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