The 30th edition concluded in two-to-three-foot surf at Lower Point on Saturday, 3 October. Supported by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and Reef SA, the championships ran from 29 September to 3 October.
Over five days, competitors faced conditions ranging from warm weather and strong onshore winds to rain and contestable offshore surf.
Slayde Shooter Wins U14 Boys Gold
Slayde Shooter secured the South African U14 Boys title for Nelson Mandela Bay. His gold medal contributed to the team’s third-place finish overall.
Meanwhile, fellow St Francis Bay surfer Rory Dace finished runner-up in the U18 Boys division. Cape Town Surfriders’ Kai Stubbs claimed the title after taking the lead in the final seconds.
Brin Jarvis Claims Silver And Highest Wave Score
Brin Jarvis finished second in the U14 Girls division behind Ilembe’s Ella Van de Made. Van de Made added the U14 title to her 2025 U12 Girls crown.
Jarvis impressed the judges with her excellent backhand surfing at Lower Point throughout the contest. She also earned the award for the Highest Wave Score across the girls’ divisions.
Her Nelson Mandela Bay teammate, U12 Boys champion Judah Levendahl, received the corresponding award in the boys’ divisions.
Cape Town Surfriders Reclaim Freedom Cup
Cape Town Surfriders reclaimed the Freedom Cup from Buffalo City, winners in 2024 and 2025. Cape Town last held the trophy in 2023.
The Freedom Cup goes to the team accumulating the most points across all divisions.
Cape Town finished with 46,478 points, followed by Buffalo City with 41,894. Nelson Mandela Bay placed third with 39,917 points.
Ilembe finished fourth with 34,412 points, while Cape Winelands took fifth with 29,299. Ugu placed sixth with 29,281, Eden seventh with 28,621 and eThekwini eighth with 28,453.
Eight South African Junior Champions Crowned
Cape Town and Ilembe each claimed three individual national titles. Nelson Mandela Bay produced two champions.
Alongside Kai Stubbs, Cape Town teammate Emily Jenkinson won the U18 Girls title. The 2025 U16 champion also secured victory with a wave in the final seconds.
Cape Town’s Ben Esterhuyse won U16 Boys, while Ilembe’s Lila Aszalos claimed U16 Girls. Ella Van de Made won U14 Girls, and Slayde Shooter took U14 Boys.
In the youngest divisions, Lexi Lockhart became Ilembe’s third champion by winning U12 Girls. Judah Levendahl claimed the U12 Boys title for Nelson Mandela Bay.
Special Awards And A Decade Of Support
U18 bronze medallist Tyson Johnson of Buffalo City was named Surfer of the Contest. Buffalo City also won the Loud and Proud Spirit Trophy for team spirit and teamwork throughout the championships.
More than 170 girls and boys from eight districts competed in 120 heats over five days.
The event marked 30 years since the first championships in Durban in 1996. It also celebrated ten years of support from Sea Harvest, South African junior surfing’s longest-running sponsor.
View the full results on Surfing South Africa’s LiveHeats page.
Recent Comments