Port Alfred festival ends with a bang
Stoked Daniel Emslie and Louise Lepront banked R20,000 winner’s prize money each in the inaugural Rip Curl Cup Port Alfred presented by the Royal St Andrews Hotel and supported by Sea Harvest on Monday.
They took on all-comers to claim the first victory and awesome silverware in small but clean conditions at East Beach in Port Alfred.
The Rip Curl Cup Open women’s division was a close affair. Natasha van Greunen came on strong towards the end, but Louise Lepront held the lead until the final siren, taking the R20,000 first prize cheque for her efforts.
She also won the GromSearch title and was incredibly stoked to do the double.
“I am so happy to have won,” SA Junior team member Lepront said.
“It is a great feeling to have won both, and the prize money will go towards my trip to the World Games.”
In the Rip Curl Cup Open men’s division, Emslie, on the recovery trail after a recent leg injury, was the deserving winner with a very tight and dynamic backhand display on the left bowls of East Beach.
“The last year has been one of the worst years of my life in terms of contest surfing, and the win couldn’t have come at a better time for me personally,” Emslie said.
“I just love Port Alfred so much and am an active member of the Kowie Boardriders, so this place is like a second home to me.”
The Premier U16 Rip Curl GromSearch finals were another tumultuous set of heats, with the very impressive Lepront emerging victorious and proving her supremacy in women’s surfing in the country at the moment.
In the boy’s division, Josh Malherbe put on the best performance of the heat, which earned him the judges’ nod and the win.
Josh was on point throughout, finding the gems and performing high-risk moves for the judge’s approval.
The Rosehill Spar Expression Session was fast and furious, with all surfers wanting to snag one of the R2,500 prizes up for grabs.
In the end, Remi Fourie took the Best Move award and Surprise Maphumulo took the Best Air prize.
Meanwhile, former world boxing champion Vuyani “The Beast” Bungu brought flair and excitement to the Masimbambisana Development tournament as a VIP guest at Jauka Hall in Nemato Township.
The Beast, who defended his IBF Super Bantamweight title a record 13 times in an illustrious career in the mid-1990s, looked on as the young upstarts traded blows at the tournament, which was incorporated into the festival.
The Nemato Change a Life youth showcased their talent in a game of beach handball at West Beach during the festival.
Introduced by Nemato Change life founder Jan Blom in 2012, handball, an established sport in Europe, has found a serious following among Nemato youth.
Goalkeeper Asiviwe Matyu had quite a busy time in goal, demonstrating his commitment to the game.
In the Sunshine Coast Croquet Challenge, an impressive 15 pairs from various locations, some even from as far as East London, took part.
The competition consisted of each doubles team playing four to five handicap games on Saturday.
The finals were on Sunday and the leading results (A Section) were: 1 Barry Burmeister and Andries Nkoso; 2 Ellen Wolmarans and Lynne du Plessis; 3 Roger and Sue Darkes.