Surfs up – and other thrills – at Ballito
THE annual Ballito Pro Festival, presented by Billabong, got under way this week.
More than 100 international surfers have arrived for what organisers have promised will be “an extreme line-up of sports entertainment and recreational events” running from June 22-July 3.
South Africa’s top surfers Beyrick de Vries and Dylan Lightfoot were preparing for the World Surf league (WSL) qualifying series this weekend. There are 112 surfers with R600 000 prize money.
De Vries said Ballito was his favourite spot alongside Hawaii where, in 2013, he scored a perfect 10 tube, making surfing history in the biggest barrel at legendary Sunset Beach.
“Hawaii has big waves. That day there were a lot of variables and I wondered if I was going to drown, but the mojo and the zone took over.”
“Durban is where everyone comes in winter and it’s epic that this qualifying series event comes to our local coastline,” said De Vries.
Lightfoot, reigning U20 WSL Africa Junior Champion, said he had been at the Ballito Pro for the past five years.
He described his first surf in Hawaii’s massive waves as “I was petrified, it was daunting”.
Veteran surfer Paul Botha, who handles the media for the competition, originally took over the forerunner of the Ballito Pro, the Gunston 500 as contest director in 1988.
According to Botha, the first big surfing event was held in 1969, known as the Durban 500 and held in the Bay of Plenty by founders Max Wetteland, Ian Macdonald and Ernie Tomson. In 1971, the name was changed to the Gunston 500.
The competition saw local surf legend Shaun Tomson win six consecutive titles that has not been matched by any surfer nor at any pro event since.
Following the release of Nelson Mandela, with sports boycotts being resolved, the Gunston 500 became one of 11 elite World Championship Tour events that decide the annual World Surfing Champion.
From the Gunston 500 which was an open event, surfers now have to be rated before taking part in the Ballito Pro.
Apart from the world class surfing, there’s an extreme sports, such as the Mamba Skate Park and world ranked extreme motorcyclists Bruce and Brent Le Riche providing death-defying stunts. There are also cook-offs from Mini Cooks to the Battle of the Ballito Burger, a surf film premiere and concerts with Kwesta, Nasty C and Shortstraw on the Salt Rock beach stage, while Crush Night Club will host Battle of the DJs and the Five Star Ballito Pro Free Music Concerts official after parties.