Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro, presented by Reef Wetsuits – Day 1
A day of four seasons that started off sunny with glassy two to three-foot waves, followed by a bluster at midday and rain in the afternoon saw the fall of big names like Slade Prestwich, Eli Beukes, Adin Masencamp, Kayla Nogueira and Mauritian national champion, Brian Jean Patrice Furcy.
On the flipside, day one of the World Surfing League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) rated Mitchum Buffalo City Surf Pro, presented by Reef Wetsuits and sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), rating leader, David van Zyl, defending champion, Steven Sawyer, Beyrick de Vries, Greg Emslie, Dylan Lightfoot, young gun Max Elkington, Matthew McGillivray and last weekend’s runner-up in Port Alfred, Jordan Lawler all won their heats and will continue their quest for 1000 international ranking points on Saturday morning.
In the women’s QS1000 event Kai Woolf, Gabriella Lailvaux and Kirsty McGillivray won their heats while other tipped favourites, Zoe Steyn and Josefina Ane both progressed to round two alongside Crystal Hulett, Nicole Pallet and S’Nenhlanhla to name a few.
Expectations are high for heat one of the women’s QS1000 round two which can aptly be described as a group of death heat. The heat will see top contenders Kai Woolf, Zoe Steyn, Josefina Ane and Tayla de Coning fight tooth and nail for two spots in the quarter-final.
Woolf and Steyn are also through to the semi-finals of the junior women’s pro event along with Nina Harmse, Summer Sutton and Kayla Nogueira who won their respective heats.
Top wave score of the day in the men’s was brought in by Diran Zakarian (8.50), while Dylan Lightfoot, put up the top heat score of the day (15.40). Kai Woolf achieved both the highest wave and heat scores in the women’s of 6.50 and 10.00 respectively.
The contest continues on Saturday morning at 8am with the men’s round of 32.
