Hundreds of spectators and competitors attending the third of four events in the Billabong ”Girls Get Out There” Summer Surf Series event at Tableview in Cape Town on Saturday enjoyed an ideal beach day with blazing sunshine, light winds and gradually dropping 1m waves.
Local Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand), Kommetjie’s Lisa Mace, KwaZulu-Natal’s Kirsty Delport (Berea) and Tammy-Lee Smith (Chaka’s Rock) all won their opening heats in the R12 500, 3A-rated Open division to advance to the quarterfinals.
The current crop of 15-and-under rising stars then took to the surf with top seeds Holly Armstrong and Tanika Hoffman (both Kommetjie) keeping their rivalry on track with convincing victories. Third seed Sabrina Scott (Glencairn) posted an impressive win while fourth seed Cara MacDonald (East London) also comfortably advanced directly to round three.
Inge McLaren (East London) and Ruth Armstrong (Kommetjie) were standouts in the Novices, and the start of the Pro Junior heats saw a spectacular pod of dolphins moving through the break.
The seeded surfers dominated here too with ratings leader Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie), Rautenbach, Bianca Buitendag (George) and Sarah Baum (Athlone Park) winning their respective heats and progressing to the last eight along with second-placed surfers Heidi Palmboom (Bluff), Lisa Mace (Kommetjie), Delport and Alice McGregor (East London).
The day’s competition ended with the quarterfinals of the Open division where ratings leader Heather Clark (Port Shepstone), despite complaining about the cold water, won a close encounter with Rautenbach.
That was followed by the biggest upset of the day as unseeded Tammy-Lee Smith and Buitendag eliminated 2007 champion Sarah Maritz (Warner Beach) and Baum. Jeffreys Bay event winner Stacey Guy and Delport then advanced from the third quarter before the Kommetjie duo of Chudleigh and Mace grabbed the top two spots in the final heat of the day.
The finals in all four divisions will be staged on Sunday, starting with the Novices at around midday. That will be followed by the Von Zipper Expression Session before the awards ceremony at approximately 1.45pm. — Sapa