The time for talking is over as some of the best competitors in the sport take to the waves of Nelson Mandela Bay in the Volkswagen South African Open of Surfing, which starts at Pollok Beach today (8am).
The event, presented by Hurley, will feature a full range of Qualifying Series (QS), Junior QS (JQS) and Longboarding QS (LQS )events, with the women’s QS3000 taking centre stage.
A men’s QS1500, men’s and women’s JQS1000 and LQS men’s and women’s events, Volkswagen activations and CSI programmes will also form part of the Open festivities.
Jeffreys Bay’s Matthew McGillivray is ranked 10th on the World Surf League (WSL) QS and is in a favourable position to join Jordy Smith and Michael February on the Championship Tour (CT).
“It looks like we are going to have some nice waves for the start of the competition and there will be a couple of good international surfers on the roster, so it should be very competitive,” McGillivray said.
Having missed out on the series opener in Port Elizabeth earlier this year, McGillivray is excited to be contesting his first QS event in the Bay.
“It will be nice to come and surf a QS event here, h avi n g grown up surfing on these shores,” he said.
He is also South Africa’s top seed in the contest and keen to add the SA Open of Surfing title to his QS wins earlier in the year in Israel and Lamberts Bay.
“My approach to the competition is fairly simple, to take each heat as it comes, catch as many waves as possible and just do my best.
“Competing in a number of QS events this year has helped a great deal to keep me in that competition frame of mind.”
He said this competition would be used as a warm-up event ahead of the Billabong Ballito 2018, which gets under way on Friday.
Completing the Jeffreys Bay trio of contenders are Dylan Lightfoot and Joshe Faulkner.
Jeffreys Bay’s Dillon Hendricks has had a great year in the City Surf Series and is definitely a formidable title contender.
He is ranked sixth in the WSL QS and a win would see him edging closer to the top of the QS and gaining a ticket to the CT.
Jeffreys Bay’s maiden of the waves, Kai Woolf, who is the No 1-ranked junior surfer in Africa, will be the one to watch in the pro junior women’s division.
A contender in the women’s QS3000 event will be former Bluewater Bay surf star Faye Zoetmulder.
She will also compete in the QS1000 longboard event, where she overcame Crystal Hulett in the East London leg of the City Surf Series earlier this year.
“I think I am more excited than anything else. Having competed in a number of competitions over the last few months has helped keep us in that competitive frame of mind going into the [SA Open] event,” Zoetmulder said.
“This is quite a big event with a lot of international stars, so the pressure is on to at least achieve some decent results.
“This is one of the bigger events I have done in the country, and to be able to surf with my idol growing up, is going to be pretty cool,” she said