Matt McGillivray was victorious in a nail-biting finish in the RVCA Junior Challenge JBay, winning the premier U20 division as well as winning hthe coveted entry into the JBU Supertrial in June
The final day of competition started off fairly slowly, with a chill in the air and with the high tide holding the sets off the Lower Point. Waves were inconsistent, with occasional pulses coming through.
In one of the early heats of the day, on one of those pulses, James Ribbink (DBN) scraped into an absolute bomb and rode it all the way through to the inside, picking up a score of 7.5, winning the second U12 Boys semi and earning his spot into the final.
In the U20 Girls semi number two, a fierce paddle battle between Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach) and Gina Smith (JBay) coupled with a sudden flurry of waves saw Gina turn the heat around and go from fourth place to first place, before finally dropping into second place and advancing into the final along with Olivia Brand (Umdloti).
Before the finals hit the water it was time for the Nixon Weird Board event. Eight surfers were commissioned to each shape a ‘weird board,’ an unconventional board shape and design, for this fun event.
Shapers who delivered boards were Thys Strydom, Dutchie, Eric Stedman, Simon Fish, Glen Row, David Stubbs, Anton Butler and Glen D’Arcy. Some serious fun ensued in the tiny but reeling Lower Point waves, with Richard Kidd and York Van Jaarsveldt both being declared heat winners, each taking home a Nixon Blaster Bluetooth Speaker as reward.
