Exciting finish at RVCA Junior Challenge

DURBAN surfer, James Ribbink, excelled at the RVCA Junior Challenge JBay at the weekend, winning two events and the Male Surfer of the Event Award.

The final day of competition started off fairly slowly, and in one of the early heats of the day, on one of those pulses, Ribbink 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 in the final.

Ribbink had overtaken the top spot from Christian Venter in the U10 boys final and once he had the lead, he didn’t let it go and remained the heat winner all the way through to the final siren. Viviers Strydom was in second, Christian Venter ended up in third and Alex Townsend was fourth.

Ribbink stayed in the water for the U12 boys final, and played a patient game, sitting wide and waiting for the good set waves. His strategy paid off and he won this division as well, beating York Van Jaarsveldt, Tide-Lee Ireland and Sebastian Baurield into the minor positions.

“The waves were a little bit onshore out there, but it was really fun. I wasn’t sure how I had done, but in the middle of the U12 final I heard that I had won the under 10 final and I was stoked. In the U12 final I decided to sit wide. The waves were breaking really fast on the inside and then they were slowing down on the outside and that’s where you could get some good scores, so I went and sat there and got two good ones,” said Ribbink.

Matt McGillivray was victorious in a nail-biting finish, winning the premier U20 division as well as the coveted entry into the JBU Supertrial to be held at Supertubes in JBay in June.

Durban’s Sophie Bell was the outstanding surfer of the U14 girls final. She scored an 8.5 points out of a possible 10 points for her highest scoring ride, backed it up with a 5.75 for a clear victory, and left all the other surfers in the final needing a combination of waves to catch her. Finn Musson was second, Kirsty McGillivray third and Zoe Smith was fourth. Sophie was awarded as the Girl Surfer Of The Event.

The only international surfer in the event, Sebastian Williams, surged into an early lead in the U14 boys final, despite a strong push from Durban’s Koby Oberholzer. Sebastian, who is a South African who grew up in Mexico, remained in the lead with some fast and light-footed surfing in the final, with Koby, Angelo Faulkner and Durban’s Saxton Randall filling up the minor placings.

The Smith family was well represented in the U20 girls final, with Emma and Gina duking it out with Durban’s Olivia Brand and Jade Mets. The Smith’s made it one-two, with Emma winning convincingly and with Gina in second. Jade Mets came in third and Olivia Brand in fourth.

Matt McGillivray threw caution to the wind in the U20 final, laying it all on the line by going for some big aerial moves and pulling them off successfully. His first such move, a big forehand air reverse saw Matt score 6.75 and go firmly into the lead. Max Armstrong fought back hard but ended up in the runner-up spot, with Dylan Lightfoot in third and Durban’s Slade Prestwich in fourth.