iLembe’s young surfers emerge victorious at Sea Harvest Grommet Games
The competition was fierce across all age groups, showcasing the talent and tenacity of iLembe's young surfers.
iLembe’s young surfers put on a strong showing at last weekend’s Grommet Games, claiming four individual golds.
Competing against the old foes from the south, eThekwini and Ugu, iLembe Surf Riders Association’s grommets delivered some excellent surfing at Ushaka Beach over two days of action.
The Sea Harvest Grommet Games were held concurrently in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape and showcased some of the best junior surfing in the country.
Kicking things off with the youngest shredders of all, Seth Seppings claimed gold in a combined girls and boys U8 category.
Photo: Vanessa Venter.
Seppings scored well in his heat but saved his best for the final, adding a last wave of 8.17 to his early 6.67 to edge out eThekwini’s Luke van der Merwe.
iLembe came out guns blazing in the U12 girls category, grabbing a gold, silver and bronze for good measure!
Ella van der Merwe was the dominant force however, and showed her class from the first heat onwards.
Photo: Vanessa Venter.
Her first two waves of the entire competition were a 9.33 and perfect 10, each of which would have qualified her for the final alone.
And she did not rest on her laurels, combining an 8.17 and 9.43 in the final to finish on 17.60, ahead of her iLembe compatriots Lily Jameson and Lila Prinsloo for a podium clean sweep.
Photo: Vanessa Venter.
The U12 boys dominated too, claiming a one-three-four finish with Johnjon Clark, Logan Venter and James Gunning.
Photo: Vanessa Venter.
Clark started well in the final with a first wave of 7.83, adding a 5.63 to beat Ugu’s Tom Pearson by almost two points.
It was a tighter affair between iLembe’s two U14 girls stars Frances Wang and Lulu Sommerville, with just 0.10 points separating them into first and second.
Sommerville shot to an early lead, reaching her final total of 11.17 after just two waves, but it was Wang who won the title on a combined 11.27 from her 9th and 10th waves.
iLembe saw another five surfers reach their respective finals – Great Ntangulela (2nd, U16 boys), Sbonginkosi Mthembu (3rd, U16 boys), Mpendulo Asanda (3rd, U16 girls), Siyabonga Mdondo (5th, U10 boys) and Peggy Sommerville (3rd, U10 girls).
eThekwini claimed the overall title.
Find the full list of results at liveheats.com/events/224084.
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