Ballito to host the Pro’s 50th Golden Jubilee surfing event!

The world’s longest running professional surfing event will be celebrating its 50th Golden Jubilee this year when the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong kicks off at Willard Beach on June 25.

The event that started out as the Durban 500 in 1969, evolved into the Gunston 500 in 1971, became the Mr Price Pro in 2000 and moved to Ballito in 2009 has always been a must on the annual World Surf League Championship.

Billabong South Africa group marketing and sales manager Chad D’Arcy said this year’s Pro would be one for the history books.

“The 2018 edition marks a number of impressive milestones as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event, the tenth year of KwaDukuza hosting it and also the 21st year of the Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS, which will be the pre-cursor to the main event,” said D’Arcy.

Kwadukuza mayor councillor Ricardo Mthembu said they are excited to host this A-list sports tourism and entertainment event once again.

“The Ballito Pro is a significant economic multiplier, which presents opportunities for local businesses and communities alike in the region,” said Mthembu.

“We welcome all participants and I am convinced all guests will enjoy our positive waves and grand culture of Ubuntu. I encourage the more than 50 million streamers who will be following the event from all corners of the world to visit this iconic town, the ‘Heartbeat of the North Coast’. We wish the event a happy 50th edition and are jovial that it has been dedicated to Living the Legacy of Nelson Mandela.”

WSL Africa operations manager, Colin Fitch said the last nine years in Ballito have been nothing short of fantastic.

“Not only have we seen growth in the event and festival but also the growth of our surfers like Michael February, who has progressed from surfing the junior event all the way to becoming the first South African surfer of colour to qualify for the WSL Championship Tour. Thanks to the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong we now have two male surfers on the Championship Tour and along with celebrating the 50th edition of the event in 2018 we can proudly say that we are an African force,” said Fitch.

The Ballito Pro Surf Festival will begin with the Billabong Junior Series pres. by BOS from June 22-24 before the crown jewel of the festival, the QS10,000 Ballito Pro pres. by Billabong, and the QS1,000 Ballito Women’s Pro pres. by Billabong take centre stage from Monday to Sunday, June 25 – 1 July.

Alongside the surfing, visitors will be spoiled for choice with non-stop activities providing even more entertainment throughout the Ballito festival site.

A golden highlight

World surfing champion Shaun Tomson (1977) will be attending the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the event he won an unprecedented six consecutive times from 1973 to 1978. The former Durbanite, now an internationally acclaimed author and motivational speaker, will also run a Positive Wave Tour with business, council and the various high schools in KwaDukuza leading up to and after the festival that will all culminate in a Mandela Day celebration on July 18. His work was motivated by the tragic loss of his 15-year-old son, Matthew, who died while playing a “choking game” in 2006.

For the tenth consecutive year the region will host the world’s best men in a WSL Qualifying Series (QS) 10,000 rated event with a prize-pool of R3.1 million and the highest available ranking points at stake. The women will showcase their talent in the QS1,000 Ballito Women’s Pro while the historic 21st edition of the Billabong Junior Series includes events for men and women aged 18-and-under at Ballito for the third year.

The 112-man entry for the event provides local WSL Africa members with invaluable experience competing against the world’s best, along with opportunities to earn prize-money and coveted rankings points which assist them in gaining entry to the higher rated events internationally and also count towards the annual WSL Africa title.

Last year’s men’s field included a dozen of the world’s elite WSL Championship Tour (CT) surfers and was won for a second time by South Africa’s own Jordy Smith (Durban). Runner-up Willian Cardoso (BRA), third placed Michael February (Cape Town) and the likes of Jesse Mendes and Yago Dora (both Brazilians) all went on to qualify for the prestigious 2018 CT thanks to the significant number of ranking points they earned in Ballito.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram