Ballito surfer Andrew Banks (53) charged to a quarterfinal finish against some of the world’s best veteran surfers in the Dominican Republic last weekend.

The former world masters champion lined up in the Grand Master (50+) section of the annual Masters Surf Reunion competition, which was this year held at Playa Encuentro in the Caribbean island country. He did so with the full support of the local surfing community, who showed up in numbers at a Ballito fundraiser for the trip in late September.

Banks made a strong start on Saturday, winning his opening heat with a combined wave score of 10.0. He then advanced from a closely contested second-round heat the following morning, finishing second with 8.50 to secure a quarterfinal berth.

“In terms of the level of competition in this area, it is quite phenomenal,” said Banks.

“In my quarter final I surfed against Shane Beschen (former world number one in 1996) and Magnum Martinez (former world masters champion in 2012), but the Puerto Rican guy I had never heard of, William Sue-A-Quan, is the one who ended up winning!” Sue-A-Quan won the heat ahead of American Beschen, eliminating Banks and Venezuela’s Martinez. Beschen went on to win the overall event, with Sue-A-Quan finishing second.

“Being in the Caribbean, the surf is very swell dependent, so my pre-competition training was in small waves,” said Banks.

“During the competition the waves improved, but my wave selection was a little bit lacking. Overall, the Dominican Republic is an awesome island and its been an incredible trip.”

Find full results from the competition at liveheats.com.