GLENASHLEY’S Davey van Zyl made a bright start to his maiden World Qualifying Series (WQS) season. He recently competed in the 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro, which forms part of the Newcastle Surfest and surfed into the Round of 24, grabbing equal 17th place.

uMhlanga’s Beyrick De Vries also made it to the Round of 24. He defeated and eliminated number one seed Joel Parkinson in Round 3 Heat 2 of the competition.

De Vries and van Zyl were the highest placed South Africans in equal 17th place, while Slade Prestwich ended equal 49th, Dale Staples and Dylan Lightfoot were equal 73rd and Michael February placed equal 97th.

The Western Cape’s Bianca Buitendag surfed her way to the semi-finals of the 6-Star comp placing equal third.

Winning three of the four heats she contested on her way to the semi-finals, Buitendag lost out to Hawaii’s Alessa Quizon who eventually finished in second place. In the women’s field Durban’s Sarah Baum finished equal 13th and Faye Zoetmulder ended equal 67th.

Visit www.surfest.com for full results, photos, videos and more.