Scottburgh surfer represents SA in Peru

Scottburgh’s Louise Lepront is one of five South African surfers currently in Peru to fly the South African flag at the 2026 ISA World Surfing Games.

The opening ceremony was held at the Punta Rocas High Performance Centre on November 6, with the first heats at the weekend, and finals day set for Sunday, November 15.

Joining Lepront in the Open Women’s division are Jessie van Niekerk and Natasha van Greunen, while Luke van Wyk and Ntokozo ‘Surprise’ Maphumulo will compete in the Open Men’s division.

Isaac February is the team manager.

Lepront won the U16 bronze at the 2024 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in El Salvador and returned there to represent South Africa at the 2025 ISA World Surfing Games. She also qualified for the 2025 WSL Challenger Series alongside Van Niekerk.

Van Niekerk won the 2025 Cape Town Surf Pro at Long Beach, Kommetjie, securing her place on the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series. Born in Cape Town, she splits her time between South Africa and Australia and brings both Challenger Series and previous ISA experience to the team in Peru.

Van Greunen won the 2022/23 WSL Africa Qualifying Series title and took victory at the 2025 Vic Bay Surf Pro. The Cape Town surfer returned to Victoria Bay in 2026 and reached the semi-finals.

Van Wyk earns his first South African cap at Punta Rocas. The Cape Town surfer, who names Elands Bay as his favourite break, counts third-place finishes at WSL Qualifying Series events in Port Alfred and Victoria Bay among his career highlights.

Maphumulo represented South Africa at the 2022 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in El Salvador and captained the junior national team in Brazil in 2023. The Durban surfer, who names New Pier as his favourite break, also won the junior division at the 2023 Seal Point Pro.

February will coordinate the team’s day-to-day arrangements at Punta Rocas and support the five surfers as they prepare for and compete in their heats.

The games mark the first opportunity for nations to earn surfing quota places for the LA28 Olympic Games through ISA competition. The highest-ranked men’s team and the highest-ranked women’s team will each earn one Olympic quota place for their nation.

Surfing South Africa wishes the team all the best in Peru.

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