LW Mag LW Magazine
Related Articles
Jordy Maree and Josefina Ane earned the biggest wins of their professional surfing careers when they clinched the Men’s and Women’s World Surf League Qualifying Series titles at the Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic presented by Quiksilver.
Veteran former two-time ISA World Longboard Champion Matthew Moir celebrated his first victory in a WSL rated event by defeating former WSL No. 2 Steven Sawyer in a high performance final that highlighted the talent of local longboard surfers.
Stop No 2 of 13 on the 2018 WSL Africa Tour, enjoyed great waves and conditions at East Beach in Port Alfred, bringing WSL competition back to the Kowie Rivermouth for the first time since the 1990’s.
On a day when goofy foot surfers dominated proceedings by filling all six spots in the three finals, Jody Maree led the charge with an outstanding win over red hot Australian Jordan Lawler.
Maree opened his account in the final with two massive backhand turns and then safely completed the close-out re-entry to earn 7.25 out of 10. He continued to build his heat total with mid-range scores, but Lawler blasted back into contention with a 6.0 and then took the lead with a 6.90 with seven minutes still on the clock.
Jody Maree
Holding his nerves in check and using the priority system intelligently, Maree waited for a wave that peeled down the sandbar and hooked into two huge backhand blasts that were rewarded with a 6.45 to regain the lead. Needing a 6.81 with just two minutes remaining, Lawler went for broke on a high flying aerial manoeuvre but couldn’t land it and Maree claimed the win.
Jordan Lawler
Argentina’s Josefina Ane arrived in South Africa fresh off a career-best runner-up finish in a QS1,000 event in her hometown of Mar del Plata. The 19-year-old was elated to secure her first title by defeating 14-year-old standout Zoe Steyn.
Josefina Ane
The highest QS ranked woman in the event at No. 56, the Argentinean ousted reigning WSL Africa Junior and QS champions Sophie Bell and Nicole Pallet in the quarters and semis respectively. In the final she selected great waves and used her exciting backhand attack to build what became an insurmountable 13.75 point total that her younger rival could not match.
Zoe Steyn
The introduction of Longboard Qualifying Series events to the WSL Africa schedule added an exciting new dimension to the contest and the performances produced by the top men and women proved that there is a hotbed of talent in the country. The highest heat total of the entire event – a near perfect 18.50 out of 20 – was delivered by Steven Sawyer in his semi-final win over Michael Hill.
Steven Sawyer
Matthew Moir has been at the top of the worldwide longboard scene for two decades and put on a master class to capture the LQS men’s title by defeating Sawyer by 15.25 vs. 13.90 in a pulsating final that saw both men effortlessly combine traditional and new school manoeuvres on their nearly three metre long surfboards.
The final of the LQS1,000 women’s event was run on Saturday with Crystal Hulett taking the win over Marishka Myers.
Royal St Andrews Hotel Port Alfred Classic presented by Quiksilver Results
QS 1,000 Men’s Final
1st Jordy Maree 13.70
2nd Jordan Lawler 12.90
QS 1,000 Men’s Semi-Finals
SF1: Jordy Maree 14.40 def. Dylan Lightfoot 13.25
SF2: Jordan Lawler 18.00 def. Greg Emslie 12.50
QS 1,000 Women’s Final
1st Josefina Ane 13.75
2nd Zoe Steyn 7.50
QS 1,000 Women’s Semi-Finals
SF1: Josefina Ane 11.25 def. Nicole Pallet 3.70
SF2: Zoe Steyn 9.75 def. Emma Smith 5.05
LQS 1,000 Men’s Longboard Final
1st Matthew Moir 15.25
2nd Steven Sawyer 13.90
LQS 1,000 Men’s Longboard Semi-Finals
SF1: Steven Sawyer 18.50 def. Michael Hill 14.50
SF2: Matthew Moir 17.85 def. Thomas King 11.75
LQS 1,000 Women’s Longboard Final
1st Crystal Hulett 11.25
2nd Marishka Myers 9.50
LQS 1,000 Women’s Longboard Semi-Finals
SF1: Marishka Myers 10.0 def. Mia Baard 4.15
SF2: Crystal Hulett 10.75 def. Tarryn King 9.25
WSL Africa – Men’s QS Rankings
1st Jordy Maree 1560
2nd David Van Zyl 1420
3rd Adin Masencamp 1050
4th Dylan Lightfoot 980
5th Richard Kidd 745
WSL Africa – Women’s QS Rankings
1st Nicole Pallet 1310
1st Zoe Steyn 1310
3rd Kai Woolf 1300
4th Emma Smith 955
5th Teal Hogg 860
Photos by WSL / Thurtell.
