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It’s all a series of trials within trials within trials. The Billabong Junior Series event in Ballito coughed up a wildcard into the SSA Ballito Trials, and these trials were to find a wildcard into The Ballito Pro 2016 presented by Billabong.
So let’s follow the path:
Adin Masencamp from Strand won the Billabong Junior Series U18 division and as a result won the slot into the SSA Trials event. He needed to win this event in order to get into the main event. As it was, Casey Grant from Scottburgh won the trials.
An interesting point of the trials event was that Casey was chasing the win from behind, with Kalk Bay surfer Jordy Maree holding the lead for the beginning of the heat. Towards the end of the final heat Casey got into the lead and hung on until the end. The fact that Jordy Maree placed second must have been heart breaking for the young goofy-footer. Two crucial events on the surfing calendar, being the Billabong Junior Series event as well as the SSA Trials event, and two second place finishes. Good competitive experience, but unlucky for the young surfer.
Casey Grant is no stranger to the Ballito Pro. In 2010 he placed runner up in the event to Jordy Smith after an excellent event that saw him surfing at the top of his game. Casey probably would have beaten almost anyone in the world in that event, but as it was, Jordy was on the biggest tear of his life. After wining the event Jordy went on to win the JBay Open and at the end of the year placed runner-up to Kelly Slater in the world title rankings.
Casey came up in the first heat in the round of 112 in the Ballito Pro 2016, and it was a tough heat. Casey struggled to find his rhythm, and was eliminated from the event.
We’re now into the swing of things at The Ballito Pro 2016 presented by Billabong. Check out the live webcast on www.theballitopro.com.
Photos by Luke Patterson
