POLLOK BEACH, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Sunday, 24 March 2024) - Sarah Baum (RSA) and Luke Slijpen (RSA) won the World Surf League (WSL) SA Open of Surfing Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 today, with Jessie van Niekerk and Tide-lee Ireland finishing runners-up. Pollok Beach offered some unruly conditions in the morning, making for tricky surf and a tiring paddle out that prompted organisers to call on 40-minute heats for the Final.
Sarah Baum - WSL / Kody McGregor
The Women's Final had a delayed start due to the morning light causing a strong glare that prevented the judges from spotting the competitors. When the heat finally got underway, it was Jessie van Niekerk (RSA) who locked in the first good score with a 6.50 (out of a possible 10). Sarah Baum (RSA) started building her score, staying busy to look for better scoring opportunities in the shifty lineup. Baum found what she was looking for to go to work, and the judges rewarded her with an excellent 8.50. She got her best backup score near the end, a 5.93 for a total of 14.43 (out of a possible 20) to take the win over Van Niekierk, while Anastasia Venter (RSA) and Sarah Scott (RSA) seemed out of rhythm and couldn't back up their scores with a better ride, finishing third and fourth respectively.
"It's been a while since I won a competition in my home country," Baum, who resides in Australia, responded after her heat. "The waves were fun, I'm super stoked." Baum provisionally qualified for Paris 2024 and will represent South Africa in surfing.
Luke Slijpen - WSL / Kody McGregor
The challenging conditions made for a tight Men's Final. Tide-lee Ireland (RSA) took the lead with a decent 6.50 at the start, but while Ireland bided his time to wait for better waves, Luke Slijpen (RSA) kept busy, working hard to produce something worthwhile. Ireland, Aboubakar Bouaouda (MAR) and Luc Lepront (RSA) only managed low-scoring waves for the rest of the heat, while Slijpen punched in his two best waves in the business end of the Final. Slijpen scored an excellent 8.83 and a 6.27 in short succession to take the win over Ireland.
"The conditions were pretty tricky, it was quite hard at the back," Slijpen said. "It was hard to find a wave but grateful I managed to get one and take out the win so I'm stoked."
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's Councillor Mcebisi Kamana said it is the metro's objective to make Gqeberha the mecca of watersport.
"We are very happy to host this event," Kamana said. "It projects us into a better position, we'd like to have more competitions. Congratulations to the winners today, and to those surfers who will compete in the Challenger Series and the Olympics, we wish you all the best."
Surfing South Africa vice president, Johnny Bakker thanked the international contingent who made the effort to participate in the two WSL Africa QS events held in South Africa.
"Thank you to our African competitors from Morocco, Madagascar and Mozambique who went through the trouble to get to South Africa and compete in these events and well done, specifically to Aboubakar who surfed his way into the Finals here today," Bakker said.
Sarah Scott - WSL / Kody McGregor
Luke Slijpen and Sarah Scott Crowned WSL Africa Regional QS Champions
Luke Slijpen (RSA) and Sarah Scott (RSA) were crowned the WSL Africa Regional QS Champions after the SA Open of Surfing results, with both surfers winning one of the two events of the 2023/2024 season. Slijpen was tied with Paul Sampson (RSA) at no. 1, with the tie-breaker being more heat wins. Scott was tied with Jessie van Niekerk (RSA) at no. 1, but Scott's win at the Cape Town Surf Pro earned her the title ahead of Van Niekerk's two runner-up results.
Luke Slijpen - WSL / Kody McGregor
The SA Open of Surfing will be supported by Surfing South Africa, Accelerate Sport, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Red Bull.