- WSL / Kody McGregor
- WSL / Kody McGregor

Seal Point, Cape St Francis - Solid lines greeted the competitors for day one of the Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS at the classic right-hand point-break of Seal Point in Cape St Francis, and the competition got off to an early start.

The first division to hit the water was the Boys U14's, with Saxton Randall from Durban showing excellent form to win his heat comfortably. His performance was followed by another excellent show of form by Luke Slipjen from Llandudno. Eli Beukes from Kommetjie was yet another surfer who took to the highly contestable surf with relish, tearing into a few of the clean faces along the inside section and also won his heat to advance through to the Semifinals.

The swell continued to pulse throughout the morning, despite the onshore slowly starting to build. The waves remained clean and the surfers were all showing their talent in the long right-hand walls.

Crystal Hulett from St Francis used her local knowledge at Seals with a fine performance in her U16 Girls Quarterfinals, to win ahead of Pippa Jones (PE), Kia Fenton (PE) and Paige Wheel from George.

"There was a strong rip out there, but once you got up to the top end of the point it was fine," said Hulett of the conditions. "The big sets were washing through a bit so the best waves were the in-between waves. I know this wave so well and I managed to find the good ones and didn't get too tired out there, despite the conditions. I'm feeling good for the event this year and am going to try my best out there."

In the first heat of the U12 Boys it was York Van Jaarsveldt who put on a sterling performance, scoring a 9-point ride and a 7-point ride for a definitive win and advancement into the Semifinals, while Tide-Lee Ireland from Durban was another U12 Boys standout, winning his heat as non-stop waves poured down the point.

The day ended with the Pro Junior Girls division taking to the water, with stand-outs including Emma Smith, Anoush Zakarian and Jade Mets.

"A great day of surfing with awesome weather for day one," said a stoked Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager Chad D'Arcy. "It looks like the conditions are going to hold out for the whole weekend and we're looking forward to an exciting day of surfing tomorrow."

The Billabong Junior Series 2014 has a number of supporting sponsors, including Playstation, Samsung, Techniblock, Nixon, VonZipper, KR Fins, Denis Ellis Surfboards and Future Life.

The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognized by the Dept. of Sport and Recreation as the national governing body for surfing.

World Surf League
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