The Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, both presented by Billabong, will take place on 28 June at Surfer’s Beach in Ballito, KwaZulu Natal.
The Ballito Women’s Pro offers total prize-money of the R30 000 with R10 000 and 1 000 QS rankings going to the winner.
The top two finishers in the Final of the Ballito Pro Trials qualify for the Ballito Pro where they are guaranteed a minimum of R9 000 in prize-money and money and 550 QS rankings points
The Ballito Women’s Pro is a R3-million Qualifying Series 1 000 rated event on the World Surf League (WSL). At the Ballito Pro Trials two trialists gain entry to Ballito Pro.
The Ballito Women’s Pro will feature 18 of South Africa’s best established and emerging female surf stars. Tanika Hoffman (Hout Bay) is the top seed, followed by Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay), Teal Hogg (Umhlanga) and Heather Clark (Port Shepstone). St Francis Bay’s Crystal Hulett and Cape St Francis’ Faye Zoetmulder are also taking part in the Women’s Pro event. Samkelisiwe Cele (Durban) will become the first Zulu girl to compete in a WSL event.
The Ballito Pro Trials feature a 32-man field of highly ranked international and South African competitors including Tiago Pires (POR), Connor Coffin (USA), Pedro Henrique (BRA) and SA’s David van Zyl (Glenashley), Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)
Both events use four person heats with the top two in each heat advancing to the next round until the last four in the event contest the Final.
These events are part of the Ballitor festival, a multi-sports and cultural festival that runs from 28 June 28-5 July..
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St Francis Chronicle 