SA Surfing Championships at Vic Bay

SURFING NEWS - In an exciting finish to the 59th SA Surfing Championships, Cape Town’s Anastasia Venter was crowned as the new women's champion and defending men's champion Tom Lindhorst from Buffalo City, retained his title.

Tyrell Johnson, also from the Eastern Cape, won the Surfer of the Contest Award and Buffalo City won the coveted President’s Cup.

First up was the Open Women's Final, and Venter looked strong from the get-go, her international competitive experience paying off.

The judges awarded Venter a 7.33 - the highest heat score - for one spectacular ride where she managed to link turns and ride through to the inside.

The Open Men's Final was as dramatic as they come. Luke Van Wyk found himself in a reasonably comfortable lead quite early in the heat, holding the rest of the finalists at bay with a combined score of 11.64.

As the heat ticked down, goofy-footed Lindhorst scratched into a good-looking wave that opened up for him and allowed for a series of powerful turns for a score of 5.67.

Needing to score just under six points to win the final, Lindhorst's final wave came in at 6.40, and the Buffalo City surfer retained his title to become the SA Men's Champion 2024.