Local matriculant Sarah Scott made waves at the World Surf League (WSL) Cape Town Surf Pro, held in contestable two-to-three foot surf, where she snatched top honours, ahead of runner-up Jessie van Niekerk, in the Qualifying Series 1 000 at Long Beach, Kommetjie, on Sunday.
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With a dissipating swell and the offshore wind expected to pick up, the women’s final got off to a quick start, with Kommetjie local Sarah Scott first on the board with a 5.83 (out of a possible 10).
Jessie van Niekerk stayed busy under priority to build on her score, squeezing everything out of the smaller waves on offer while Scott, Kira Hofmeyr and Aimee du Preez waited for bigger opportunities to roll through.
Making the most of her homeground advantage, Scott’s patience and local knowledge played in her favour when she found the best wave of the heat, staying in the pocket of the wave to crank out four great turns and earn an excellent 8.33, enough to secure her the semi-final win with a total of 14.16 (out of a possible 20).
Van Niekerk came in second, ahead of du Preez and Hofmeyr.
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‘It feels amazing to take out the first event of the year, I’m really stoked,’ said Scott. ‘It makes me feel really confident, plus it was at my hometown. The waves were really fun, despite the cold water!’
Scott, who is in her final school year, won’t be competing in the Challenger Series this year, but she has her sights set on qualifying for the 2024/2025 season.
‘This year I’m in matric, so I won’t be doing the Challenger Series, but this win obviously gives me the confidence for next year to try and qualify, because I’d like to compete on the CS. This year, I’m just going to do all the local competitions to keep my surfing and rhythm going, so I’m really happy with this win,’ comments Scott.
Runner-up and former Challenge Series competitor Jessie van Niekerk said she was happy with her result, going into the next event as number two on the rankings.
‘I’m super grateful, we had really fun waves and that’s all you really want going into an event,’ said van Niekerk.
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Picture: Kody McGregor / World Surf League