Mayah Potgieter, nicknamed Smurf, has won the U16 division at the recent Sea Harvest South African Surfing Championships, presented by SMTH Shapes, in Jeffreys Bay (Lower Point).
Among the first to congratulate her was South Coast surfing legend, Heather Clark a former World Championship Tour surfer.
Heather has mentored and coached Mayah and was bursting with pride. “I could not be more stoked for my young protégé.”
On social media, Heather said: “Our surfing journey has come a long way, from surfing foamies a few years ago, to ripping the waves apart like you did today. I’ve watched you train harder than anyone I know, the blood, sweat and tears that came along with it was all worth it in the end. This win was well deserved, champ.”
The U16 girls final was an incredibly gripping affair, with drama and last-minute changes that had the crowds cheering till the end.
Gemma Hanafey (Buffalo City) had the lead from about mid-way through the heat, but it was minimal, and the heat was starved of good waves throughout.
With about 90 seconds to go, a set appeared, and it looked like it was going to be a good set of waves with high-scoring potential.
Gemma was sitting on third priority (meaning that she could only choose the third wave if there was one) and Mayah had first priority.
Needing a score of less than two points, Mayah caught a bomb.
She executed multiple turns all the way through to the inside while Gemma could only sit and watch in dismay.
The second wave of the set was picked up by Anastasia Venter (Cape Winelands). While it wasn’t good enough for the win, it did see Gemma drop into third position.
Mayah’s final wave scored a 4.17, and it was enough to see her snatch the girls U16 title to become the girls U16 South African Surfing Champion.
Mayah lives in St Mike’s on the South Coast but surfs for Ilembe Surfriders (North Coast).
There were four divisions for both boys and girls, so eight divisions and eight South African titles were to be won.
There were other major highlights for the South Coast and the Ugu Surfriders with Lepront sisters Louise and Leah, from Scottburgh, winning the U14 and U12 divisions respectively.
Louise was also named ‘surfer girl of the contest’.
Their brother Luc reached the semi finals in the U16 division.
Nina Dirkze-van Schalkwyk, also from Scottburgh, made it to the semi finals in the U14 division, as did Zoey Thompson from Ramsgate in the U18s.
Overall, it was a very good performance from a small team missing seven surfers to make it a full team.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
