Scottburgh’s Louise Lepront and Hayden McNicol won the women’s and men’s titles at The Royal St Andrews SA Open Championships, presented by Rip Curl last week.
Conditions were tricky but contestable on the day, with big scores pouring through for the loaded final heats of the event.
The women’s final was a close affair. Tash van Greunen was in the lead until the last minute when Louise picked up a bomb and executed a solid crack on her backhand.
It was an agonising wait for the score, but it was enough to put her in the lead as the final siren went.
Tash was just behind in second, with Aimee du Preez and Leah Lepront in third and fourth, respectively.
“I saw that wave coming, and I was just lucky that Tash didn’t get it,” said Louise.
“It was washy, but it cleaned up, and I knew I needed to do one big hit. So I managed to do a decent backhand turn, made it, and got the score at the last minute. So stoked to get the win.”
In the open men’s final, Andrew la Verge kicked off the battle with a six-point ride on the board that put everybody into combat mode.
Hayden McNicol returned strong with a good opening ride and a solid backup.
As he was doing the run around after his second wave, the announcer called his scores, which put him in first place.
Despite a determined comeback from La Verge and flashes of brilliance from Mitch du Preez and Clinton Gravett, Hayden stayed in the lead and was crowned the 2025 champion.
In the team event, Ethekwini Surfriders’ Association took the win from Buffalo City, with Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders in third.
RESULTS
Open women:
1 Louise Lepront
2 Tash van Greunen
3 Aimee du Preez
4 Leah Lepront
Open men:
1 Hayden McNicol
2 Andrew la Verge
3 Mitch du Preez
4 Clinton Gravett
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