City Surf Series South Africa

10/04/2025

Anastasia Venter and Connor Slijpen won the World Surf League (WSL) Africa Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior.



Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality World Surf League WSL Qualifying Series Astron Energy Eastern Cape Accelerate Sport Zigzag Surfing Magazine

07/04/2025

The World Surf League (WSL) Africa’s Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 2025 season kicked off with the Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior at Po***ck Beach, Gqeberha in two-to-three foot surf with onshore wind.



Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality World Surf League WSL Qualifying Series Astron Energy Eastern Cape Accelerate Sport Zigzag Surfing Magazine

07/04/2025

06/04/2025

06/04/2025

𝗔𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗷𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿

Today, Anastasia Venter and Connor Slijpen won the World Surf League (WSL) Africa Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior in bumpy two-to-three foot surf at Po***ck Beach, Gqeberha. Venter successfully defended her title, while Slijpen earned his first-ever JQS win. Lily Heny and Ben Esterhuyse finished runners-up respectively.

As the first stop on the 2025 WSL Africa Junior Tour, it’s an important event as it counts towards potential qualification for the WSL World Junior Championships at the end of the year.

In the men’s Final, Connor Slijpen’s strategy to lock in the first score worked out in his favour to put the pressure on first-time finalist Ben Esterhuyse. There was a long lull and time slowly ticked by, until Slijpen found a great wave and scored an excellent 8.17 (out of a possible 10) and immediately backed it up with a 7.10 to put Esterhuyse in a dreadful combination situation.

Slijpen, in his final year as a Junior, wasn’t satisfied yet and kept on hunting. He found what he was looking for, and earned an impressive 8.83 from the judges to close the door and earn the highest heat total of the event with 17.00 (out of a possible 20).

“I’m stoked, the waves were really fun,” Slijpen said. “I saw there were a few bigger sections out the back, so I knew if you could find those waves and hit a big section you’d get a good score.”

Slijpen, who recently qualified for the 2025 Challenger Series, used this event as part of his preparation for the upcoming Challengers.

“This is really just preparation for the Challenger Series,” Slijpen said. “I’m trying to get in as many heats as I can, practice as much as I can and try and do my best.”

It was an exciting clash between Cape Town’s Slijpen and Durban’s pocket-rocket Ntokozo Maphumulo in the second Semifinal. Slijpen dealt the first big blow when he dismantled a wave with his fast and sharp surfing. Maphumulo got to work and tried to manufacture a big score, but he couldn’t pull it off and Slijpen shut it down at the end to progress to the Finals.

Meeting for the third time in this competition, Ben Esterhuyse and Josh Malherbe went head-to-head in the first Semifinal. It was a tight matchup, but Esterhuyse improved both his scoring rides late in the heat to surge past Malherbe and earn his first Finals appearance and career-best result.

In a rematch of last year’s Final, defending event winner Anastasia Venter and Lily Heny met again in the Final at Po***ck Beach this year. It looked like it would swing in Heny’s favour, as she increased her lead halfway through the heat. The pressure was on Venter to respond, and her experience showed when she locked in the required score to jump into first with 5 minutes left on the clock. With no other scoring opportunities on the horizon, Venter denied Heny the title once again.

“I’m feeling really good,” Venter said. “It’s so good to win this competition again, and it’s right around the corner from my home. It was a long and hectic competition, and I really wanted the win, so when I got to the Finals I could kind of relax, and just said to myself, let’s just surf and have fun.”

Lily Heny booked her spot in the Final when she overcame Emily Jenkinson in the first Semifinal of the day. Heny was trailing behind Jenkinson, searching for a better wave that would offer her more to work with. She found it in the end, getting the best score of the heat, to advance to the Finals.

Anastasia Venter edged out Louise Lepront in a low-scoring affair in their Semifinal matchup, to setup a rematch with Heny in the Finals.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior ran from 5-6 April 2025 at Po***ck Beach, Gqeberha.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior is supported by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Accelerate Sport, Astron Energy, Surfing South Africa and Red Bull.

For more information visit WorldSurfLeague.com
Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Final Results:
1- Connor Slijpen (RSA) 17.00
2- Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) 8.50

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women's Final Results:
1- Anastasia Venter (RSA) 9.03
2- Lily Heny (RSA) 8.50

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) 10.97 DEF. Josh Malherbe (RSA) 9.33
HEAT 2: Connor Slijpen (RSA) 13.50 DEF. Ntokozo Maphumulo (RSA) 9.77

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women's Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Lily Heny (RSA) 9.66 DEF. Emily Jenkinson (RSA) 7.76
HEAT 2: Anastasia Venter (RSA) 6.40 DEF. Louise Lepront (RSA) 5.60



📸 (c) WSL / Kody McGregor

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality WSL Qualifying Series World Surf League Surfing SA Astron Energy Eastern Cape Accelerate Sport Zigzag Surfing Magazine Red Bull

06/04/2025

The Junior Men's FINAL is locked in! 🤙 It's a second final for Connor Slijpen at Po***ck Beach this year. 🏄

👉 Live scores and updates at worldsurfleague.com



📸 (c) WSL /

.qs

06/04/2025

It's a repeat of last year's final! 🤙

👉 Live scores and updates at worldsurfleague.com



📸 (c) WSL /

.qs

05/04/2025

𝗡𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻

The World Surf League (WSL) Africa’s Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) 2025 season kicked off with the Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior today at Po***ck Beach, Gqeberha in two-to-three foot surf with onshore wind. The competition wraps up an exciting week of surfing action as part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Fest and City Surf Series in partnership with Accelerate Sport.

It was a long day of competition in challenging onshore conditions, but it paved the way for a short Finals Day tomorrow with the swell expected to improve. The next call will be Sunday, 6 April at 7:30 AM GMT +2.

With momentum on his side, Cape Town’s Connor Slijpen opened his Pro Junior campaign in Gqeberha on an excellent note. The surfer from Llandudno earned a near-excellent heat in the Opening Round, and won his next two heats to advance to the Semifinals.

Slijpen’s good understanding of the nuances of Po***ck Beach and his aerial antics saw him win his first-ever Qualifying Series title at the SA Open of Surfing last month. Backed by a consistent run of results, Slijpen secured his qualification for the 2025 Challenger Series.

“I’m really excited for the Challenger Series,” Slijpen said. “I’m here to get some points for the Pro Junior and aim to qualify for the World Junior Championships. It’s just good practice, trying to hone my strategy for the Challenger Series, and I’m amped.”

Returning to his first WSL JQS competition since Ballito last year, Durban’s Ntokozo Maphumulo was on fire, advancing to the Semifinals in impressive form. He upped the ante in the Round of 8, putting pressure on Slijpen who had to dig deep for the win. Maphumulo won his first-ever JQS title in 2023, and will be relying on that experience when he meets Slijpen in the Semifinals.

After battling through the first day of competition, Josh Malherbe and Ben Esterhuyse will meet each other for their third consecutive heat in the men’s Semifinals. This time it will be head-to-head, and only one can advance to the Finals. Meanwhile, it was a tough day in the office for local star Rory Dace and top seed Levi Epenetos, who bowed out in the Round of 16.

Defending event winner Anastasia Venter showed grit and determination to power through the two rounds of competition to book her spot in the Semifinals. She earned the highest heat of the day in the women’s draw in her Opening Round with 12.63. Venter, who narrowly missed out on Challenger Series qualification, will take some confidence from her performance today as she looks to earn another win in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Venter is in for a big matchup against Louise Lepront, who was recently crowned the WSL Africa QS winner for 2024/2025. Lepront is in incredible form, winning both her heats today, and at just 16-years-old she still has a few years left to make her mark on the JQS circuit.

Rising stars Emily Jenkinson and Lily Heny will come up against each other in the other women’s Semifinal.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior will run from 5-6 April 2025 at Po***ck Beach, Gqeberha.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior is supported by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Accelerate Sport, Astron Energy Eastern Cape, Surfing SA and Red Bull.

For more information visit WorldSurfLeague.com

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Round of 32 Results:
HEAT 1: Massimo Bienz (CHE) 10.67 DEF. David Emslie (RSA) 10.00, Cooper Smith (RSA) 5.53
HEAT 2: Rory Dace (RSA) 9.56 DEF. Kai Hall (RSA) 8.70, Adam Faclier (RSA) 7.03
HEAT 3: Matt Canning (RSA) 10.23 DEF. Josh Malherbe (RSA) 8.30, David Moussouris (RSA) 3.77, Maksim Bagdasarian (RUS) 2.30
HEAT 4: Levi Epenetos (RSA) 14.50 DEF. Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) 9.10, Josh Van Wyk (RSA) 4.33
HEAT 5: Luc Lepront (RSA) 11.16 DEF. Simon Winter (RSA) 8.56, Jake Anderson (RSA) 5.93
HEAT 6: Ntokozo Maphumulo (RSA) 10.30 DEF. Rylan Jarvis (RSA) 9.03, Lorenzo Perels (RSA) 5.63, Ilya Novikov (RUS) 4.23
HEAT 7: Clay Turrell (RSA) 10.23 DEF. Nathan Van De Griendt (RSA) 5.84, Sinoyolo Tsongolo (RSA) 5.83, Ilia Petukhov (RUS) 3.64
HEAT 8: Connor Slijpen (RSA) 15.50 DEF. Xavier Van Der Merwe (RSA) 8.93, Kieran Murphy (RSA) 8.33

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) 10.83 DEF. Josh Malherbe (RSA) 9.10, Massimo Bienz (CHE) 8.13, Rory Dace (RSA) 5.13
HEAT 2: David Emslie (RSA) 10.50 DEF. Kai Hall (RSA) 9.33, Levi Epenetos (RSA) 7.43, Matt Canning (RSA) 6.90
HEAT 3: Ntokozo Maphumulo (RSA) 11.77 DEF. Luc Lepront (RSA) 8.63, Xavier Van Der Merwe (RSA) 5.13, Nathan Van De Griendt (RSA) 2.93
HEAT 4: Connor Slijpen (RSA) 12.94 DEF. Clay Turrell (RSA) 9.63, Simon Winter (RSA) 9.27, Rylan Jarvis (RSA) 6.30

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women's Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Lily Heny (RSA) 6.44 DEF. Emma Schermbrucker (RSA) 5.20, Sophia Jackson (RSA) 4.67
HEAT 2: Emily Jenkinson (RSA) 10.17 DEF. Maya Malherbe (RSA) 5.90, Leah Lepront (RSA) 5.23
HEAT 3: Louise Lepront (RSA) 10.34 DEF. Jasmine Venter (RSA) 4.00, Brin Jarvis (RSA) 0.97
HEAT 4: Anastasia Venter (RSA) 12.63 DEF. Remi Fourie (RSA) 10.00, Charlotte Copson (RSA) 2.50

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Round of 8 Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) 9.33 DEF. Josh Malherbe (RSA) 8.97, Kai Hall (RSA) 7.57, David Emslie (RSA) 6.27
HEAT 2: Connor Slijpen (RSA) 11.27 DEF. Ntokozo Maphumulo (RSA) 10.70, Luc Lepront (RSA) 8.63, Clay Turrell (RSA) 5.67

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women's Round of 8 Results:
HEAT 1: Lily Heny (RSA) 7.84 DEF. Emily Jenkinson (RSA) 7.66, Emma Schermbrucker (RSA) 5.73, Maya Malherbe (RSA) 5.50
HEAT 2: Louise Lepront (RSA) 10.90 DEF. Anastasia Venter (RSA) 8.40, Remi Fourie (RSA) 7.90, Jasmine Venter (RSA) 4.16

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Men's Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Ben Esterhuyse (RSA) vs. Josh Malherbe (RSA)
HEAT 2: Connor Slijpen (RSA) vs. Ntokozo Maphumulo (RSA)

Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women's Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Lily Heny (RSA) vs. Emily Jenkinson (RSA)
HEAT 2: Louise Lepront (RSA) vs. Anastasia Venter (RSA)



📸 (c) WSL /