Nate Tayler and Emily Jenkinson Win The Premier Divisions Of The Rip Curl GromSearch Durban

Nate Tayler and Emily Jenkinson Win The Premier U16 Divisions Of The Rip Curl GromSearch Durban presented by Sea Harvest.

 - Kai Hall and Louise Lepront win the U18 divisions

 - Challenging conditions at New Pier for finals day.

 - The next Rip Curl GromSearch event at Seal Point

New Pier, Durban - Nate Tayler (Ballito) and Emily Jenkinson (Kommetjie) emerged victorious in the Premier U16 Girls and Boys Divisions after star performances in their respective final heats.

In the boys, a huge last-minute clutch aerial move saw Tayler get the nod from the judges and regain the lead he held earlier on from Loghann Tilsley (Strand). Ben Esterhuyse (CT) and Slayde Shooter (Cape St Francis) were third and fourth.

Emily Jenkinson (Kom) was surfing with intent in the Premier U16 Girls division, but Max Kauffman (Westbrook) was chasing her heels for the win. At the final siren, Jenkinson just staved Kauffman off by just over a point for the win, with Leah Lepront (Scottburgh) and Camilla Heuer (EL) in third and fourth, respectively. 

The U18 Division was also intense, with both finals being full-on affairs. In the Boys, it was Kai Hall (Durban) keeping Loghann Tilsley at bay until the final hooter for the win, with Nate Tayler and Clayton Turrell (South Coast) in the minor positions.

There were a couple of hard decisions to be made before this event commenced when the sardines descended on the primary event site, Scottburgh, on the KZN South Coast.

"We were monitoring the situation closely, but the sardines are unpredictable, and after consulting with relevant scientists and the sardine-run monitoring team, as well as with sponsor Rip Curl, we decided to move to New Pier for safety reasons, " said Surfing South Africa Vice President Anne Wright.

"It was the right decision. The waves were excellent on the opening day, very good on day two and still pretty decent for the finals day."

In the always-exciting U12 and U14 divisions, it was great to see some fresh faces emerging from the divisions that indicate our future champions. These divisions are incredibly competitive, and while the groms might be best of friends on land, when they hit the water, it's a war out there.

Standouts in the U12 girls were Ella Van Der Made and Summer Harding (Cape St Francis). Ethan Schermbrucker (Kom) ruled the U12 Boys, with Tom Pearson (Southbroom) as the runner-up.

Coco Clark (Ballito) won the Girls U14 division from Ella Van De Made, while Marcello Zedde (Ballito) took out the U14 Boys title from Ethan Shermbrucker.  

The Rip Curl GromSearch Series comprises four events, and this contest was the third in the series. Series winners are decided on the best three out of the four events, allowing one result as a throwaway.

The winners of the Premier U16 Boys and Girls Divisions will receive an entry into the Rip Curl GromSearch Global Finals, to be held at an as-yet undisclosed venue.

Rip Curl International will take care of them at this event. They will be housed, coached, and tutored by elite Rip Curl pro surfers and have the opportunity to compete against the best groms in the world.

The next event in the Rip Curl GromSearch Series is the final competition, scheduled to take place at Seal Point, Cape St. Francis, in September. For dates and more information, please refer to the Surfing South Africa event calendar.

Final Results

U12 Girls

1. Ella van der Made

2. Summer Harding

3. Adriana Canning

4. Lila Prinsloo

U12 Boys

1. Ethan Schermbrucker

2. Tom Pearson

3. Jackson Myers

4. Johnjon Clark

U14 Girls

1. Coco Clark

2. Ella van der Made

3. Summer Harding

4. Lila Prinsloo

U14 Boys

1. Marcello Zedde

2. Ethan Schermbrucker

3. Tyler Balfour

4. Sean Tayler

U18 Girls

1. Louise Lepront

2. Emily Jenkinson

3. Keira Fletcher

4. Max Kauffman

U18 Boys

1. Kai Hall

2. Loghann Tilsley

3. Nathan Tayler

4. Clayton Turrell

PREMIER U16 GIRLS

1. Emily Jenkinson

2. Max Kauffman

3. Leah Lepront

4. Camilla Heuer

PREMIER U16 BOYS

1. Nathan Tayler

2. Loghann Tilsley

3. Ben Esterhuyse

4. Slayde Shooter

Expression Session

Boys Best Air - Xavier Van Der Merwe

Girls Best Air - Emily Jenkinson

Boys Best Move - Rylan Jarvis

Girls Best Move - Louise Lepront

The Rip Curl GromSearch Durban contest is a Surfing South Africa tournament supported by Sea Harvest.

Please refer to LiveHeats for all results and post-event ratings.

Complimentary high-res images are available for media outlets.

For Rip Curl GromSearch media enquiries and photo requests:

Craig Jarvis:

e. craig@truthcollective.co.za

t. 082 376 4443 

For Surfing South Africa enquiries or event details:

SSA General Manager Reza De Nicker: 

e. reza@surfingsouthafrica.co.za

t. 079 373 1964

About Surfing South Africa

Surfing South Africa is the official National Federation for Surfing in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognised as the governing body by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Surfing South Africa is responsible for developing the sport, hosting National tournaments, sanctioning International events, and selecting National teams in all SSA disciplines. SSA is a member of the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA), the sport's World governing body.