Cape Town: BOS Cape Crown presented by Billabong – Jake Elkington and Sophie Bell Take Titles.

Jake Elkington (Kommetjie) and Sophie Bell (Salt Rock) took the junior men’s and women’s titles at the BOS Cape Crown pres. by Billabong in idyllic 1 to 1.3 metre waves at Long Beach in Kommetjie on Sunday.

Their victories saw Elkington extend his lead at the top of the World Surf League (WLS) Africa regional junior men’s rankings while Bell moved into the No. 1 spot on the junior women’s leaderboard with four of the nine events on the 2017 calendar completed.

Local surfers dominated the results with all four men’s finalists coming from Kommetjie along with two of the four women’s finalists despite a strong contingent of the country’s best 18-and-under surfers from all over the South African coastline.

The men’s final was a see-saw affair with the lead changing hands numerous times. Eli Beukes started well before Ford van Jaarsveldt posted the first substantial score while the Elkington brothers – Jake and Max – had slow starts as they waited for the bigger set waves.

Beukes stayed busy on the inside before Max found a great righthander and posted an excellent score that he followed with a mid-range score to take the lead. In the last five minutes Van Jaarsveldt put himself into contention with an explosive ride, but with just 45 seconds remaining it was Jake who produced the title-winning score on a left that he decimated with a series of vertical backhand manoeuvres that netted an 8.67.

“It’s really amazing to have a WSL event at my home break and to surf in front of your home crowd and get the win feels great,” said Jake. “Having three friends in the final that I surf with every day and are always pushing my levels was also fun. I was leading the rankings coming into this event, but now I’m one step closer to my goal of qualifying for the WSL Junior Champs in Australia at the beginning of next year.”

Kommetjie resident Summer Sutton made full use of her local knowledge to dominate the women’s final, riding twice as many waves as her opponents and leading the heat until the last three minutes. Rankings leader Kayla Nogueira (uMhlanga) and Sarah Ingram (Cape Town) battled to find waves with good scoring potential and Bell had produced just one excellent score as time started to run out.

But with three minutes left on the clock, Bell used her priority to catch a long right that just kept producing for the powerful natural footer and she slammed four high risk manoeuvres to take the lead. Sutton had a final opportunity to grab victory as the siren sounded to end the final but came up just short of the score required.

Adding today’s victory to his win in the first event of the season in Port Elizabeth last month, Jake Elkington now holds a significant 650 point rankings lead over Adin Masencamp (Strand) with Max Elkington another 145 points further back in third spot and Koby Oberholzer (Warner Beach) in fourth.

Bell, the winner of both the open and junior women’s events in East London, is 195 points ahead of Nogueira, the winner of Port Elizabeth and Durban events, with Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) in third place.

The rankings points earned in the JQS1,000 men’s and women’s events count towards the 2017 WSL Africa junior titles, the selection of the top four men and top two women for the WSL Junior Championships in Australia in January 2018 and towards the 18-and-under titles in the 20^th edition of the Billabong Junior Series.

The BOS Cape Crown pres. by Billabong also featured 3A rated SAST events for U16, U14 and U12 boys and girls run by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport

Results, images, news and more for the JQS events will be available at WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The SAST event results will be posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

The BOS Cape Crown is supported by Billabong, Sea Harvest, Surf Ears, Lifestyle Surf Shop, Greeff Properties / Village Homes, National Lotteries Commission, World Surf League and Surfing South Africa

BOS Cape Crown pres. by Billabong (Long Beach, Kommetjie, Cape Town)

Junior Men’s JQS1,000 Final Results

1. Jake Elkington (Kommetjie)                               R8,000           1,000 pts
2. Max Elkington (Kommetjie)                                R4,000              750 pts
3. Ford van Jaarsveldt (Kommetjie)                      R2,500              560 pts
4. Eli Beukes (Kommetjie)                                      R2,000              525 pts

Junior Women’s JQS1,000 Final Results

1. Sophie Bell (Salt Rock)                                      R4,000           1,000 pts
2. Summer Sutton (Kommetjie)                            R2,000              750 pts
3. Kayla Nogueira (uMhlanga)                              R1,110              560 pts
4. Sarah Ingram (Cape Town)                              R    900             525 pts

2017 WSL Africa Rankings (Top 5 after four events)

Junior Men

1.  Elkington,Jake         Kommetjie                 3120 points
2. Masencamp,Adin     Strand                                    2470
3. Elkington,Max          Kommetjie                 2325
4.  Oberholzer,Koby      Warner Beach          2235
5.  Faulkner,Joshe        Jeffreys Bay              1750

Junior Women

1. Bell,Sophie               Salt Rock                   3145 points
2. Nogueira,Kayla        uMhlanga                  2955
3. McGillivray,Kirsty     Jeffreys Bay              2220
4. De Coning,Tayla      East London             1795
5. Gericke,Taghiti         Wilderness                1640

The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running in excess of 180 global events across the Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels, and in doing so crowns the undisputed world champions in Men’s, Women’s across all divisions within the tour.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, Tyler Wright, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Grant Baker, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the Department of Sport and Recreation as the national governing body for the sport. Surfing South Africa is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.

More Info on Cape Town: BOS Cape Crown presented by Billabong – Jake Elkington and Sophie Bell Take Titles. here: https://www.facebook.com/Billabong/