The Ballito Urban Improvement Precinct (BUIP) knows that sustained water quality is a major priority for the local community and holidaymakers which is why, working as a collective with local residential estates, it has ensured consistent and independent sea water testing since the April 2022 floods which caused major havoc and pollution to KZN’s coastline.
Demonstrating rigorous transparency, the results of this weekly testing are shared weekly via the BUIP’s email and social media channels. From 4 January 2023 to 30 May 2023, samples taken from beaches and tidal pools from Salmon Bay through to Tiffany’s Beach showed that E. coli levels were consistently in the ‘green for ideal’ or ‘amber for acceptable’ range barring one week (9 May) where the count was at a critical level at Willard’s Beach. Bearing in mind that water quality is affected by high winds and seas, this occurrence was short-lived and Willard’s, also a Blue Flag beach, will continue to host the annual Ballito PRO reinforcing its status as a world-class natural attraction.
BUIP precinct manager Thierry Leclezio says, “With Blue Flag status and a world-class promenade, we certainly are very fortunate to have this wonderful facility on our doorstep that continues to draw crowds, provide a wonderful natural escape for locals and visitors and host world-class events.”
And while the north coast’s beaches continue to receive much-deserved attention, the promenade itself is due for a minor upgrade in the form of a new access ramp. To further raise Ballito’s status as a caring and cared-for environment, the BUIP in collaboration with KDM is actively raising funds to build a fourth access ramp down to the beach. Based on previous projects, the new ramp will cost R40 000 to build and the UIP is calling on the community to get behind this worthwhile UIP Non-Profit Company driven project. For more information on the project visit www.ballitouip/projects.co.za or donate directly via the zapper code.
“Collaboration amongst all community role-players and the public at large is key to further enhancing the KZN North Coast’s public spaces and delivering on our objective of being positioned as Africa’s most sought-after warm water lifestyle destination. It is also for this reason that we attract world-class events to our shores like the Ballito PRO. Together we can do it,” concludes Leclezio.
JBay surfer Matt McGillivray Qualifies For Elite Tour After Mid-year Cut
Western Australia – JBay surfer Matt McGillivray has succeeded in his quest to requalify for the elite Championship Tour after a tense day of surfing at Margaret River. However, McGillivray was on the cusp and needed an excellent finish at the event to have any chance of requalifying. The Rip Curl surfer who calls Supertubes his home break seemed very at ease in the giant waves that Margaret River main break delivered. There were ten-foot sets and sometimes bigger ones rolling through the lineup. The wild conditions of West Australia suited some surfers but were tricky for many. McGillivray defeated Brazilian surfer Samuel Pupo in the round of 16 before defeating 2019 World Champion Italo Ferreira from Brazil in the quarterfinals.
He picked up some of the day’s biggest waves on finals day and carved them with speed, power, and flow, just what the judges were looking for. His fearless approach saw him advance to the semi-finals, where he came up against event favorite John John Florence from Hawaii, eventually bowing out in this round in a close heat. “Matt has been surfing so well this event,” said Florence. “I knew it was going to be a hard heat.” Fellow South African Jordy Smith was also competing in the event. He managed a quarterfinal finish, lost to local surfer Jack Robinson, and qualified for the back half of the year. The next event of the year will be at Grajagan, a left-hand reef break that breaks off the jungles of Java in Indonesia. For more information, go to https://www.worldsurfleague.com/
Jeffreys Bay – This year’s JBay Winterfest will take place from 6 – 22 July, and looks set to be another exciting 2 weeks of surfing, live music and a whole lot more.
The Corona JBay Open Men’s and Women’s surfing contests will be the anchor events of the festival, with the best male and female surfers in the world descending on JBay and the perfect waves of Supertubes.
Filipe Toledo from Brazil is the defending champion, and he also won the tournament in 2017. Therefore this year he will be going for a hat trick, which has never happened at a Championship Tour level at this venue. Filipe redefined high performance surfing at this contest in 2017, with a fast and futuristic aerial surfing performance, resulting in a perfect 10-point ride for one incredible wave, as well as the contest victory.
Jordy Smith from Durban is also a two times event champion and is always a well-supported surfer, with the local crowd cheering him on from the rafters whenever he takes off on a wave. He is always one of the best surfers in the water, and has the distinction of surfing a perfect 20-point heat back in 2017. Jordy finished fifth on the World Surf League Championship Tour’s Jeep Leader Board in 2018 and will be wanting to improve on that ranking this year.
Wade Carmichael from Australia was the stand-out surfer last year, competing on his first year on the Championship Tour. The rookie took out the talented Conner Coffin (USA) in the quarterfinals and Jordy Smith in the semifinals. Coming up against Toledo in the final, the powerful natural-footer surfed with confidence and aggression, but fell on a final air attempt in the last few minutes, and finished runner-up to Toledo. His power surfing was well-suited to the long, open faces, and he will no doubt be full of confidence coming into this year’s event.
Kelly Slater, the USA’s 11-times world champion, will be competing for the last time as a Championship Tour surfer this year, having announced his upcoming retirement at the end of 2019. Slater has 4 victories to his name at this tournament, and has often described it as one of his favourite events in the world. Slater injured himself while free-surfing here in 2017, and has been struggling with his form ever since, but has made it clear that his final year on tour is coming with a focused and determined competitive act. It is a well-known fact that Slater is hungry for a 12th World Title, and this year will be his last chance to secure it.
On the Women’s tour, event defending champion and current world champion Stephanie Gilmore from Australia will bring her smooth and stylish approach to the event again, hoping to claim her second win to follow on from her victory at the inaugural event last year.
We can expect Lakey Peterson (USA) and Carissa Moore (Hawaii) to be hot on her heels this year, along with surfers like fierce Brazilian competitor Tatiana Weston-Webb, and the dynamic and popular Hawaiian surfer Coco Ho.
This year will once again have the popular free music shows, and they will be moving across to the Supertubes Park.Live In The Parkwill feature a range of top South African bands and musicians performing live.
Last year the live music was one of the highlights of the festival, with large crowds gathering to watch the bands, enjoy the vibes and chill with a few Coronas at sunset after long days of excellent surfing.
The band names will be announced soon. Many of the bands who performed live last year called the JBay Winterfest one of the highlights of their year, so we can once again expect top bands to be part of this year’s jol.
Alongside the surfing and the live music there will also be a Skins Fishing Tournament, a Funduro dirtbike event, as well as a Trail Run and more. The details of these events will follow.
