Good, contestable surf conditions off the pier at East Beach saw high-performance surfing on the final day of The Rip Curl GromSearch, presented by The Royal St Andrews Hotel and supported by Sea Harvest.
The Rip Curl GromSearch Port Alfred is an anchor event for the Port Alfred Easter Festival.
Leah Lepront was on form throughout the event and won the premier U16 girls' division.
She surfed an impressive final to take the win from Emily Jenkinson, with Taylor Emslie and Maya Malherbe in the minor positions.
“I'm so stoked. I'm just very happy at the moment,” an ecstatic Lepront said.
“I was chasing a score and I got that good wave, and did a check-turn and then a big turn for a 5.93 score. That got me the win.”
The U16 boys' final was spirited, with Kai Stubbs first out of the blocks with a good 6.5 on the scoreboard.
He managed to hold onto the lead until the final siren despite a fierce counterattack from Ben Esterhuyse. Esterhuyse eventually came second, ahead of Marcello Zedde, with Loghann Tilsley in fourth place.
“It was the first wave that made the final for me,” Stubbs said.
“It was quite a slow heat with not that many good ones out there, and that first wave score put me in the lead from the beginning.”
Summer Harding was the standout surfer in the U12 girls' division. Her energetic performance saw her win comfortably, with Ella van der Made in second place.
The U12 boys' final was a brilliant contest, with all surfers putting in impressive displays.
Natural footer Lazaro De Bruyn was the deserved winner, with goofy footer Leo Macleod fighting hard until the end. Macleod didn't get enough to outpoint De Bruyn, even with the highest-scoring wave of the heat on his score sheet.
In the U14 girls' division, Maya Malherbe outpointed a determined Emma Schermbrucker after a close tussle, while a a tenacious Slayde Shooter took the boys' title ahead of Marcello Zedde.
The U18 girls' division saw a flurry of excellent waves pouring through, with Louise Lepront making the most of the long right-handers to bank an inspiring 14.67 points, beating her sister Leah into second place.
Lily Heny and Taylor Emslie were third and fourth respectively.
Matt Canning picked up one of the best waves of the day in the U18 boys' final to bank a solid 7.60 to win from Clay Turrell, with Rylan Jarvis in third and Kai Hall in fourth.
The Expression Session took place in fun, onshore conditions the previous day.
Leah Lepront was the runner-up behind women's winner local surfer Lily Heny, while Cooper Smith was second behind men's winner Kai Hall.
The Herald