Despite being wedged between two of the most brutal storms in living memory, the Walker Bay Pro ran a successful IBC World Tour event down at Onrus.
With the financial crisis we are all feeling, the shenanigans of Eskom, the taxi wars and the global unease around the war in Ukraine, the Walker Bay Pro event organisers decided to put on a rather scaled-down version of last year’s event.
The hard decision was made to remove the Men’s division from formal IBC World Tour competition in the Walker Bay Pro, and to shift the main focus of the event to the Women’s Division.
Then the sad news broke that the final stop of the Women’s World Tour, the Morocco Pro, had been cancelled due to the devastating earthquake. This tragic event now placed more emphasis on the importance of the Walker Bay Pro as the official final stop of the Women’s IBC World Tour. However, this did not mean the Walker Bay Pro was just going to forget about our local gents. To compensate for the loss the Walker Bay Pro, innovated and offered a trip to The Antofagasta Surf Culture Festival in Chile as the main prize for the winner of the Men’s division. With this in mind the Walker Bay Pro attracted some of the best bodyboarders in the country to compete in a non-professional showdown.
In the ladies finals on 23 September it was the Canary Islands vs. Portugal, Teresa Miranda vs. Joana Schenker. With no rest from the cold front, the ladies hit the water as rain and wind wreaked havoc. Teresa maintained her cool approach, calmly waiting for whatever the ocean threw at her, Joana kept busy hunting between the peaks. Soon Teresa had banked a six-point ride and backed it up with a 4.75. Joana, despite her best efforts, could not find a workable peak and came second.
In the men’s division local and world champ Tristan Roberts had set the bar high in the fist round. In the quarter-finals Marc Webster took on Tristan and threw in everything and beat the world champ.
In the other quarter-final heats, Hankus Loubser ended Hugo Naudes’ run in the Men’s division, Benjy Oliver took down high-flying Chad Jesse and Luke Staniforth won the battle of Luke Squared when he took out Luke Bruton.
In the finals for the men’s division of the Walker Bay Pro, Benjy Oliver would square off with Onrus local, Luke Staniforth for the crown.
The dark horse of the event, the ever smiling Benjy emerged victorious from the spray and claimed the title of the 2023 Walker Bay Pro Men’s Champion.Results:. IBC World Tour Women’s DivisionTeresa Miranda (Canary Islands)Joana Schenker (Portugal)Sari Ohhara (Japan) and Maira Viana (Brazil). Walker Bay Pro Men’s DivisionBenjy Oliver (Llandudno)Luke Staniforth (Onrus)Marc Webster (Onrus) and Hankus Loubser (Simon’s Town). Walker Bay Junior’s DivisionHugo Naude (George)Mika (Durban)John Krige (Cape Town) and Luca Potgieter (Onrus)
