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For the first time ever, the Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill Festival in KwaDukuza welcomed the inspirational Para Surfing Expression Session to its programme, with adaptive surfers taking to the water on Saturday, 1 July. The surfers came from Made for More, a local non-profit organisation that aims to include, empower, and equip people with disabilities through sport.
Through their adaptive surfing programme, many individuals have been instructed in water safety, life skills, and adaptive ways to bodyboard and surf. Made for More Founder, Julia van Zyl, commented: “What a special event to be a part of. Many of the athletes overcame massive fears and showed true courage by getting into the water in very big, testing, and difficult conditions.
A stand out on the day was O’Neill Team rider Caleb Swanepoel who caught a solid 4-foot wave. The crowd cheering from the beach was incredible and definitely gave the surfers more confidence to put on a show.
Thank you to O’Neill for including us and WSL Africa for making this all possible. We truly believe the best is yet to come.” The Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill Festival, themed Konke KuLuhlaza – Everything is Blue, continues until 9 July with a full festival programme running alongside world-class surfing.
Brent Le Riche will be performing his world-class moves as part of the Monster Energy Programme from 7 to 9 July with an epic line-up of top South African musicians and DJs at the free Ballito Pro Music Concerts on 6 and 7 July at Salt Rock Main Beach from 5pm to 10.30pm, with After Dark Parties planned throughout the event.
Retail offerings, daily beach sports, and recreational activities will also keep families entertained as the best international surfers show off their skills. Don’t miss any of the action at the 2023 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill Festival and be part of the change.
Visit The ballito Pro website or The Ballito Pro on social media.
Photo Credit: Luke Patterson / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill
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 the development of the sport, the hosting of National tournaments, the sanctioning of international events and the selection of national teams in all the disciplines that are part of SSA.
SSA is one of the 103 members of the International Surfing Association (ISA), the World governing body for the sport.
About the WSL
Established in 1976, the World Surf League (WSL) is the home of the world’s best surfing.
A global sports, media and entertainment company, the WSL oversees international tours and competitions, a studios division creating over 500+ hours of live and on-demand content, and via affiliate WaveCo, the home of the world’s largest high performance, human-made wave. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.
The WSL annually crowns the men’s and women’s surfing World Champions. The global Tours and Competition division oversees and operates more than 180 global contests each year across the Championship Tour, the development tiers, including the Challenger, Qualifying and Junior Series, as well as longboard and big wave properties.
Launched in 2019, WSL Studios is an independent producer of unscripted television projects, including documentaries and series, which provide unprecedented access to athletes, events, and locations around the world. WSL events and content are distributed on linear television in over 743M+ homes worldwide and across digital and social media platforms around the world, including WorldSurfLeague.com.
WaveCo includes the Surf Ranch Lemoore facility and the utilizing and licensing of the Kelly Slater Wave System.
The WSL is dedicated to changing the world through the inspirational power of surfing by creating authentic events, experiences, and storytelling to inspire a growing, global community to live with purpose, originality, and stoke.
For more information, please visit World Surf League.
