| MEDIA RELEASECountdown begins for Ballito Pro 2021 presented by O’Neill this December
After Covid-19-related delays, organisers of the 2021 Ballito Pro are excited to announce the official dates for the highly-anticipated Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill surf and festival programme, based at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza. From 9 to 19 December, visitors will get the chance to watch world-class surfing action and enjoy a full line-up of festival fun as the Ballito Pro gets underway in December – for the first time ever!
“KwaDukuza Municipality is very pleased to implement one of our key tourism recovery elements this summer by supporting the Ballito Pro presented by our partners O’Neill,” said Executive Director – Economic Development & Planning of KwaDukuza, Mr Sikhumbuzo Hlongwane. “The adopted 2020 KwaDukuza Socio-economic Recovery Plan identified this event as the launching pad for our digital destination marketing strategy focused on attracting domestic and international tourism.”
He encouraged the private sector partners and tourism establishments to embrace the event which is set to follow strict Covid-19 health and safety protocols: “We hope to retain this as one of the top five sports tourism events in KwaZulu-Natal. We’d like to thank our sponsors and partners for continued support and resources, and we look forward to hosting the prestigious 55th Surfing South Africa Championships for the first time in KwaDukuza.”
Brand Director Paul Canning of Sector Group, said: “On behalf of O’Neill, we are honoured to be involved in the Ballito Pro again this year. It has been a tough two years for all competitive surfers and I am excited to see such a prestigious and integral event on the South African Surfing calendar go ahead once again. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to the KwaDukuza Municipality for their continued support of the Ballito Pro and surfing in South Africa.”
The Ballito Pro 2021 is centred around ongoing surfing contests; the professional World Surf League’s Men, Women’s and Junior contests, as well as the O’Neill Ballito South African Surfing Championships – being hosted in Ballito for the first time in history. And while the surfers battle it out on the waves, festival-goers can enjoy a variety of recreational activities and retail options suited to all ages.
WSL Africa Regional Manager Colin Fitch concurred, saying they’re looking forward to hosting this world-class event: “South Africa’s young surfers are hungry to make an impact on the Qualifying Series and a good result at this prestigious event could catapult you into the big league. Our sincere thanks and praise to the KwaDukuza Municipality, the sponsors and all the residents of Ballito for welcoming us back to their wonderful town and magnificent beaches.”
Robin de Kock, General Manager of Surfing South Africa said they’re excited to be associated with the Ballito Pro in the form of its annual Surfing South Africa Championships: “The 55th edition of this iconic event is particularly important as it determines the South African Men and Women’s Champions and decides which district will take home the coveted President’s Cup. We are grateful to the KwaDukuza Municipality for putting their faith in us and we are confident that the athletes will embrace the opportunity to sample Ballito’s famous surf.”
Ballito Pro 2021 Festival Programme
Extreme sports and beach action at Willard Beach
· The Ballito Pro Skate Competition presented by Volcom & Fallen Footwear on Thursday, 16 December
· Free sunrise yoga and pilates
· Beach volleyball
· Daily fashion shows, beach mania and dance displays
· Virgin Active Summer Pop Up
· All Good Natural Holdings Beach Pop Up
· Hollywood Bets Pop Up
Retail delight at Willard Beach daily 9am to 5pm
· Food court and cider garden
· Arts n crafts and exhibitions
· Surfboard displays and shaping
· Oakley and other pop ups
· Virtual reality rides including Santa & Surf
Mike’s Kitchen Kids Zone at Willard Beach
· Face painting, water balls, sandcastle building, beach dash and activations
· Lots of fun competitions and giveaways
After Dark Programmes with live entertainment
· Yami’s Unplugged
· Miss Mikes Junior Pageant on Thursday, 16 December
· Ballito Village Sunset Festival
· Gidela Lounge and Shisanyama
· Ballito Village Sundowner Festival 5pm to 11pm daily
Ballito Pro Environmental Awareness Campaign and Programme
Sarah Ferguson, the founder of Breath Conservation, renowned Channel swimmer, world record holder, and silver license swimming coach will run environmental awareness campaigns and activations from 15 to 17 December. This will include a guided marine walk and pop-up snorkel day. Bins will also be strategically located at the event for the Slip Slop campaign.
Ballito Pro Covid-19 Safety Campaign and Vaccination Site
The Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill in partnership with IPSS Medical and We Thrive is running a Covid-19 Safety Awareness Campaign which will include a Vaccination and Testing Site at Willard Beach from 9 to 19 December for event goers.
People can book via the Thrive website (www.wethrive.co.za) for vaccination instore at Thrive Ballito from 1pm to 5pm. Atlernatively, the Thrive Nurse will vaccinate at the Ballito Pro Thrive stand from 8am to 1pm. Walk-ins will be accepted, but bookings will take preference.
IPSS Medical will also have a designated Covid-19 Testing Site at the event entrance where they will conduct Covid-19 PCR and antigen tests.
*Please note that in line with Covid-19 regulations, media will be required to book dates and time slots in advance for the Ballito Pro. To book, contact media.
The Ballito Pro presented presented by O’Neill will broadcast the event in partnership with DSTV People’s Weather channel 180 / Openview Channel 115, and Ballito TV.
For more information, visit:
Website: www.theballitopro.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theballitopro/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheBallitoPro
Instagram: www.instagram.com/TheBallitoPro
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theballitopro
Snapchat: Username – TheBallitoPro
/ENDS
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Paul Canning (Brand Director of Sector Group), Mr Sikhumbuzo Hlongwane (Executive Director – Economic Development & Planning of KwaDukuza) and Bongani Xulu (Surfing South Africa) at the 2021 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill launch.
(Image © Pierre Tostee / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
WSL Africa Regional Manager Colin Fitch, Paul Canning (Brand Director of Sector Group), Mr Sikhumbuzo Hlongwane (Executive Director – Economic Development & Planning of KwaDukuza) and Bongani Xulu (Surfing South Africa) at the 2021 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill launch.
(Image © Pierre Tostee / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
WSL Africa Regional Manager Colin Fitch, Paul Canning (Brand Director of Sector Group), Mr Sikhumbuzo Hlongwane (Executive Director – Economic Development & Planning of KwaDukuza), Richard Lee (The Francise Co, Mike’s Kitchen & Yamis), Bongani Xulu (Surfing South Africa), Sarah Ferguson (Breathe Ocean Conservation) and Matthys Van Zyl (Head of Operations: The Francise Co, Mike’s Kitchen & Yamis) at the 2021 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill launch.
(Image © Pierre Tostee / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
Khule Ngubane showing the kids how it is done at the 2019 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill.
(Image © Luke Patterson / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill).
Surfboard shaper Spider Murphy and “The Surfboard agent” Sydney Boulanger at the 2019 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill.
(Image © Luke Patterson / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
Youngsters from Surfers Not Street Children being coached by international icon Sal Masekela at Durban’s New Pier.
(Image © Pierre Tostee / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
The 2019 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill.
(Image © Luke Patterson / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
Ezra Brosloo(Durban) ripping up the halfpipe at the 2019 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill.
(Image © Luke Patterson / Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill)
Sunrise yoga sessions with the Yoga Studio Ballito at the 2019 Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill.
(Image © 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 WorldSurfLeague.com. |