BALLITO, Kwazulu-Natal — With a record number of entries for this year’s ASP WQS 6-Star Mr. Price Pro Ballito, surfers from around the world will unite to reveal a melting pot of nationality, age and culture during one exhilarating week
BALLITO, Kwazulu-Natal — With a record number of entries for this year’s ASP WQS 6-Star Mr. Price Pro Ballito, surfers from around the world will unite to reveal a melting pot of nationality, age and culture during one exhilarating week of world-class surfing from June 26 – July 5, according to an ASP press release.
Just like the ocean swells that travel thousands of miles to reach the shores
of Ballito this winter, so
too will the nearly 200 entered surfers make their way from all four corners of the globe, to contest for one of the most prestigious titles in professional surfing.
Hawai‘i, technically the furthest country to travel from to South Africa, has 17 surfers entered with Hawai‘i’s royal bloodline in the Ho siblings (descendents of Hawaiian charger Michael Ho) ASP WQS No. 89 Mason and ASP World No. 6 and ASP WQS ratings leader Coco, flying the Aloha flag as the highest rated surfers in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively.
Hawai‘i’s John John Florence who is only 15-years-old is the youngest competitor in the Mens division while 37-year-old Brazilian Victor Ribas is the oldest.
A total of 19 countries will be represented at the upcoming event, led by traditional surfing powerhouses South Africa, Australia and Brazil.
While the foreigners outweigh the local contingent with 130 international men and women to 68 locals, South Africa has the highest number of recorded entries from one nation, with 49 men and 19 women represented. Former ASP World Tour campaigner and current ASP WQS No. 8 Travis Logie (Durban) is the highest rated South African in the men’s event.
Australia, traditionally one of the most dominant nations at this event, holds down the second highest number of entries with a total of 40 surfers, 27 men and 13 women. ASP WQS No. 2 Daniel Ross is the highest-rated surfer from Australia.
Brazil, another prevalent surfing nation whose surfers have captured three Mr. Price Pro crowns, will once again show its might with a 25-strong field. Twenty men and five women have entered, topped by current ASP WQS No. 4 Jadson Andre.
Entries have also flooded in from the USA (13), France (10), Japan (9), New Zealand (5) as well as the emerging surfing nations of Puerto Rico (3), Spain (1), Great Britain (2), Reunion (2), Ireland (1), Argentina (1) and Germany (1).
