Anastasia Venter has won the World Surf League Africa Junior Qualifying Series 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior in bumpy two-to-three foot surf at Pollok Beach, Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, on Sunday, 6 April 2025.
Venter successfully defended her title, with Lily Heny finishing as runner-up in the first stop on the 2025 WSL Africa Junior Tour, an important event which counts towards potential qualification for the WSL World Junior Championships at the end of the year.
In a rematch of last year’s Final, defending event winner Anastasia Venter and Lily Heny met again in the Final at Pollok Beach this year. It looked like it would swing in Heny’s favour, as she increased her lead halfway through the heat.
The pressure was on Venter to respond, and her experience showed when she locked in the required score to jump into first with 5 minutes left on the clock. With no other scoring opportunities on the horizon, Venter denied Heny the title once again.
“I’m feeling really good! It’s so good to win this competition again, and it’s right around the corner from my home. It was a long and hectic competition, and I really wanted the win, so when I got to the Finals I could kind of relax, and just said to myself, let’s just surf and have fun.”
WSL Africa JQS 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Champion, Anastasia Venter
Lily Heny booked her spot in the Final when she overcame Emily Jenkinson in the first Semifinal of the day.
Heny was trailing behind Jenkinson, searching for a better wave that would offer her more to work with, and she found it in the end, getting the best score of the heat to advance to the Finals.
Anastasia Venter edged out Louise Lepront in a low-scoring affair in their Semifinal matchup, to setup a rematch with Heny in the Finals.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior ran from 5-6 April 2025 at Pollok Beach, Gqeberha, and was supported by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Accelerate Sport, Astron Energy, Surfing South Africa and Red Bull. For more information visit WorldSurfLeague.com
Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women’s Final Results at Long Beach in Kommetjie, on Sunday, 30 March, 2025
1- Anastasia Venter (RSA) 9.03
2- Lily Heny (RSA) 8.50
Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior Women’s Semifinal Results
Heat 1
Lily Heny (RSA) 9.66 Def. Emily Jenkinson (RSA) 7.76
Heat 2
Anastasia Venter (RSA) 6.40 Def. Louise Lepront (RSA) 5.60
Round of 8
Heat 1
Lily Heny 7.84 Def. Emily Jenkinson 7.66 Emma Schermbrucker 5.73 and Maya Malherbe 5.50
Heat 2
Louise Lepront 10.90 Def. Louise Lepront 10.90 Jasmine Venter 4.16 Anastasia Venter 8.40 and Remi Fourie 7.90
Round of 16
Heat 1
Lily Heny 6.44 Def. Emma Schermbrucker 5.20 and Sophia Jackson 4.67
Heat 2
Emily Jenkinson 10.17 Def. Maya Malherbe 5.90 and Leah Lepront 5.23
Heat 3
Louise Lepront 10.34 Def. Jasmine Venter 4.00 and Brin Jarvis 0.97
Heat 4
Anastasia Venter 12.63 Def. Remi Fourie 10.00 and Charlotte Copson 2.50
Original Copy: WSL Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Anastasia Venter has won the World Surf League Africa Junior Qualifying Series 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Pro Junior in bumpy two-to-three foot surf at Pollok Beach, Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, on Sunday, 6 April 2025. All Photos: WSL / Kody McGregor
Photo 2 Caption: Anastasia Venter edged Louise Lepront in a low-scoring Semifinal matchup to setup a rematch with Heny in the Finals.
Photo 3 Caption: Lily Heny booked her Finals berth beating Emily Jenkinson in the Semi, getting the best score late in the set to advance.
