Event form surfer Leah Lepront has won the Premier U16 Girls division on the final day of the Rip Curl GromSearch, presented by The Royal St Andrews Hotel and supported by Sea Harvest, at East Beach in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, on Sunday, 20 April, 2025.
Good, contestable surf conditions off the pier at East Beach saw high-performance, surfing and Lepront’s form saw her win an impressive final to take the win from Emily Jenkinson, with Taylor Emslie and Maya Malherbe in the minor positions.
“I’m so stoked. I’m just very happy at the moment! I was chasing a score, and I got that good wave, and did a check-turn and then a big turn for a 5.93 score. That got me the win.”
Premier U16 Girls Division Champion at the 2025 Rip Curl GromSearch, Leah Lepront
The Rip Curl GromSearch Port Alfred is an anchor event for the Port Alfred Easter Festival.
Summer Harding was the standout surfer in the U12 Girls division. Her energetic performance saw her win comfortably, with Ella van der Made in second.
In the U14 Girls division, Maya Malherbe outpointed a determined Emma Schermbrucker after a close tussle.
The U18 Girls Division saw a flurry of excellent waves pouring through, with Louise Lepront making the most of the long right-handers to bank an inspiring 14.67 points, beating her sister Leah into second place. Lily Heny and Taylor Emslie were third and fourth, respectively.
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The Expression Session took place in fun, onshore conditions the previous day. Leah Lepront was the runner-up behind Women’s winner local surfer Lily Heny.
Full results are available on LiveHeats.
The Rip Curl GromSearch has U12, U14, U16 and U18 divisions. The U16 division is the prime division, and the winners of this division, decided from three out of four results, wins an entry into the Rip Curl International GromSearch Final, which will be held in September.
The Rip Curl GromSearch is presented by the Royal St Andrews Hotel, and is a Surfing South Africa event, supported by Sea Harvest.
Original Copy: Surfing South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Event form surfer Leah Lepront has won the Premier U16 Girls division on the final day of the Rip Curl GromSearch, presented by The Royal St Andrews Hotel and supported by Sea Harvest, at East Beach in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, on Sunday, 20 April, 2025. All Photos: Kody McGregor
Photo 2 Caption: Lepront’s form saw her take the win from Emily Jenkinson, with Taylor Emslie and Maya Malherbe in the minor positions.
Photo 3 Caption: Summer Harding was the standout surfer in the U12s, her energetic performance saw her win over Ella van der Made.
Photo 4 Caption: In the U14 Girls division, Maya Malherbe outpointed a determined Emma Schermbrucker after a close tussle.
Photo 5 Caption: Louise Lepront made the most of the long right-handers in the U18 Girls division, beating sister Leah into second place.
