Surfers with disabilities were welcomed at the 2023 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill Festival with a Para Surfing Expression Session, which was held on Saturday, 1 July. The Festival ran from 27 June to 9 July in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal.
The adaptive surfers joined the event through local non-profit Made for More, which empowers people with disability through sport. Founder Julia van Zyl said: “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,” she added.
