LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Monday, November 26, 2012) - Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), 18, is set to be the only true rookie on the 2013 ASP Women’s World Tour. After a dominant campaign on the ASP World Junior stage, Buitendag strung together one of the most consistent efforts throughout the 2012 women’s qualifying season, finishing at No. 2 on the ASP Women’s World Ranking behind Sage Erickson (USA), 21. ESPN recently caught up with South Africa’s only ASP Women’s WCT competitor to get her thoughts on the upcoming season. This… is their story…
“Who are your rivals?”
“No one in particular,” Bianca Buitendag says.
Just anyone and everyone between her and the proverbial top. No personal vendettas. No hard feelings. Just hard surfing. And goals that need meeting.
Buitendag’s been kicking it on the Junior and Qualifying Series circuits for the last five years and this year, she consolidated the drive that had previously been split between school and surf comps. She set a major goal for herself: Qualify for the WCT.
In October, she marked that mission accomplished.
“Going into the last WQS of the year, there were rumors going around, but I wanted to wait for it to be official,” she says. “My coach, Mathias, and my mom were with me [when we found out I'd qualified]. Most of the competitors came up to me and congratulated me, which I appreciated the most. That night, when I was lying in bed, I was just thinking, ‘Did I really just qualify?’ I mean, it was such a long process to get there, and it happened so quickly.”
