How it works

How seasons, competitions & results work in SA

Lifesaving South Africa's competition season officially runs from 1 October to 30 September, and most surf racing happens over the summer, roughly October to April. Clubs race in carnivals and provincial series (such as the KZN and Western Cape series and provincial championships), building to the national championships run by Lifesaving South Africa, usually between March and May. Organisers publish results on LiveHeats; Flagline groups them by that same season, 1 October to 30 September.

The competition ladder

Club and inter-club carnivals, especially for nippers.
Provincial series and championships, run by provincial bodies such as Lifesaving Western Cape and Lifesaving KwaZulu-Natal.
National championships, run by Lifesaving South Africa as separate meets for nippers, masters, and juniors & seniors — in 2026 at Gqeberha from 26 March to 1 April.
Inter-provincials and international events, where athletes race for their province or for South Africa rather than their club.

Divisions, rounds and medals

Each competition is split into divisions — one discipline for one age group and gender, for example "Beach Flags U14 Girls". Big divisions run heats, then semi-finals and a final; the final decides the medals. On Flagline a medal is a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in a division's final ranking, and a relay or team medal counts once for the club.

Clubs are ranked by points, not medals: 8 points for 1st in a final, 7 for 2nd, down to 1 for 8th, for individuals and relay teams alike (a relay scores once for its club). Places below 8th and heat or semi-final eliminations score nothing, and ties go to countback (more 1sts, then more 2nds). Where LiveHeats published official club points for a competition, Flagline shows and ranks by those, labelled official. Added up over a region's or series' season, a club's competition points make the pointscore.

Seasons on Flagline

Flagline's seasons are LSA's competition season: 1 October to 30 September, so the 2025/26 season covers the summer of 2025 into 2026 and ends on 30 September 2026. Club pages, leaderboards and athlete form all use this season, and it is the same season your age on 30 September sets your age group for (season and age groups).

Where results come from

Every result on Flagline comes from the public results organisers publish on LiveHeats. Flagline doesn't run competitions or change results; if a result is wrong it usually needs correcting on LiveHeats first. See the current competitions and past results.

Sources

Updated 30 September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email hello@flagline.co.za.