Renowned B-Girl Courtnaé Paul and veteran B-Boy Toufeeq Baatjies were crowned national champions at the Red Bull BC One SA National Final in Cape Town over the weekend.
Battling it out at a packed Thibault Square on Saturday September 5, the two elite breakerdancers earned their tickets to represent SA at the prestigious Red Bull BC One World Final in Toronto, Canada, on November 29.
For Paul, who claimed her fourth national title, the victory was deeply personal.
“It feels amazing. This was very personal for me,” Paul said. “I’ve been through a lot in life and I had to do it. I had to do it for myself more than anything else.”
Paul had taken a brief hiatus from her African workshop tour to compete in Cape Town, pausing her continental commitments before departing for Tanzania to continue hosting breakdancing workshops.
Looking ahead to the world stage in Canada, she expressed a disciplined approach.
“I don’t have expectations. I’m just going to be the best version of myself,” Paul said.
“I can’t control the judges, I can’t control anything but the effort I put in, and I’m going to stop at nothing.” In the B-Boy division, Cape Town’s Toufeeq Baatjies secured a historic fifth title — marking his fourth back-to-back victory at the Red Bull BC One National Final.
“I’m trying to push myself to the highest level that I can go, and also to open that door for the next South Africans to go through,” Baatjies said.
“Literally like putting myself in a chamber to actually win it again, because you never know who’s coming for you. So I always try and be on top of my game.”
Baatjies credited his victory to an exhaustive training regime that saw him dedicating four hours a day, five days a week, to physical and mental conditioning.
Experiencing tough conditions during the high-stakes rounds against the country’s top breakers, he relied on tactical experience and body control to advance.
“I was trying to show them I am currently the champ, so what are you going to do about it?
“I put in the work every day. If you don’t put in the work, it’s on you. I put in time for God, for training, for my daughter, and that’s it,” he said.
Baatjies now has his sights on breaking into the top 16 at the global showpiece in Toronto.
“I’ve been trying year after year, but I feel like this year, it’s mine.”
