SA Champs Update - Is this THE year for Southern Cape?

Reef Wetsuits South African Surfing Champs

Surfing South Africa
Victoria Bay South Africa
24 - 27 July 2008

Reef Wetsuits South African Surfing Champs to hit V-Bay

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 July, 2008 : - - Victoria Bay, the picture perfect premium point break near George on the Southern Cape coast will host the 2008 Reef Wetsuits South African Surfing Championships from Thursday July 24 to Sunday July 27 and over 100 surfers representing seven provincial teams will be action in this, the 43rd edition of South Africa's longest running event.

Surfers have been selected for their provincial teams after participating in rigorous trials and will be not only be focused on achieving individual glory in one of the four divisions but will also be surfing for team honours and the winning of the 35 year old Presidents Cup.

This will be the fifth time that Southern Cape Surfing Association and Victoria Bay will host the premier championship on the Surfing South Africa calendar. The first time was back in 1984 when John Pfaff was host Chairman and although the powerful KZN Team won the Presidents Cup that year local legend and 1982 SA Team member, Leonard Giles became the South African Men's champion.

Giles was the king of Victoria Bay in the 70's and 80's and his fearsome backhand attack at this magic surfspot became legendary. In 1990, the year that Reef Wetsuits first sponsored the South African Championships, Carl Roux of KZN took the premier title and once again it was KZN who went home with the Presidents Cup.

Roux went on to finish a close second in the 1992 ISA World Games in France and will again represent South Africa when he competes in the ISA World Masters Championships in early 2009. Brad Bricknell of Border won the Men's crown at Victoria Bay in 1996 and went on to captain South Africa to victory at the ISA World Surfing Games in Durban in 2002.

In 2002 Vic Bay again hosted the SA Championships and although Antonio Borteletto of KZN took the Men's title it was Border who won the Presidents Cup. In doing so they joined KZN and Western Province as the only provinces to win this coveted piece of silverware since John Whitmore presented it to SA Surfing in 1973.

The 2007 Reef Wetsuits SA Championships was held at Nahoon Reef in East London and hosts Border won the Presidents Cup by the proverbial mile. Nahoon Reef local Devyn Mattheys won the Men's title and will be back at to defend it at Victoria Bay next week.

He can expect tough opposition from Southern Cape stalwart Sean Holmes who, although a two time SA Champion in 1998 and 2000, National team member in 2004 and Red Bull Big Wave Champion in 2000, has never won a major title at Victoria Bay.

Llewellyn Whittaker, the 1996 SA Junior champion at Vic Bay, Quiksilver Goodwave winner a few years ago and a multiple British Surfing champion, is back in South Africa running an elite surfschool in Mossel Bay, will be one to watch in the Southern Cape team while former two time SA Champion Wayne Monk of Border is another surfer who has always done well at Vic Bay.

1996 runner up and 2009 SA Masters Team member Gary van Wieringen will turn out for his beloved Southern KZN and the is so in form that he could cause an upset while 2002 SA Team member and WQS surfer Dan Redman and 2006 SA Team member Matt Kruger are the pick of the KZN Men's team.

2006 President's Cup winners Western Province will be Josh Salie can reproduce the form that saw him win the recent SA Students Surfing Championships at Seal Point while Eastern Province's Ryan and Shaun Payne and Simon Fish have good contest pedigrees and could cause upsets.

In the U20 Boys division South African star Shaun Joubert must be the favourite to win gold for the host province in this division. The Mossel Bay surfer has won both the Qakley Pro Junior and recently the Mr Price Pro Junior and is without a doubt the best young surfer to come out of South Africa since Jordy Smith.

However there are plenty of good surfers in this division which is headed by defending champion Klee Strachan of Southern KZN and includes high flying 2008 SA junior team member Nick Godfrey of EP, Border's Clinton Gravett, former U20 champion Kyle Lane of KZN as well as Southern Cape born and bred Jaco Steyn and 2008 SA Junior team member Mikey February, both surfing for WP.

Sarah Maritz of Southern KZN, the defending Women's champion and former two time national champion and WCT surfer and current Women's Masters World Champion Heather Clark give Southern KZN the edge in this division.

Other surfers who have posted good results in recent years are 2006 SA Champion Penny Robarts of Boland, Stacey Guy of WP,Tasha Mentasti of KZN and Tara Hossack of EP. In fact Hossack won the U20 girls title in 2002 when she represented Southern Cape,

In the U20 girls division the smart money will be on Bianca Buitendag of Southern Cape to become the youngest girl to win this premier title. Victoria Bay is her local break but, glancing at her recent brilliant contest results, it doesn't seem to matter much where she surfs.

In the recent ISA World Junior Championships Buitendag finished 7th overall in the U18 Girls division,sharing the best performance by a South African with fellow Southern Cape surfer Shaun Joubert. In early July the pint sized surfer won the U20 girls title of the Mr Price Pro Junior, matching the victory by Joubert in the Boys division.

Last weekend she came second in an International Pro Junior contest in Biarritz France and when asked how she felt said that she was looking forward to her next contest back home.

Buitendag's biggest challenges will come from defending champion and fellow SA Junior team member Chantelle Rautenbach of Boland, tough competitor Alice Mc Gregor of Border, talented duo Tanika Hoffman and Holly Armstrong of WP and Faye Zoetmulder of EP.

Teams will gather at the Far Hills Country Hotel at 7pm on Wednesday night July 23 for the Opening Function and the event will run from Thursday July 24 to Sunday July 27. Heats and each day's results will be posted on surfingsouthafrica.co.za from July 24.

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and the International Surfing Association as the governing body for the sport in South Africa. SSA is made up of seven provinces, Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Kwazulanatal, Southern Cape,Southern KZN and Western Province.

The South African Bodbyboarding Association, the South African Longboarding Association and the South African Students Surfing Union are also affiliated to Surfing South Africa. SSA sanctions the annual Pro Surf Tour, coordinates and runs National Surfing Championships, selects National teams and is responsible for the administration of the sport.