SURFING MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
Monday, July 21, 2007

2008 Reef Wetsuits South African Surfing Championships
A premier Surfing South Africa tournament
Victoria Bay, Southern Cape
July 24 - 27, 2008.


Popular Victoria Bay to host 2008 Reef Wetsuits South African Surfing Championships this week

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.

Over 100 surfers representing seven provincial teams will be action in this, the 43rd edition of South Africa's longest running national surfing event.

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

This will be the fifth time that Southern Cape Surfing Association and Victoria Bay hosts 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 first year that Reef Wetsuits 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 Bortoletto 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 it was presented to SA Surfing by John Whitmore 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.

Mattheys 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 his home break of Victoria Bay.

Llewellyn Whittaker, the 1996 SA Junior champion at Vic Bay, will be another local to watch out for. The powerful goofy-foot won Quiksilver Goodwave a few years ago, is a multiple British Surfing champion and is now running an elite surfschool in Mossel Bay.

Former two-time SA Champion Wayne Monk of Border is another surfer who has always done well at Vic Bay while 1996 runner up and 2009 SA Masters Team member Gary van Wieringen will turn out for his beloved Southern KZN and could cause an upset.

WQS surfer and 2002 SA Team member 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 hoping 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 are also contenders for the men’s crown.

Shaun Joubert must be the favourite to win gold for the host province in the U20 Boys division. The 17 year-old from Mossel Bay surfer won the Oakley Pro Junior at Easter and the Mr Price Pro Junior at the end of June 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 headed by defending champion Klee Strachan of Southern KZN and including 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, the defending Women's champion and Heather Clark, the former two-time national champion, WCT surfer and current ISA Women's Masters World Champion, 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 who 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 the 14 year-old’s local break and her recent brilliant contest results include 7th overall in the U18 Girls in the recent ISA World Junior Championships in France, winner of the U20 girls title at the Mr Price Pro Junior and last weekend she was runner-up in her first International Pro Junior contest in Biarritz, France.

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

The seven provincial 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 www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za from July 24.

/Ends

About Surfing South Africa (SSA)

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa.
SSA is made up of seven provinces: Boland, Border, Eastern Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Southern Cape, Southern KZN and Western Province.
The South African Bodyboarding 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. www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za


Compiled by
Robin de Kock
General Manager
Surfing South Africa
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

Photo: Chris Jones, Surfer: Adin Jeenes
Please contact Surfing South Africa on 0824541149 for all Media information