Pictured: Some of the more than 300 surfers who participated in Earthwave 2007 head out to try and break the Guinness World Record for the ‘most surfers riding the same wave’ at Muizenberg
Photo: SurfPix.co.za

EARTHWAVE
Global surfing and sustainable lifestyle event
Surfers Corner, Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
3 & 4 October 2009

Anticipation mounts for Guinness World Record attempt at Earthwave

A flood of enquiries about participation in the attempt to break the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the ‘most surfers riding the same wave’ have been received from Cape Town surfers for the event that will be held at Muizenberg on 4 October as part of the Earthwave global surfing and sustainable lifestyle festival.

“We’ve received dozens of enquiries about the Guinness World Record attempt at Earthwave next month,” says Paul Botha of Kahuna Promotions, the founders of Earthwave. “After raising the record from 44 to 73 at Muizenberg in 2006, the Cape Town surfing community is amping to break the current record of 100 surfers on the same wave set at Earthwave Brazil last year.”

The world record attempt is the highlight of the Earthwave global environmental initiative which has been expanded to a two-day beach festival on the weekend of 3 & 4 October. The 2009 event includes a longboard surfing event; demonstrations in the fast growing Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) discipline that will culminate in the Coreban Expression Session featuring some of the country’s top exponents; free surfing lessons provided by the surf schools in the area with classes specifically for women conducted by the Roxy Surf School and a host of other fun beach activities for people of all ages.

Tens of thousands of Rands worth of prizes and give-aways have already been donated including a Natural Curve longboard shaped by Durban based SA champion Hugh Thompson along with surfing equipment and accessories from such famous brands as Billabong , Xcel, Palmers, Derevko and New Balance which will be used for Dig for Gold, raffles and other fund-raising competitions.

As usual the business community of the Deep South is heavily involved in promoting their products and services at Earthwave with early adopter David Jones from the Empire Café in Muizenberg challenging all other restaurants in the area to equal or better his donation of R250 cash and a meal voucher for R250.

Environmental initiatives at Earthwave range from providing clearly demarcated bins for recycling of paper, plastic, glass and other refuse to reducing paper usage by handling the entries and prized certificates for participating in the GWR digitally. Negotiations are in progress with Metrorail to allow all train passengers travelling to Muizenberg with surfboards to ride free of charge on the weekend while carpooling will be encouraged to further reduce the carbon footprint of the event.

There will also be exhibits and presentations on how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, including a talk by Augustine Morkel, Estate Manager at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens titled ‘Climate Change: How can you help’. Miss Earth South Africa 2009, Chantal Grantham, who will be representing the country in the environmentally themed Miss Earth pageant in the Philippines at the end of October, will also attend Earthwave to present awards and support and encourage ecologically sound initiatives.

Environmentally conscious apparel and footwear brand Ocean Minded, whose products utilise recycled materials, will be coordinating beach cleanups with prizes for participants and conducting a presentation in the marquee tent educating the public on the importance of looking after our waterways.

Earthwave will also be partnering with Cape Town Tourism’s ‘Live it! Love it! LOUDER!’ campaign for the 2010 World Cup that will see soccer ambassadors providing tips and tricks on the beach, giving away signed soccer balls and other memorabilia along with demonstrations of the ‘Diski Dance’. CT Tourism is also sponsoring the participation of a group of youngsters from disadvantaged communities to attend Earthwave and entering a corporate team in the world record attempt.

The schedule for the festival sees the longboard contest, SUP demos, exhibits, presentations and free surfing lessons on the Saturday. The final of the contest, the SUP Expression Session and a Celebrity Surf Off featuring high-profile personalities will take place on Sunday before an expected 400 or more surfers take to the waves at approximately 1pm for the Guinness World Record attempt.

The Earthwave festival culminates in the after-party at the Brass Bell in Kalk Bay where the official number of surfers on one wave will be announced after consulting photographic evidence. The function will include the Cape Town launch of the 200th edition of Zigzag, SA’s premier surfing magazine, along with videos of the day’s action and plenty of specials available while waiting for the results of the Earthwave Brazil and Argentina attempts which should be known around 9pm.

Comprehensive information, images and videos on Earthwave are being uploaded on Wavescape.co.za, SA’s biggest and longest established surfing web portal and the official digital partner for the event.

About Earthwave

Earthwave is an environmental initiative founded at Muizenberg in 2006 that leverages the immense interest in Guinness World Record attempts to provide the opportunity for stand up surfers of every age and ability and on any equipment to celebrate their lifestyle and make a statement about reducing their impact on the environment.

Earthwave is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport, whose website will be used to handle online entries to reduce paper usage, and endorsed by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and Surfriders Foundation whose Argentina Chapter will be running the Earthwave event in that country.

The event provides unlimited sponsorship opportunities for companies and organisations keen on promoting their environmental credentials or simply wanting to showcase their products and services to a receptive audience at the beach and through the saturation media coverage.

See the Earthwave group on Facebook for more information or www.earthwave2007.com for highlights of previous year’s events, where you can sign up for future media releases. The 2009 Earthwave website will be launched shortly.

Contact kahunasurf@mweb.co.za for further information on the Earthwave global surfing and sustainable lifestyles event and how to become part of this global movement.

/ends

Issued on behalf of:

Company: Kahuna Promotions
Contact: Paul Botha
Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Email: kahunasurf@mweb.co.za

Compiled & Issued by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email: lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

 

 

 

South African Chris Bertish, renowned for conquering many of the world’s most challenging big waves, has been invited to compete in three prestigious international big-wave surfing events including the inaugural edition of the of the Stand Up World Tour which will crown the first Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) World Champion later this year.

Invitations to the Mavericks Surf Contest in California, the Nelscott Reef Paddle-in Classic in Oregon and the Stand Up World Tour event at Makaha in Hawaii are recognition for the 35-year-old Capetonian’s pioneering exploits in huge surf around the globe over the past decade.

“I’m truly honoured to be invited to these events where only athletes who have proven themselves in the world’s heaviest waves make the cut,” Bertish said. “I love surfing big waves, it’s my passion, and to be representing South Africa amongst the elite 24 invitee’s from around the globe at Mavericks, the 12 at Nelscott Reef and to be seeded into the top 16 in the world for the first ever SUP World Champs is a huge honour and privilege.”

Bertish’s string of ground-breaking feats include becoming the first surfer to paddle into and ride waves at the primarily tow-in venues of Jaws (Maui, Hawaii), Ghost Trees (California) and the Cribber (Cornwall, England) while at home he introduced Stand Up Paddleboarding at the daunting Dungeons break near Hout Bay and Whale Rock in Table Bay along with being the first to tow-in at Seal Island in False Bay, statistically the most densely populated Great White shark venue in the world.

His accomplishments are not limited to daredevil stunts in mountainous seas as in 2001 he was the first, and to date only, South African surfer to win the Monster Paddle division of the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, the Oscars of big wave surfing. And he has reached the final of the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event at Dungeons, finishing third in 2006, amongst other notable local and international results and award nominations.

A former Sales & Promotions Manager for Billabong SA, Brand manager for Gul Wetsuits in the UK and for multi-national apparel and wetsuit giant O’Neill in SA, Bertish boasts an impressive marketing CV. In 2007 he introduced the O’Neill Raw Courage Awards which focus on paddling into and riding the biggest waves within the borders of South Africa and recognise and credit the achievements of the country’s rapidly growing brigade of big wave chargers.

Now a brand ambassador and agent for O’Neill and new media marketer for True Blue Surf Travel, Bertish will be conducting various fund-raising activities to assist in covering the considerable costs of his planned two-month campaign to attend these events in California and Hawaii at the end of the year.

“After almost a decade of investing huge amounts of my time, energy and my personal finances, I have now reached the point where I have received invitations to this trio of highly prestigious International events. With a start-up business and the current tight financial situation I need further backing and support to be able to participate in these events,” Bertish explains.

The savvy marketer has already created his own personal blog & Facebook account and will be posting a weekly journal on two high profile South African websites where the public will be able to follow his activities in addition to the media generated from competing in the events. He will also be posting video clips on various new-media platforms, including never before seen footage of riding huge waves taken from a Go Pro camera mounted on his surfboard.

Watch the media for further news of this exceptional athlete’s exploits along with details of the fund-raising functions that will provide unique opportunities to get up close and personal with both Chris and the global big wave scene.

Chris Bertish can be contacted via chris.oneillrsa@gmail.com or 079 524 8344

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

Chris Bertish

C: 079 524 8344
E: chris.oneillrsa@gmail.com

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax: +27 (0) 86 684 6250
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email: lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

Pictured: Jordy Smith throws a sheet of spray at Trestles in 2008 Photo: ASP/ CI / SCHOLTZ via GETTY IMAGES

Dan Redman recorded the best result of the South African campaigners in the San Miguel Zarautz Pro at Zarautz on the Basque coast of Spain when he placed ninth overall in the 5-Star rated, US $120 000 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) event on Saturday.

The 25-year-old from Umdloti took advantage of a rare seeding into the Round of 96 to progress through three rounds, reaching the last 16 before being sidelined by eventual winner Gony Zubizarreta from Spain. Redman’s haul of US $2 000 (nearly R16 000) and 1 100 ratings points saw him climb 17 places to No. 69 on the latest WQS ranking list.

Travis Logie (Durban) retained his No. 9 spot on the WQS leaderboard and took another step towards re-qualifying for the 2010 ASP World Tour despite being eliminated in the Round of 48, a result that does not go into his best seven scores.

Royden Bryson (Cape Town) and Brandon Jackson (Durban North) both dropped one spot to Nos. 32 and 34 respectively after also going out in the Round of 48 while Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff) and Durbanites Warwick Wright, Antonio Bortoletto and Pro Junior Chad du Toit all picked up some prize-money before being ousted in the Round of 96.

The event was won by Zubizarreta, 24, who defeated Blake Thornton (Aus) in the final to the delight of the partisan local crowd. Nathan Yeomans (USA) and Glen Hall (IRL) finished equal third after losing out in the semis.

The next event on the WQS is the 5-Star rated Pantin Pro on the North Coast of Spain starting on Tuesday and running until Sunday. Visit www.aspeurope.com for details of live webcasts, images and news from the event.

ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings (after Zarautz, event No. 28 of 40)

1 Ross,Daniel AUS 14975
2 Andre,Jadson BRA 14663
3 Wright,Owen AUS 13588
4 Melling,Adam AUS 13026
5 Gudauskas,Patrick USA 12588
6 Wilkinson,Matt AUS 12150
7 Duru,Joan FRA 12050
8 Simpson,Brett USA 11863
9 Logie,Travis ZAF 11851
10 Thornton,Blake AUS 11763

South Africans (minimum 7 events)

32 Bryson,Royden ZAF 8763
34 Jackson,Brandon ZAF 8551
54 Wright,Warwick ZAF 7069
57 Palmboom,Rudy ZAF 7001
69 Redman,Daniel ZAF 6451
82 Fahrenfort,Damien ZAF 6114
86 Bortoletto,Antonio ZAF 6064
105 Basnett,Ricky ZAF 5276
130 Du Toit,Chad ZAF 4538
135 Strachan,Klee ZAF 4406

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Smith, Emslie and Weare head for Trestles, California as ASP World Tour resumes

Durbanites Jordy Smith and David Weare and East London’s Greg Emslie, SA’s three representatives on the ASP World Tour, will get back to work next weekend at the Hurley Pro Trestles, Event No. 6 of 10 for 2009, which runs at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California from September 13 – 19.

Smith goes into the event rated No. 10 in the world and has the talent to advance deep into the draw. Acknowledged as one of the new-age icons of progressive surfing, along with the likes of American Dane Reynolds, Smith advanced to Round 4 as a rookie in 2008 before being induced into paddling for a wave by the wily Taj Burrow (AUS) who used the switch in priority to snag the heat winning ride.

In 2007 the then 19-year-old Durbanite won a wildcard into the event and went on to eliminate Joel Parkinson (AUS) and three-time world champion Andy Irons (HAW) on his way to another Round 4 finish. Smith’s incredible repertoire of gravity defying manoeuvres are tailor-made for the high performance surf at Trestles while his improved understanding of the strategies required to win man-on-man heats now make him a formidable opponent.

Emslie too has a pair of Round 4 results at Trestles and his proven ability in right breaking point waves could see him improve on his best result of 17th this year. Weare, who finished 33rd at Trestles during his injury-ravaged 2007 campaign on the World Tour, will be expecting to better the string of 33rd places he has posted at the previous three events this year..

Parkinson, the 2004 Trestles champ, currently heads the ASP World Tour rankings after winning three of the first five events and holds a substantial 1 404 point lead over CJ Hobgood (USA). But nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater is the man they all have to beat at the famed Californian break. Slater has been in the final for the last five years, winning three times, including the last two.

The Hurley Pro Trestles will host the world’s top 45 plus wildcards Brett Simpson (USA), 24, winner of July’s WQS 6-Star Hurley U.S. Open in Huntington Beach, former ASP World No. 2 Rob Machado (USA), 36, and reigning ASP World Junior Champion Kai Barger (HAW), 19.

The event starts on Sunday 13 September and will be covered live via a comprehensive webcast available at www.hurley.com/hurleypro/

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Rosanne Hodge back in action on ASP Women’s World Tour at end of the month

Rosanne Hodge, in her third season as SA’s lone presence on the ASP Women’s World Tour, will be back in action at the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic at Dee Why in Sydney, Australia from September 30 – 5 October.

The East Londoner will be itching to pull on a contest vest again at the most lucrative event on the women’s tour after a five month break since the last event at Bells Beach. She will be determined to improve on the pair of ninth place finishes that see her ranked equal 13th and outside the top 10 who automatically re-qualify for the 2010 tour.

Two-time and reigning ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) heads the ratings after winning the opening event in her home surf on the Gold Coast, followed by Bells winner Silvana Lima (Brazil). The world’s top 17 females will be joined by wildcard and defending event champion Tyler Wright (AUS) who became the youngest winner of an ASP World Tour event at age 14 last year, and seven-time world champion and event founder Layne Beachley (AUS), 37.

For further information visit www.aspworldtour.com

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For more information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel: 021 534 5738
Email: aspafrica@mweb.co.za

Compiled & Distributed by:
Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Fax: +27 (0) 86 684 6250
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email: lifesabeach@mweb.co.za

About ASP:

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.