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Clark & Knutsen close in on medals at ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Panama

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:54:19 +0000

Heather Clark and Chris Knutsen closed to within one heat of earning medals at the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Panama yesterday as South Africa continued its push towards winning the team title for the third consecutive time.

Clark, the defending Women’s Masters World Champion, dominated her Round 2 heat in the solid two to three metre waves at Santa Catalina yesterday and has now posted the two highest heat tallies and three highest single ride scores in the division.

“I was extremely nervous because I know Andrea Lopes from previous years and she’s a really good competitor. I tried to get a first wave fast so I could relax. Once I did that I got into a bit of a rhythm and made it through,” said Clark.

The 39 year-old from Port Shepstone has now reached the final of the winner’s stream in the Women’s Masters. A first or second place finish in her next heat will guarantee her a medal and the opportunity to clinch a second ISA World title.

Knutsen, winner of the Kahunas (o/45) title in Puerto Rico in 2007 and the Grand Kahunas (o/50) in the last edition of this event in Peru in 2008, is in the same position as Clark after cruising to victory in his Round 2 Grand Kahunas heat yesterday.

While Team SA did ‘lose’ its first team member to the repecharge rounds on Day 3 when Andre Malherbe (East London) paced third in his Grand Masters (o/40) heat, they still have more competitors in the winners bracket (seven) than any other team. Australia is next with six surfers and Brazil with five.

Robert Moore-Boyle (Durban) in the Grand Masters and team captain Marc Wright (Durban) in the Kahunas placed second to advance to Round 3 of their respective divisions. David Malherbe (Coffee Bay) was SA’s star of the day, racking up his second total of more than 15 points out of 20 to win his Kahunas heat.

The Masters (o/35), where Andrew Banks (Port Shepstone) and Wayne Monk (EL) are safely through to Round 3, did not compete yesterday.

Andre Malherbe, in Heat 3 of Grand Masters repecharge Round 2, will be the only South African in action on Wednesday in Panama as the organisers run repecharge heats that see any surfer finishing outside the top in a heat eliminated from the event.

ISA World Masters Surfing Championships

Schedule for Wednesday 1 September (South Africans in Brackets)

Grand Masters Repecharge 1
Kahunas Repecharge 2
Masters Repecharge 2
Grand Masters Repecharge 2 (Andre Malherbe – Heat 3)

All the action from the event, including live webcasts, daily videos, photos, results and contest news in both English and Spanish can be found at www.panamaisaworldmasters.com. The event is scheduled to start at 6.30am local time daily. (1.30pm SA time).

Event updates are also available through the ISA Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

The SA Masters Team preparations and attendance at the 2010 ISA World Masters Championships is made possible thanks to a R150 000 grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Ends

ATTENTION MEDIA
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Password: download1

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 60 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. The President is Fernando Aguerre and the four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa

Contact:            Robin de Kock, General Manager
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

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

SA’s Andre Malherbe the top scorer on Day 1 of ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Panama

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:47:59 +0000

Andre Malherbe set up South Africa’s bid to defend team title at the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in perfect fashion by posting the highest scores on Day 1 of the event staged in reeling two metre surf at Santa Catalina in Panama on Sunday.

Malherbe led throughout his Round 1 Grand Masters (over 40) heat, finishing with counting scores of 8.50, the highest of the day, and 6.83 (both out of 10) for a heat tally of 15.33 out of 20, also the day’s highest. The East Londoner left his opponents combo’d and needing to improve on both their scores to overtake him at the final siren.

Malherbe advanced to Round 2 of the qualifying stream in the double elimination format being used at the event, along with compatriot Robert Moore-Boyle (Durban), who comfortably won his low-scoring opening encounter.

Team SA’s strength in depth was further demonstrated when Wayne Monk (East London) and Andrew Banks (Port Shepstone) dominated their opening heats in the Masters (o/35) division. Monk tied Dean hall (AUS) in recording the highest single ride score of the division, 7.83, and also claimed the second highest heat total, 14.0, while Banks earned the fifth highest heat total.

After three days of torrential rain and onshore winds that turned the contest site in the rural Pacific coast village into a mud bath, the first day of competition enjoyed great weather and overhead surf for the 120 competitors from 20 countries participating in the world’s biggest contest for surfers aged 35-and-over.

South Africa, Australia, Brazil and Puerto Rico were the only countries to see all four of their competitors remain in the qualifying stream after the completion of Round 1 of the Masters and Grand Masters divisions.

Today’s schedule sees Round 1 action for the Women’s Masters (o/35), Kahunas (o/45) and Grand Kahunas (o/50) where SA’s Heather Clark (Port Shepstone), team captain Marc Wright and Chris Knutsen (both Durban) will start their respective campaigns to defend the ISA World titles they won at the previous edition of the event in Peru in 2008.

All the action from the event, including live webcasts, daily videos, photos and contest news in both English and Spanish can be found at www.panamaisaworldmasters.com. The event is scheduled to start at 6.30am local time daily. (1.30pm SA time).

Event updates are also available through the ISA Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

The SA Masters Team preparations and attendance at the 2010 ISA World Masters Championships is made possible thanks to a R150 000 grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Ends

Photo: ISA / Gatica

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 60 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA’s four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:            Robin de Kock, General Manager
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

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Marc Wright to captain the SA Masters Team at the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Panama

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:17:27 +0000

World Champion Marc Wright of Durban North will captain the South African Masters Team at the ISA World Masters Championships in Panama. The 49 year old was named captain of the team at the recent training camp in Coffee Bay.

Team South Africa are the defending World Champions having won the team title at both previous World Masters events in Puerto Rico in 2007 and Peru in 2008.

The team will make the long journey to Panama in Central America on Monday (August 23) after a seven week wait for their visas. According to team coach Ant Brodowicz the eight surfers in the side are fit and raring to show the world why they are the champions.

The team contains three World Champions in Wright, Heather Clark of Port Shepstone and Chris Knutsen of Durban. This trio are joined by regular World Masters Championship finalists David and Andre Malherbe of East London, former SA Masters Champion Andrew Banks of Port Shepstone and new Masters caps Wayne Monk of East London and Rob Moore Boyle of Westville.

Over 160 surfers from 17 nations will be competing in the ISA World Masters Championships which begin on August 27 and end on August 4.

The SA Masters Team preparations and attendance at the 2010 ISA World Masters Championships is made possible thanks to a R150 000 grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

2010 South African Masters Surfing Team
Over 35 (Masters) : Wayne Monk (Border), Andrew Banks (SKZN)
Over 40 (Grandmasters) : Andre Malherbe (Border), Robert Moore Boyle (CKZN)
Over 45 (Kahunas) : David Malherbe (Border), Marc Wright (CKZN)
Over 50 (Grandkahuna) : Chris Knutsen ( CKZN)
Women Over 35 : Heather Clark (SKZN)

Coach : Antoni Brodowicz (SKZN)
Manager : Dave Fish (Border)

Ends

Compiled by

Robin de Kock
General Manager
Surfing South Africa
082 454 1149

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Alice McGregor stars in Women’s Day Surf Challenge in Port Elizabeth

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:14:29 +0000

Alice McGregor was the star of the Women’s Day Surf Challenge in Port Elizabeth on Monday when she won both the Open and U20 divisions of the event run in solid overhead surf, rain and demanding windswept conditions.

Presented by Surfing South Africa, the inaugural Women’s Day Surf Challenge saw events scheduled for three venues nationally and while the Durban event had to be postponed due the sardine run and shark sightings at Bay of Plenty, the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth based contests went ahead in typical wintery weather.

More than 30 surfers from Port Elizabeth, Jeffreys Bay, East London, George, Durban and even a couple from Belgium and Holland took to the surf at Pollock Beach to celebrate the Women’s Day public holiday.

While East London based McGregor was unbeatable in the Open and U20 divisions, rising star Emma Smith from Jeffreys Bay won the U16 category and the Rookie title went to Britney Linder.

Each of the three divisions were 1A rated Pro Surf Tour (PST) events with a total of R2 500 in prize-money at stake and the results counting towards the annual PST rankings.

EP Surfing Council thanks the judges Dave Lipschitz, Donovan and Emile Zoetmulder, Mike and Grant Beck and Gavin Viljoen along with Contest Director Etienne Venter and tabulators Shireen Abrahams and Hannelie Bakker for working so hard in the tough conditions.

The Women’s Day Surf Challenge is supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and Sport & Recreation SA while the media partners for the events are Gsport for Girls and Saltwater Girl magazine.

The initiative is proudly partnered by Skullcandy, Power Balance, Billabong, VonZipper, Rip Curl, Aquarius Screenprinting, Vic Bay T Shirts and Reef Wetsuits. Kustom Footwear and Surf Centre PE donated great additional prizes for the Rookies division in the PE event and Denis Ellis Surfboards donated a surfboard which was raffled to raise money for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)

Surfing South Africa is recognized by Sport and Recreation SA (SRSA) as the governing body for the sport. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Women’s Day Surf Challenge

Port Elizabeth Results
Open
1. Alice McGregor
2. Faye Zoetmulder
3. Cara MacDonald
4. Catherine Lee

U20
1. Alice McGregor
2. Kirsty Delport
3. Faye Zoetmulder
4. Emma Smith

U16

1. Emma Smith
2. Tahra Uren
3. Julie Lauwers
4. Inge McClaren

Rookies:
1. Britney Linder
2. Michelle Verrynne
3. Shumeez Salie
4. Chloe Meecham
5. Kayla Ann Verrynne

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:            Robin de Kock
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

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Girls tame the elements in Women’s Day Surf Challenge in Cape Town

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:59:49 +0000

Cape Town’s top female surfers tamed the elements by surfing with grace, style and no shortage of good old-fashioned guts in the Women’s Day Surf Challenge held in wild 1 to 1.5 metre waves, rain and strong wind at Long Beach in Kommetjie on Monday.

When the results of the Cape Town event were finalised, Kerri Hodgkinson had won the Open division, 2010 SA Junior Team member Tanika Hoffman clinched the U20 title and Amy Bosworth triumphed in the U16 category.

Each of the three divisions were 1A rated Pro Surf Tour (PST) events with a total of R2 500 in prize-money at stake and the results counting towards the annual PST rankings.

Hoffman and recently selected 2010 SA Team member Stacey Guy each received a Power Balance Band when they were adjudged to be the Power Balance ‘Power Surfers’ of the event. Eight of the surfers, judges and officials were rewarded with prize packs which included Skullcandy headphones, Power Balance bands and other cool stuff in the lucky draws.

The Derevko wetsuit was awarded to Jules Buchanan and a total of R1100 was raised for CANSA in the raffle for the surfboard, which was won by Anoush Zakarian.

All the finalists received custom-made trophies and medals and to crown a great initiative Amy Bosworth donated one of her surfboards to the SSA development programme.

Listen to Cape Talk on 567 MW at 8.30am each morning to hear Jeff Ayliffe’s interviews with some of the girls at the event.

The Women’s Day Surf Challenge is proudly partnered by Skullcandy, Power Balance, Billabong, VonZipper, Rip Curl, Aquarius Screenprinting and Vic Bay T Shirts. Additional prizes are provided by Surf Centre PE, Pull-In Underwear, Glaceau Vitamin Water and Derevko wetsuits.

Women’s Day Surf Challenge

Cape Town Results
Open
1. Kerri Hodgkinson
2. Holly Armstrong
3. Stacey Guy
4. Lisa Mace

U20
1. Tanika Hoffman
2. Holly Armstrong
3. Sabrina Scott
4. Amy Bosworth

U16
1. Amy Bosworth
2. Natasha Bernstein
3. Anoush Zakarian
4. Ruth Armstrong

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:          Robin de Kock
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:              surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

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Durban leg of Women’s Day Surf Challenge postponed due to shark activity in area

admin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:45:28 +0000

The Durban leg of the Women’s Day Surf Challenge, which was to get under way at 8am today (Sunday) and continue tomorrow, has been postponed due to high shark activity in the area.

Huge shoals of sardines forced Durban authorities to lift the shark nets leaving the contest venue, the Bay of Plenty, unprotected.

Four or five large sharks were spotted at Battery Beach near the Bay of Plenty late on Saturday and KZN Chairperson Ann Wright, in consultation with Surfing South Africa General Manager Robin de Kock, decided to call the contest off for today and tomorrow.

The Durban leg of the Women’s Day Surf Challenge will now take place in mid-September.

The decision to postpone the Durban leg of the three region Women’s surfing contest does not have any impact on the events in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. These will go ahead as scheduled from 8am tomorrow (Monday) as planned.

The heats, formats and schedules for the Women’s Day Surf Challenge are available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za. No entries will be accepted at the beach on the days of the event.

The Women’s Day Surf Challenge is proudly partnered by Skullcandy, Power Balance, Billabong, VonZipper, Rip Curl, Aquarius Screenprinting and Vic Bay T Shirts. Additional prizes are coming from Surf Centre in PE, Pull-In Underwear, Glaceau Vitamin Water and Derevko wetsuits.

Surfboards will be raffled at each event venue to raise funds for CANSA.

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:            Robin de Kock
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

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National Surfing Challenge to celebrate Women’s Day

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:47:05 +0000

Women’s Day on 9 August will be celebrated countrywide by the surfing community through the inaugural Women’s Day Surf Challenge presented by Surfing South Africa (SSA).

Simultaneous events in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town have attracted the cream of the country’s past and present female surf stars who will be vying for prize-money and points in the SSA Pro Surf Tour ranked events while dozens of aspiring surfers have the opportunity to meet and mingle with their heroines and compete for valuable prizes in the Rookie division.

Each venue will feature 1A rated PST events for Open Women, Under 20 and U16’s with R2 500 in prize-money at stake in each division along with a Rookies division for girls 14 and under who have not previously represented their Province. Entries are R30 for Rookies and R50 for the other divisions and can be made at www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za. Entries close at 6pm today (Thursday August 5).

In addition to the surfing action there will be lucky draws and fund raising raffles at each venue which will benefit CANSA to promote awareness of breast cancer.

The Durban event will be held over two days (Sun & Mon, 8 & 9 August) due to the number of entries and will also include a longboard division with all participants meeting at the Bay of Plenty at 8am on Sunday and the final rounds scheduled for Monday.

Amongst the celebrities participating are reigning ISA Women’s World Masters Champion Heather Clark, former multiple SA champion Tamarys de Maroussem and Kay Holt who has represented SA on seven occasions and says this will be her final swansong in contest surfing.

Clark, the current SA Champion, has been given leave of absence from the SA Masters Team camp at Coffee Bay to surf in the event. The SA Masters Team leaves for Panama on August 23 to defend their World title at the ISA World Masters Championships.

Further details on the Durban contest can be obtained from coordinator Ann Wright on 082 707 6952.

The Cape Town Women’s Day Surf Challenge is most likely to be run in the Muizenberg area and participants will meet at Surfer’s Corner at 8am on Monday 9 August to decide the venue for the one-day event. SA national team member Stacey Guy and SA Junior Team member Tanika Hoffman will be competing along with Tasha Mentasti, who is the coordinator and can be contacted on 083 225 4900.

Hannalie Bakker on 084 8211753 is the coordinator of the Port Elizabeth event where rising star Banca Buitendag will be competing. Participants should meet at Pollock Beach at 8am on Monday.

The Women’s Day Surf Challenge is proudly partnered by Skullkandy, Power Balance, Billabong, VonZipper, Rip Curl, Aquarius Screenprinting and Vic Bay T Shirts,.

Power Balance is donating a percentage of the September sales of pink Power Balance bands to CANSA and also providing a prize for the “Power Balance Power Move” at each event. Additional prizes are coming from Surf Centre in PE, Pull-In Underwear, Glaceau Vitamin Water and Derevko wetsuits.

Surfboards will be raffled at each event venue to raise funds for CANSA with Safari Surf donating the board for the Durban event, Dennis Ellis for Port Elizabeth and a surfboard will also be raffled in Cape Town.

An list of entries for the Women’s Day Surf Challenge is available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and the heats, formats and schedules will be posted on the same website by 6pm on Friday August 6. No entries will be accepted at the beach on the days of the event.

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:            Robin de Kock
Cell:                  082 454 1149
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

Compiled & Distributed by:

South African Junior Invitation Team to compete in Reunion in October named

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:15:35 +0000

Twelve surfers, a coach, judge and manager have been selected to compete in an international surfing contest in Reunion Island from October 14-16.

The SA Junior Invitation team is made up of surfers whose contest performances have impressed the national selectors over the last twelve months.

Heading the group is talented Jeffreys Bay surfer Bertie Stuurman who, along with SA Championship runner up Alice McGregor of East London, will surf in the U20 Boys and Girls Divisions respectively.

Jacob Mellish of Somerset West, the reserve for the Under 18 Division of the 2010 SA Junior surfing team, gets his chance to compete internationally along with ISA Scholarship recipient Papi Makinyane of Delft and top Durban surfer David Van Zyl.

The three Under 18 girls are 2010 SA Junior team reserve Holly Armstrong of Scarborough, fellow WP surfer Sabrina Scott of Glencairn and up and coming Nikita Kekana of Durban.

SA Grommet Games U16 Boys champion, Marshall Renz of Jeffreys Bay, will be joined by SSA Scholarship recipient Brandon Benjamin of Retreat while the U16 girls are SA Grommet Games winner Micaela Venter of Durban and talented Emma Smith of Jeffreys Bay.

Eastern Province Surfing Council stalwart Brian Abrahams has been appointed Manager, WP’s Craig Johnson will coach the team and Grant Arendse of Strandfontein will accompany the group as a Judge.

The tour by the SA Invitation Team is both a competitive visit to the volcanic island as well as a reciprocal cultural exchange. A group of surfers from Reunion visited Cape Town and Durban last year, competing in two separate events and staying with South African families.

The project is a major talent identification initiative and the trip is supported by funding from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.

Surfing South Africa is the governing body for the sport and is recognized by Sport and Recreation SA (SRSA). SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). All South African teams are chosen by a selection committees appointed by the Board of Directors of Surfing South Africa.

Ends

Compiled by Robin de Kock
General Manager
Surfing South Africa
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
0824541149

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Sarah Baum & Chantelle Rautenbach into last 12 at US Open of Surfing + ASP News

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:06:23 +0000

South African girls Sarah Baum and Chantelle Rautenbach have advanced to the last 12 in the US Open of Surfing as the top seeds and former champions tumbled out of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star rated women’s event at Huntington Beach in California.

Both Baum, 16, from Athlone Park in KZN and Rautenbach, 20, from Melkbosstrand, started their campaigns for the priceless ratings points and ground-breaking US $50 000 winner’s prize-money in Round 1 of the event and yesterday progressed through three rounds of competition against the world’s top female professional surfers.

While the likes of reigning three-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), fellow ASP Dream Tour campaigners Coco Ho (HAW), Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Lee-Ann Curren (FRA) and SA’s Rosanne Hodge, along with defending event champion Courtney Conlogue (USA), were eliminated in the tricky one metre conditions, Baum and Rautenbach both finished runners-up in all their heats to reach the round before the quarterfinals.

Baum, who placed seventh overall in the US Open Pro Junior Women’s event on Sunday, has already matched her best result in a Star-rated event this year and faces former Dream Tour standout Jacqueline Silva (BRA) and Alana Blanchard (HAW) today with the top two advancing to the one-on-one quarterfinal heats.

By reaching Round 4, Rautenbach has recorded her best result of 2010 and will be up against current ASP World No. 8 Carissa Moore (HAW) and wildcard Lakey Peterson (USA) when competition resumes.

Women’s ASP 6-Star action will kick off today’s (Tuesday) schedule with the Round of 12 before beginning the men’s ASP PRIME event with the Round of 128. For all of the LIVE action log on to www.usopenofsurfing.com

US Open of Surfing Women’s Round of 24 Results:

Heat 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.94, Laura Enever (AUS) 14.67, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.37, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 10.30
Heat 2: Lakey Peterson (USA) 9.50, Tyler Wright (AUS) 9.07, Sayuri Hashimoto (JPN) 10.10, Paige Hareb (NZL) 4.00
Heat 3: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 7.33, Chantelle Rautenbach (ZAF) 6.66, Malia Manuel (HAW) 6.40, Felicity Palmateer (AUS) 4.87
Heat 4: Justine Dupont (FRA) 11.83, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 8.50, Sage Erickson (USA) 7.73, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 4.43
Heat 5: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.17, Sarah Baum (ZAF) 13.60, Cannelle Bulard (REU) 7.70, Karina Petroni (USA) 6.17
Heat 6: Alana Blanchard (HAW) 11.57, Nicola Atherton (AUS) 8.93, Claudia Goncalves (BRA) 5.07, Mizuki Hagiwara (JPN) 3.95

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SA Surfers chase rankings points in California and England

South Africa’s top men will be in action at Huntington Beach in California and Newquay in England this week as they chase invaluable ratings points towards qualification for the ASP Dream Tour.

Jordy Smith, who heads both the ASP World Title Race and ASP World Tour rankings, is the top seed in the ASP Prime-rated Hurley US Open of Surfing which features a stellar 156 man field of the world’s top surfers vying for the massive US $100 000 winner’s payout.

Smith starts in the Round of 96 along with the rest of the top 42 seeds and six wildcards who include fellow Durbanites David Weare and Brandon Jackson. With the trials completed, the Round of 128 starts today and features former Capetonian Damien Fahrenfort, now living in California, Royden Bryson (Hout Bay) and Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff).

Meanwhile a solid contingent of Saffas will commence their campaigns in the ASP 5-Star Relentless Boardmasters at Fistral Beach in Newquay where SA’s Travis Logie (Durban) is the top seed.

Logie is joined by former event winner Antonio Bortoletto (Durban), former ASP Dream Tour member Ricky Basnett (Bluff) and a host of aspiring SA Pro Juniors, including Chad du Toit (Berea), Klee Strachan (Winkelspruit), Brendon Gibbens and Michael February (both Kommetjie), Beyrick de Vries and Kyle Lane (both Umhlanga) and more.

All the action can be followed live via the webcast at www.relentlessboardmasters.com

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Beyrick de Vries takes fifth place in Bali

Much traveled 17 year-old, Beyrick de Vries, was one of the stars in the Billabong Pro Junior Bali, taking down a host of the top seeds from Australia, Japan and Indonesia on his way to a fifth place finish.

While Kyle Galloway was an early casualty, Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) advanced through two rounds and David van Zyl (Glenashley) through three to the round of 32.

Enjoying the world-class conditions at Keramas, rated by de Vries as one of the best contest waves in the world, the Umhlanga based teenager ousted the likes of highly rated Davey Cathels (AUS) and defending event champion Sam Wrench (AUS) before falling victim to the dreaded ‘Bali-belly’ prior to his quarterfinal clash with former Kommetjie surfer Thomas Woods, now living with his family on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Woods was subsequently eliminated by older brother James in the semis before Wade Carmichael (AUS) clinched the title in a come-from-behind victory after the elder Woods started the final with a near-perfect 9.0 ride.

De Vries currently occupies the No. 4 slot on the ASP Africa Pro Junior Men’s rankings and is in line for one of the four coveted invitations to the inaugural ASP World Pro Junior Championship Series. The Series starts with the Oakley World Junior in Bali (Oct 2-13) and crowns the 2010 ASP World Pro Junior Champion at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships at North Narrabeen in Sydney, Australia (Jan 8-16, 2011).

There is one ASP Africa Pro Junior event remaining, the Billabong Pro Junior at Victoria Bay (September 1-4), before the top four on the rankings plus the highest rated Pro Junior on the ASP World Tour rankings receive their sought-after invitations.

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Historic clean sweep of local ASP events by SA surfers

Greg Emslie’s victory in the 4-Star rated O’Neill Cold Water Classic in Cape Town last Thursday, combined with Jordy Smith’s earlier victories in the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay and the Mr Price Pro Ballito, completed an historic clean sweep by local surfers of all three ASP events staged in this country.

SA’s two top-earning pro surfers also rewrote the record books in many other ways with Emslie (East London) going one better than Royden Bryson, the runner-up in the CWC in Cape Town last year, to become the first winner of the contest since it became an ASP sanctioned event.

And Smith’s triumph in J-Bay made him the first SA winner of an ASP World Tour event and the first to lead the ASP World Title Race rankings, which will determine the 2010 ASP World Champion, since Shaun Tomson back in the mid-80’s.

Meanwhile his win in the Mr Price Pro saw the 22 year-old Durbanite become only the third SA surfer to capture the title after Tomson (1973-78) and Ricky Basnett (2006) in the event that crowned its first champion back in 1969! And at the same time Smith rose to the top of the ASP World Rankings which combine the all the ASP World Tour, Prime and Star rated events.

Other notable achievements in the annual mid-year ASP events included Royden Bryson (Hout Bay) taking sole possession of the lead in the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series rankings ahead of Australians Stuart Kennedy, Dion Atkinson and Shaun Cansdell with three if the five events completed. The Series winner collects US $50 000 after the final event in Santa Cruz, California in October.

Capetonian Sean Holmes once again confirmed his status as the Dream Tour’s most dangerous wildcard by carving his way through the world’s top surfers to reach the quarter-finals of the Billabong Pro J-Bay for the third time, notably eliminating nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) and three-time ASP World Champion Andy Irons (HAW) at Supertubes on the same day.

And Casey Grant’s (Scottburgh) runner-up finish to Jordy Smith in the Mr Price Pro Ballito was the first time two South Africans had contested the final of an ASP 5-Star rated event anywhere in the world.

ASP World Title Race Rankings: Top 5 (after Event No. 4 – Billabong Pro J-Bay):

1. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 28500 pts
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 24750 pts
3. Kelly Slater (USA) 23500 pts
4. Dane Reynolds (USA) 20000 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 19500 pts
6. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19250 pts
7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18750 pts
8. Bobby Martinez (USA) 16500 pts
9. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16000 pts
10. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14750 pts

South Africans

30. Travis Logie (ZAF) 6500 pts

ASP World Rankings: Top 5 (after event No. 30 – O’Neill Cold Water Classic, Cape Town):

1 Smith,Jordy ZAF 34428
2 Burrow,Taj AUS 30625
3 De Souza,Adriano BRA 23807
4 Slater,Kelly USA 23500
5 Durbidge,Bede AUS 22683

South Africans (top 200 of 885)

27 Logie, Travis ZAF 10651
39 Bryson, Royden ZAF 8560
66 Palmboom, Rudy ZAF 5372
91 Jackson, Brandon ZAF 4094
105 Weare, David ZAF 3367
120 Basnett, Ricky ZAF 2993
132 Joubert, Shaun ZAF 2819
141 Gibbens, Brendon ZAF 2576
153 Grant, Casey ZAF 2218
164 Fahrenfort, Damien ZAF 1985
180 De Vries, Beyrick ZAF 1611
195 Staples, Dale ZAF 1504
200 Du Toit, Chad ZAF 1395

Ends

Issued on behalf of:

ASP Africa
Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager
Tel: 021 534 5738
Email: colin@aspafrica.com

Compiled & Distributed by:

Life’s a Beach Communications
PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965
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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.

Current World champions Chris Knutsen, Marc Wright and Heather Clark included in SA Team for 2010 ISA World Masters Championships in Panama

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:34:23 +0000

Surfing South Africa has announced the names of the 2010 South African Masters Team that will compete in the ISA World Masters Championships in Peru in August and September.

The SA Masters Team preparations and attendance at the 2010 ISA World Masters Championships is made possible thanks to a R150,000 grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Included in the side are Over 50 World Champion Chris Knutsen, Over 45 Champion Marc Wright (both Durban) and Heather Clark of Port Shepstone, the over 35 Women’s World Champion. All three were members of the South African team which won its second successive World Team title in Peru in 2008.

The balance of the team is made up of former two time SA Men’s champion and new cap Wayne Monk of Gonubie and 2009 SA Masters Champion Andrew Banks of Uvongo. Monk and Banks will compete in the Over 35 age group where Gary Van Wieringen of Warner Beach is the non travelling reserve.

Andre Malherbe of East London, who will represent the SA Masters Team for the fourth year in a row, and new cap Robert Moore Boyle of Westville compete in the Over 40 age group where Gareth Sepp of East London is the non travelling reserve.

Wright will be joined by multiple SA Champion and four time Masters team member David Malherbe of Coffee Bay in the Over 50 age group and Mike Brent of Border is the non travelling reserve.

2007 and 2008 World Champion Chris Knutsen will travel to Panama with Team Manager Dave Fish of East London as the reserve in this division.

Ant Brodowicz of Margate, the 1978 World Champion and the coach who guided the 2007 and 2008 SA Masters teams to victory at the respective World Championships and also coached the team in Namibia last year, will take on the coaching duties for the fourth year in a row.
Dave Fish, the Border Surfriders Association President who competed in the 2009 SA Masters team, will be the South African Team Manager .

The 2010 ISA World Masters Championships are scheduled to get under way on August 27 in Santa Catalina in Panama.

South Africa will be joined by the hosts, Panama, and 14 other countries at this international team event.

2010 South African Masters Surfing Team

Over 35 (Masters) : Wayne Monk (Border), Andrew Banks (SKZN) : Non travelling reserve : Gary van Wieringen (SKZN)

Over 40 (Grandmasters) : Andre Malherbe (Border), Robert Moore Boyle (CKZN) : non travelling reserve : Gareth Sepp (Border)

Over 45 (Kahunas) : David Malherbe (Border), Marc Wright (CKZN) : non travelling reserve : Mike Brent (Border)

Over 50 (Grandkahuna) : Chris Knutsen ( CKZN)

Women Over 35 : Heather Clark (SKZN)

Coach : Antoni Brodowicz (SKZN)

Manager : Dave Fish (Border)

Ends

Compiled by
Robin de Kock
General Manager
Surfing South Africa
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
0824541149
www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

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