Pictured: Bianca Buitendag shows the form that earned her 4^th place and R2 400 at the Oakley Pro Junior in France on the weekend Photo: Aquashot / ASP Europe

SA girls surf into Pro Junior finals in France and USA

Redman, Palmboom and Bortoletto advance to Round 2 at Lacanau

ASP Africa Pro Junior titles to be decided at Victoria Bay in September

South Africans Bianca Buitendag and Nikita Robb posted stellar performances to reach the finals of ASP Pro Junior girls events in France and the USA respectively on the weekend.

Buitendag, 15, from Victoria Bay was one of the standouts in the Grade 2 Oakley Pro Junior at Lacanau, on the Bay of Biscay coast of France, taking on and defeating the cream of Europe’s 20-and-under female surfers in small 0.6 to one metre waves to reach the final four in the 40-strong field.

A lack of waves in the final, and an amazing last three minute performance that saw ASP World Pro Junior champion Pauline Ado (FRA) vault from fourth to first with two excellent rides, resulted in Buitendag, described as the ‘South African wunderkind’ in event media releases, finishing fourth overall with prize-money of R2 400.

Tanika Hoffman (Kommetjie), the only other SA surfer in the event, eventually lost out in the quarterfinals after starting strongly in the first two rounds, ending equal ninth overall.

Meanwhile in the Pacific Ocean, East London’s Nikita Robb cruised through a talented line-up of American and Hawaiian competitors to finish fourth in the Grade 4 Supergirl Pro Junior at Oceanside in California.

Referred to as the ‘international sensation from South Africa’, Robb, 20, from East London battled to find waves with scoring potential in the tiny 0.3 to 0.6 metre windswept waves for the final and ended behind winner Courtney Conlogue (USA), Malia Manuel (HAW) and Sage Erickson (USA), collecting prize-money of R13 000.

Robb is currently ranked No. 13 on the ASP Women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS), the highest of the SA contingent and narrowly ahead of fellow East Londoner Rosanne Hodge who is No. 14. With just two WQS events remaining on the 2009 schedule for women, a 5-Star in Rio de Janeiro starting on 7 October and a 6-Star at Haleiwa in Hawaii in November (still listed as Tentative), the ratings tallies are extremely close and the pair are still in with a chance of reaching the top six in the yearend rankings and automatically qualifying for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour.

ASP Women’s WQS Rankings

(After event No. 7 of 9)

1          Moore,Carissa          HAW   7980
2          Ho,Coco                     HAW   7740
3          Bevilacqua,Claire     AUS    6800
4          Miley-Dyer,Jessi       AUS    6420
5          Woods,Rebecca       AUS    6345

South Africans (Top 5) 

13        Robb,Nikita                ZAF     5650
14        Hodge,Rosanne        ZAF     5620
35        Buitendag,Bianca     ZAF     3520
37        Chudleigh,Tarryn       ZAF     3380
53        Smith,Tammy Lee     ZAF     2430

Redman, Palmboom and Bortoletto advance to Round 2 at Lacanau

Daniel Redman (Durban), Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff) and Antonio Bortoletto (Durban), all put their small-wave abilities to good use at Lacanau in France to advance to Round 2 of the 6-Star rated, R1.1 million Sooruz Lacanau Pro, Europe’s longest running professional surfing tournament.

The 0.6 to occasional one metre waves and light onshore winds produced conditions that were ideal for aerial manoeuvres with several near-perfect scores recorded as the competitors boosted themselves above the lip.

Chad du Toit (Durban) was SA’s only Round 1 casualty, while Durbanites David Weare, Travis Logie and Brandon Jackson were seeded directly into Round 2. The event runs until Sunday and all the action can followed live on the internet at http://sooruzlacanaupro09.com

ASP Africa Pro Junior titles to be decided at Victoria Bay in September

The 2009 ASP Africa titles for Pro Junior men and women will be decided at the Billabong Junior Series event at Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape from 23-26 September which features a Grade 2, R80 000 event for men and a Grade 1, R20 000 event for women.

The results will also determine the four men and one woman who will receive coveted invitations to represent ASP Africa at the annual Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Sydney, Australia at the beginning of January 2010.

The men’s ratings after three events are led by Casey Grant (Scottburgh), winner of the first Billabong Pro Junior in his hometown at Easter. He is followed by the consistent Chad du Toit (Durban), Kyle Lane (Umhlanga), winner of the Quiksilver Pro Junior in Durban in April, Brendon Gibbens (Kommetjie) and Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay), who won the Oakley Pro Junior at Port Alfred in May.

Fifteen-year-old Sarah Baum (Athlone Park) heads the women’s ratings after one event ahead of Kirsty Delport (Durban) with Heidi Palmboom (Bluff) and Tanika Hoffman (Kommetjie) tied third.

Those surfers wanting to compete in the Billabong Pro Junior events at Vic Bay are advised that the closing date for entries is next Tuesday, 25 August, after which seeding privileges will be forfeited and a late entry fee will be charged.

ASP Africa Pro Junior men’s ratings (After event No. 3 of 4)

1          Grant, Casey             Scottburgh                 3190
2          Du Toit, Chad            Durban                       2920
3          Lane, Kyle                  Umhlanga Rocks       2710
4          Gibbons, Brendon     Cape Town                2690
5          Joubert, Shaun          Mossel Bay                2600
6          Bromley, Matthew     Cape Town                2230
6          Strachan, Klee           Warner Beach           2230
8          Staples, Dale             Cape St Francis        2115
9          MacNicol, Haydn       Scottburgh                 2110
10        Leppan, Chris            Umhlanga Rocks       2000

ASP Africa Pro Junior women’s ratings (After event No. 1 of 2)

1          Baum, Sarah             Durban           1000
2          Delport, Kirsty            Durban           850
3          Palmboom, Heidi      Bluff                 730
3          Hoffman, Tanika        Cape Town    730
5          McGregor, Laurie      East London  610
5          Zoetmulder, Faye      East London  610
5          Rautenbach, Chantelle         Melkbosstrand           610
5          McGregor, Alive        East London  610

For further 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.

MASSIVE SOUTH AFRICAN WAVES ROCK THE 2010 BILLABONG XXL BIG WAVE AWARDS;

GABEIRA RIDES BIGGEST EVER BY A WOMAN — BURLE, LONG & BAKER ALSO GO HUGE

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — (August 13, 2009) — A mad dash from their homes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Cape Town, South Africa paid off for Maya Gabeira and tow surfing partner Carlos Burle as they rode the biggest waves of the season at the notorious Dungeons break this week.  Photos of the South American pair in action are now among the leading contenders in the Biggest Wave category of the 2010 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards presented by Monster Energy.  The entered images may be viewed at the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.

Also captured challenging some massive walls at the infamously sharky break were Grant “Twiggy” Baker (Durban, South Africa), Andrew Marr (Cape Town, South Africa) and Greg Long (San Clemente, California, USA).  All three have either won or been finalists in the XXL Awards in recent years.

Gabeira, 22, has already won the Billabong Girls Best Performance Award three years running, but on August 11 she reaffirmed her status as the top female in big wave surfing when she charged down an enormous, bumpy face after being towed in by Burle on a personal watercraft.  The duo arrived in Africa five days ahead of the giant swell in order for Gabeira to obtain her skipper’s license to legally operate the jet-powered craft.

According to Gabeira, “My days previous to the big day were the biggest mission ever! The swell came with onshore winds which the waves and ocean bumpy. But in the end of the day everyone had managed to get some bombs and safely finish a day of big surf.

“My biggest wave was just one drop and had a crazy boil in the face that I managed to jump through it,” said Gabeira.  “It was exciting to get that much speed down the face and manage to make such an irregular wave on my backside. Thanks to Carlos I had the biggest waves of my life that day!”

Gabeira was able to return the favor, putting her new driver’s license to work and towing Burle into his share of monsters along the spooky offshore reef.

The tenth annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards season runs through March 19, 2010 and acknowledges the biggest and best ridden waves of the year based on the photographic evidence.
Additional entries have also been arriving daily from around the world in all the key event categories including Monster Paddle, Monster Tube and the $50,000 XXL Ride of the Year.

In addition to all the latest entries in each category, full event details including formats, rules and archives of past XXL years can be seen at the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.

The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented by Monster Energy.  Surfline is the official surf forecast, Verizon Wireless is the official communications provider and Honda Aquatrax the official watercraft.  The event is sponsored by Surfing Magazine and Air Tahiti Nui airlines.

ends

PRESS CONTACT
Bill Sharp    SurfNewsEd@aol.com     949-548-6740

Issued on behalf of:   
Billabong South Africa
Contact:            Peter Nicholson
Telephone:        +27 (0) 42 200 2600
Email:               peter.nicholson@billabong.co.za          

Issued 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: Rosanne Hodge in action on the final day of the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica on Saturday where the East Londoner clinched the silver medal for South Africa

Photo: Sanchez / ISA

Billabong ISA World Surfing Games
August 1-8, 2009
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

Rosanne Hodge was the star of the South African surfing team at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica when she grabbed the silver medal in the Grand Final of the Women’s division on Saturday.

Team South Africa, supported by a grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), narrowly missed out on three further medals in the team event, Open men and Aloha Cup competitions, finishing in fifth place in each category.

Team USA cruised to victory in the team event, their first team gold medal since the corresponding event in California in 1996, with France confirming the emergence of Europe as a surfing power by taking silver, defending team champions Australia slipping to third and Hawaii clinching the copper medal just ahead of South Africa. This was a two place improvement by the SA team who placed seventh in the corresponding event in Portugal last year.

Hodge (East London) started the final day confidently, posting rides of 6.20 and 7.0 out of 10 to win her heat in Round 5 of the Qualifying stream and advance directly into the Women’s Grand Final along with second placed Sage Ericson (USA). The pair was joined by ASP World Junior Champion Pauline Ado (FRA) and the in-form Courtney Conlogue (USA), winner of the US Open Surfing event in California two weeks back, who advanced from the Repecharge rounds.

The 25 minute final saw Hodge lead early on before Conlogue took control with 18 minutes remaining by recording rides of 5.60 and then 7.0 points. Hodge fought her way back into contention with a 5.56 but the American clinched the gold with an excellent 8.20 with four minutes on the clock, leaving Hodge needing a near perfect ride of 9.64 and Ericson and Ado needing to improve on both their rides.

Hodge’s silver medal was one better than her bronze in the 2006 ISA World Surfing Games in California in 2006, the last time SA’s sole contender on the ASP Women’s World Tour represented her country.

Brandon Jackson came within one place of medal in his first ISA World Surfing Games when he finished fifth overall in the Open Men’s division. The 22-year-old from Durban North fought his way through to the last four in the Repecharge rounds before slipping to third spot behind Jeremy Flores (FRA) and Ben Bourgeois (USA).

Flores, the current ASP No. 16, went on to win the gold medal, finishing ahead of Cory Lopez (USA) and Gabriel Villaran (PER), who had advanced from the Qualifying stream, with Bourgeois in fourth.

The Longboard title was won by Antoine Delpero (FRA) who relegated Harley Ingleby (AUS) to second place with Ben Skinner (UK) and Tony Silvagni (USA) taking third and fourth. Justin Bing (Noordhoek) was SA’s top finisher in equal ninth spot with Michael Hill (St Francis Bay) ending equal 15^th.

Team SA narrowly missed out on the final of the Aloha Cup tag team event when they ended third in their semi-final on Friday. Australia went on to win the final, their only gold medal of the event, with France, Peru and Tahiti taking silver, bronze and copper respectively.

Video highlights, photos, news and full results of the 2009 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica can be found at www.billabongpro.com/isa09

Billabong ISA World Surfing Games

Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

Team Results:
Gold – United States – 14910 points
Silver – France – 13280 points
Bronze – Australia – 10996 points
Copper – Hawaii – 10856 points

South Africa: 5^th – 10666 points

Open Men
Gold: Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Silver: Cory Lopez (USA)
Bronze: Gabriel Villarán (PER)
Copper: Ben Bourgeois (USA)

South Africans:
Brandon Jackson – 5th
Rudy Palmboom Jnr. – 29th
Ryan Payne – 33rd
Damien Fahrenfort – 49th

Open Women
Gold: Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Silver: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Bronze: Sage Erickson (USA)
Copper: Pauline Ado (FRA) 

South Africans:
Nikita Robb – 8th 


Longboard 

Gold: Antoine Delpero (FRA)
Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS)
Bronze: Ben Skinner (GBR)
Copper: Tony Silvagni (USA)

South Africans:
Justin Bing – 9th
Michael Hill – 15th Aloha Cup
Gold: Australia
Silver: France
Bronze: Peru
Copper: Tahiti

 

South Africa – Equal 5th

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1 – USA – 14910 points
2 – France – 13280 points
3 – Australia – 10996 points
4 – Hawaii – 10856 points
5 – South Africa – 10666 points
6 – Peru – 10180 points
7 – Costa Rica – 9650 points
8 – Venezuela – 9040 points
9 – Brazil – 9000 points
10 – Puerto Rico – 8820 points
11 – New Zealand – 8100 points
12 – Argentina – 7160 points
13 – Tahiti – 6688 points
14 – Ecuador – 6170 points
15 – Panama – 5952 points
16 – Italy – 5670 points
17 – Mexico – 5560 points
18 – Japan – 5324 points
19 – Chile – 5208 points
20 – El Salvador – 4784 points
21 – Ireland – 4568 points
22 – Austria – 4320 points
23 – Barbados – 4128 points
24 – Germany – 4024 points
25 – UK- 3810 points
26 – Guatemala – 3696 points
27 – Switzerland – 3440 points
28 – Jamaica – 2912 points
29 – Canada – 2784 points
30 – Nicaragua – 2656 points
31 – Colombia 2544 points
32 – Trinidad & Tobago – 2240 points
33 – Bahamas 2240 points
34 – Rep. Dominican – 1680 points
35 – Aruba- 384 points

About Surfing South Africa (SSA)

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for surfriding in South Africa.

 Six provincial organisations and three national associations are affiliated to Surfing South Africa which coordinates and manages all aspects of surfriding from grass roots level through to the selection of National teams.

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding.  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.

 /ends

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa
Contact:  Robin de Kock
Email: surfingsouthafrica@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

Billabong ISA World Surfing Games
August 1-8, 2009
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

Pictured: Michael Hill in action Photo: Watts / ISA

The South African surfing team moved back into contention for a medal in the team event after Day 6 of the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica thanks to strong performances by Longboard surfers Justin Bing and Michael Hill along with Open surfer Brandon Jackson.

Team SA, which is supported by a grant from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), moved up to fourth place in the team standings behind current runaway leaders USA, second placed Hawaii and Australia in third. The elimination of team members from France, Brazil and host nation Costa Rica in the Longboard and Open repecharge heats saw those teams slip back to occupy fifth to seventh positions respectively.

Bing (Noordhoek) and Hill (St Francis Bay) started their campaigns in spectacular style on Wednesday, both posting easy Round 1 victories before the pair were relegated to the repecharge rounds when they placed third in their respective Round 2 heats.

Facing seven grueling rounds without finishing lower than second in their heats to reach the final, the pair have already successfully negotiated their way through three rounds and are now amongst the last 16 Longboarders left in the event. They face another strenuous day in the rising swell at Playa Hermosa on Friday when Repecharge Rounds 5 to 7 are on the schedule.

Jackson (Durban North), SA’s sole remaining competitor in the Open men’s division, lost out in the last minute of his Round 4 Qualifying stream heat on Thursday, slipping to third place behind former ASP World Tour Campaigner Ben Bourgeois (USA), the convincing winner, and Gabriel Villaran (PER) who slotted into a neat tube-ride with 30 seconds remaining to grab second spot.

However, Jackson immediately redeemed himself with a creditable second place showing behind Miguel Pupo (BRA) in Round 6 of the Repecharges to reach the last 16 in the men’s division.

The women have not competed for the past two days and when they resume action later today Rosanne Hodge and Nikita Robb, both from East London, will be up against USA standout Courtney Conlogue and former ASP and ISA World champion Sofia Mulanovich (PER) in Qualifying Round 4. The SA girls are already guaranteed top 12 finishes in the event but will be aiming for higher honours with Hodge hoping to better the bronze medal earned at the corresponding event in the USA in 2006.

All the action can be followed live via webcasts on www.billabongpro.com/isa09 which also provides news, full results, videos, photos and more. Costa Rica is eight hours behind South Africa with heats expected to start around 4pm CAT.

Ends

About Surfing South Africa (SSA)

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for surfriding in South Africa.

Six provincial organisations and three national associations are affiliated to Surfing South Africa which coordinates and manages all aspects of surfriding from grass roots level through to the selection of National teams.

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding.  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.

Issued on behalf of:

Surfing South Africa

Contact:            Robin de Kock
Email:               surfingsouthafrica@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