Kahuna Promotions » Longboarding

Anticipation mounts for Guinness World Record attempt at Earthwave

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:54:01 +0000

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

Rosanne Hodge takes silver as Team SA place 5th at Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:18:40 +0000

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

Team SA back into medal contention after Day 6 of Billabong ISA World Surfing Games

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:09:00 +0000

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)

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