With only a slight drop in swell from Saturday, the Billabong Pro Junior Finals went down in dramatic fashion in large surf at Vic Bay as the 4-day event culminated late on Sunday afternoon. After yesterday’s cancellation of competition due to massive waves, it was more than fitting that the final day went off in solid 6-8 foot surf with some very committed and valiant surfers taking on the biggest and best that Vic Bay had to throw at them.

First up this morning were the Pro Junior Girls who had been waiting patiently for the past 3 day’s for their chance to surf. And after 3 days of waiting, the girls paddled straight into some of the biggest sets of the day with some getting washed in, while the fortunate few scratched out the back.

The four who managed to fight their way through the draw and into the final were Emma Smith (J-Bay), Nicole Pallet (Durban), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff) and Bianca Buitendag (Vic Bay).  After an initial slow start, Bianca set the tone for the final with a succession of fluid backhand snaps and despite gallant attempts to match the score by Nicole, Heidi and Emma, Bianca was in a class of her own at a wave she knows so well and powered convincingly through to take the win, and in so doing earning herself R2 500 prize-money and 1 000 valuable PST ratings.

Anyone who witnessed the U12 heats en route to the final will testify to some of the bravest and courageous surfing ever seen in a junior event. In front of many anxious parents and onlookers, the plucky U12’s took to the heavy seas in search of some of the biggest waves they had ridden in their fledging competitive careers.

In between some of the ‘groms’ taking 8ft closeout waves on the head and enduring countless hold down’s, some sensational waves were ridden at least 3 times overhead for the young chargers. In the end, it was the spirited Adin Masencamp from Strand in Cape Town who took the impressive win over Ethan Fletcher (Cape Town), Jose Faulkner (J-Bay) and Jake Elkington (Cape Town) who placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

Next up were the U14 Boy’s who must also be commended for braving the gnarly conditions. In a hotly contested final with positions constantly changing, in the end it was Matt McGillivray from P.E who stole the show with a late minute score to pip Steffen Burrows (Strand) into second. Event standout Jordy Maree (Cape Town) took 3rd while a physically drained Adin Masencamp, having surfed in consecutive finals, taking 4th. With some very mature and calculated surfing displayed by all the finalists, it’s safe to say that South African junior surfing has some exciting future talents to look out for. 

The U16 Boys division then raised the bar even higher. With a packed Vic Bay boardwalk, the U16 finalists put on a show that many will never forget, and what some, including legendary surf coach Graham Hynes, are calling the finest final they’ve watched in years. Ultimately it was two of South Africa’s brightest surfing talents going blow for blow in the still ‘sizey’ and consistent conditions.

J-Bay’s Dylan Lightfoot picked off the bombs and racked up a 9 and a high 8 point score. KZN South Coaster Slade Prestwich answered right back with a succession of stylish hack’s including one massive roundhouse rail grab carve that looked remarkably similar to those consistently pulled off by Dane Reynolds. Lightfoot, having then taken the lead back again watched in angst as Slade smashed his way to his highest wave score of the day with a 9 point ride courtesy of an under-the-lip 360 rail spin. However, it was just less than the 9.4 score he needed and Dylan secured a memorable victory, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.

With the ocean beginning to settle and rippable conditions prevailing, it came time for the much anticipated finale of the Premier Pro Junior Boy’s division. Umhlanga’s Beyrick De Vries, still fresh off the plane from France was up against rival Nick Godfrey, who had managed to take down St Francis Bay compatriot Dale Staples in their semifinal match-up.

With both surfers being event-standout’s it was always expected to be a nail bitter, and after the first exchange of rides, it looked to be heading that way. However, Beyrick sat slightly wider and lucked into 2 set waves that he milked all the way to the beach and despite the KZN surfer having to endure 2 consecutive ‘run-arounds’ back into the line-up, Godfrey simply wasn’t able to find the mid 7 point score he so badly needed.

And with that, the final buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted and elated top seed Beyrick De Vries was crowned the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay Champion for 2011. Having consistently posted huge scores all weekend, charging the heavy surf and wowing the judges with his progressive no holds barred approach, it was a truly deserved win for the quirky 19 year old.  Along with the prestigious internationally rated ASP Grade-One win, Beyrick walked away with a $2000 US Dollars in prize-money and 250 ASP ratings points along with a SONY Trick Docking Station which was presented to every finalist across all five divisions.

Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay
Results
 
Pro Junior Boys
1.  Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga)                $2000 + Nixon watch + Sony Trick
2.  Nick Godfrey (Cape St Francis)           $1000 + Sony Trick
=3.  Dale Staples (St Francis Bay)            $550
=3.  Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay)            $550
=5.  Dane Staples (St Francis Bay)           $250
=5.  Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie)              $250
=5.  Matt Pallet (Durban)                            $250
=5.  Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)             $250

Pro Junior Girls
1. Bianca Buitendag (Vic Bay)                 R2500 + Sony Trick + Nixon Watch
2. Nicole Pallet (Durban)                          R1500 + Sony Trick                 
3. Heidi Palmboom (Bluff)                        R750
4. Emma Smith (J-Bay)                            R500

U16 boys
1. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay)             R1 200 + Sony Trick + Nixon Watch
2. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)              R2 000 + Sony Trick
3.  Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay)                    R800 + Sony Trick
4.  Diran Zakarian (Melkbos)                   R500 + Sony Trick

U14 boys
1.  Matt McGillivray (Port Elizabeth)        R1500 + Sony Trick
2.  Steffen Burrows (Strand)                    R1000 + Sony Trick
3.  Jordan Maree  (Kalk Bay)                R600 + Sony Trick
4.  Adin Masencamp (Strand)                  R400 + Sony Trick

U12 boys
1.  Adin Massencamp (Strand)                R1 500 + Sony Trick
2.  Ethan Fletcher (Cape Town)              R750 + Sony Trick
3.  Jose Faulkner (J-Bay)                        R500 + Sony Trick
4.  Jake Elkington (Cape Town)              R250 + Sony Trick

Von Zipper Air Show
1.  Matt Pallet (Durban)                            R2 000 + VZ Sunnies

The internationally rated Pro Junior men’s event is sanctioned by ASP Africa, the regional office for ASP International, while the Pro Surf Tour (PST) women’s and boy’s events are sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport.

Images and video, results, heat sheets and news from the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay will be available daily at the official contest portal powered by Zigzag www.zigzag.co.za/wpmu/bongjuniorseries as well as www.billabong.com/za

The Billabong Pro Vic Bay is proudly supported by Sony, Von Zipper, Kustom and Nixon and Zigzag Surfing Magazine

\ends

Compiled & Issued on behalf of:

Brendon Kegel – Media and Communications
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2747
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Cell:                  083 799 0110
Email:               brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Distributed by:

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

South African surfers Travis Logie and Jordy Smith won their respective Round 1 heats in the Billabong Pro Tahiti, which started in epic 1.5 to 2 metre waves at Teahupoo on Saturday, to move directly into Round 3 of stop No. 5 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title season.

Logie, 32, currently No. 44 on the ASP World Rankings, gained entry into the Billabong Pro Tahiti at the 11th hour with the withdrawal of Bobby Martinez (USA). The Durbanite embarked on a white-knuckle trip from Europe to Tahiti, showing up with less than 10 hours before his heat and without any of his surfboards or equipment.
 
“I got the call about 24 hours ago from Renato Hickel (ASP World Tour Manager) and got on the next plane from Europe,” Logie said. “I was over there competing in the 6-Star events and opted to take the opportunity in Tahiti. I don’t have any boards or any equipment so I used my good friend Alain Riou’s board his morning and it felt pretty good.”

Logie posted a heat tally of 16.07 (out of 20), the fourth highest of the day, to dispatch Jadson Andre (BRA) and No. 4 seed Jeremy Flores to the cutthroat man-on-man Round 2 heats.
 
Smith, 23, the current No. 2 on the ASP World Title Rankings, kept his 2011 campaign red-hot today, putting on a commanding backhand performance en route to his Round 1 victory. The Capetonian was enthusiastic with today’s conditions and excited for the swell on the horizon.
 
“I’ve been here most of the day and I’ve just been psyching to get out there,” Smith said. “It’s so much fun – just perfect, blue barrels. I’m so happy to be here in Tahiti and the forecast looks pretty amazing. We’ll see how it pans out.”
 
Smith’s two wave tally of 15.36 was the ninth best of the day and enough to relegate trials winner and wildcard Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) and Raoni Monteiro (BRA) to Round 2.

American CJ Hobgood, the 2001 ASP World Champion and 2004 Tahiti event winner, was the top scorer of Round 1, racking up a near perfect score of 9.87 (out of 10) before adding a 9.50 for a heat total of 19.37 to defeat current ASP World Title Race No. 1 Joel Parkinson and fellow Australian Adam Melling.

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning and 10-time ASP World Champion, was at his usual polished best, remaining patient to score a winning wave on the buzzer against opponents Dan Ross (AUS) and dangerous local wildcard Heiarii Williams (PYF).

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, predict plenty of swell for the next week. A medium SSW swell will maintain through the weekend to be followed by another medium size South swell for early next week. A major swell event is forecast for 25 & 26 August with potential for even more swell by the 28th.

Event organizers will reconvene on Sunday morning at 6:30am (6.30pm South African time) to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start (7.30pm in SA).

When competition resumes, the opening heat of elimination Round 2 will feature Jeremy Flores (FRA) versus Heiarii Williams (PYF).

All the action from the Billabong Pro Tahiti can be followed live on www.billabongpro.com. Tahiti is situated at GMT -10, i.e. 12 hours behind South Africa. 8am in Tahiti is 8pm in SA.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Cory Lopez (USA) 12.83, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.47, Chris Davidson (AUS) 4.67
Heat 2: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.83, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.73, Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.27
Heat 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 16.07, Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.40, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.73
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.23, Gabe Kling (USA) 13.97, Tiago Pires (PRT) 7.97
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.36, Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 14.47, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 8.47
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.96, Daniel Ross (AUS) 13.07, Heiarii Williams (PYF) 10.47
Heat 7: Kai Otton (AUS) 11.47, Heitor Alves (BRA) 10.53, Owen Wright (AUS) 10.33
Heat 8: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 19.38, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.60, Adam Melling (AUS) 10.33
Heat 9: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.90, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.53, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.10
Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.73, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.10, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.83
Heat 11: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.76, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.63, Michel Bourez (PYF) 15.17
Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.84, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.27
 
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 7: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 9: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 10: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 11: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 12: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

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
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 recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard 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 and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

Billabong Pro J-Bay
Stop No 4 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Tour
Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
14-24 July 2011

South African surfing sensation Jordy Smith clinched his second consecutive Billabong Pro J-Bay title when he beat Australian Mick Fanning in a tense final held in testing 1.5 metre waves and strong onshore winds at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay today.

Smith, who looked in championship winning form ever since posting the highest scores of Round 1 last Friday, made full use of his many years of experience at Jeffreys Bay to tame the ‘victory at sea’ conditions and employed his exciting arsenal of progressive and aerial manoeuvres to rack up rides of 8.60 and 7.0 for a heat-winning total of 15.60 out of 20 in the final.

“It’s been an incredible week for me,” Smith said. “All the support of the people at Jeffreys Bay, Garth (Tarlow), Steve (Smith), my girlfriend Lyndall (Jarvis), my mom and dad and everyone else. It’s been a really special week for me and I’m so happy right now.”

The 23-year-old Durbanite who now lives in Cape Town pocketed US $75 000 for the victory and earned 10 000 priceless rankings points which moved him from fifth to second on the ASP World Title Race rankings behind Joel Parkinson (AUS), overtaking Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kelly Slater (USA) and Taj Burrow (AUS) in the process

“Mick (Fanning) has surfed amazing all week,” Smith said. “He’s always an inspiration and he’s right there with everyone in the hunt for the title. Today’s a huge win for me. Last year it was very emotional. To back it up this year just feels really, really good. It’s huge for my confidence and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Smith also collected the Nixon WTA award of a custom built Nixon watch valued at $10 000 for scoring the highest heat total at the event of 18.30 out of 20 in his Round 5 win over Bede Durbidge (AUS).

Fanning, a former two-time World and J-Bay champion, led the final with an excellent 8.0 point ride early on and was briefly out in front again at the halfway point, but could not produce the 7.61 point ride he needed to overtake Smith once the South African had snatched the lead back with an innovative ‘double-grab’ aerial with 12 minutes remaining.

The Australian, who takes home $30 000 and 8 000 points that sees him leapfrog from No. 8 to No. 4 on the rankings, was full of praise for Smith in his runners-up speech, before showering the winner with champagne. He also echoed the feelings of all of the world’s best surfers when he wished the late Andy Irons, a former three-time ASP World Champion, a happy birthday and sent his greetings to Irons’ family in Hawaii.

Smith started the final day in rampant form, powering his way to convincing victories over experienced former double J-Bay runner-up Damien Hobgood (USA) in the quarterfinals and then leaving Adrian Buchan (AUS) needing to replace both his scores to come within striking distance of winning their semi-final match-up.

Fanning meanwhile combo’d compatriot Josh Kerr in their quarterfinal encounter before coming out on top in a titanic semifinal battle with close friend and fellow Aussie Joel Parkinson where Fanning snatched victory with an incredible near-perfect 9.80 point ride, the highest scoring ride on the final day of competition.

With his equal third place finish here Parkinson heads the rankings in the hunt for the 2011 ASP World Title, but the perennial title contender remains cautious regarding the remainder of the season.
 
“I don’t really think about that yet,” Parkinson said. “It’s only the fourth event of the year and I’ve been in this position before. I’m happy with my surfing and my boards and I’ll keep my eyes on the next heat.”

The 2011 Billabong Pro J-Bay will make the history books for Smith’s second consecutive win and the phenomenal standard of surfing on the penultimate day when a perfect 10 point ride and a number of other high-flying and modernistic moves were performed and recorded in the planet’s premier high performance waves at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.

The final day’s proceedings started with a moving tribute to the late Andy Irons, a former three-time ASP World Champion, the 2004 Billabong Pro J-Bay champion and long-time Billabong team rider who passed away earlier this year and would have celebrated his birthday today.

All the action from the Billabong Pro J-Bay, including results, images and video-on-demand footage of every heat is available via www.billabongpro.com.

Further information on the event can be found at the Facebook fan page Billabong South Africa or on twitter @BillabongSA.

A daily 15 minute TV highlights package from the event will be broadcast on the channels of SuperSport with the premiere at 19h45 and multiple repeats. Check your TV schedule for updated broadcast times.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 was proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60
2 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.83

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.46 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.87
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.47 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.93

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.10 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.94
QF 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.77 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.90
QF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.83 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 8.16
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.40 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 5.43

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay):
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 25700 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 24750 pts
3. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22250 pts
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19500 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 18250 pts
6. Kelly Slater (USA) 16950 pts
7. Michel Bourez (PYF) 16000
8. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15000
9. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13900 pts
9. Owen Wright (AUS) 13900 pts

ENDS

Compiled and 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

Jordy Smith’s fairytale win at the Billabong Pro J-Bay in 2010 was the stuff of legends.

It was the SA surfing sensation’s maiden ASP World Tour event victory, becoming the first South African since Shaun Tomson in the 1980’s to win such an event. He did it in his home surf, the win occurred on Nelson Mandela’s birthday – a day of huge significance to South Africa – a Jordy survived several clutch moments en route to the final thanks to his brilliant, confident, cutting edge surfing and his never-say-die competitive approach.

Along the way he won the crowd, he won the event and he ended the day the No. 1 ranked surfer in the world.

By the time the 2010 ASP Men’s Tour wrapped up in December Jordy was sitting pretty at number two in the world. Rated second to the one and only Kelly Slater.

Later this week Jordy will paddle out to defend his Billabong Pro J-Bay crown and his legions of fans and admirers will be there – online and on the beach – to cheer him on.

This, the fourth of six Webisodes to be released on www.billabongpro.com in the lead up to the event features Jordy’s take on his home event – what it felt like to win last year and why he feels totally at ease, arriving in J-Bay with the support of a nation behind him.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is scheduled for 14-24 July in the fabled waves of Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay. It is stop No. 4 of 11 on the ASP World Tour, the series of events that determines the annual ASP World Surfing Champion. The field comprises the world’s top 34 ranked professional surfers along with two wildcards. All the action will be webcast live via www.billabongpro.com.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.

To upload the video, made available rights free to media, simply visit the links below: 

Vimeo:
Link: http://vimeo.com/26247241

Embed code: <iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/26247241?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0” width=”510″ height=”287″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>

Download webisodes: https://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8a6c688860646e76ae6d
Webisode 1: 245mb
Webisode 2: 159mb
Webisode 3: 143mb
Webisode 4: 277mb

\ends

Issued on behalf of:

Billabong South Africa
Contact: Brendon Kegel
Telephone: +27 (0) 42 200 2747
Email: brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Compiled and 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

All 32 of the world’s top ranked professional surfers will be in Jeffreys Bay in July for the R3 million Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011, Africa’s only stop on the ASP World Tour, the 11-event series of events that determines surfing’s annual men’s world champion.

Scheduled for 14-24 July, the 26th edition of the continent’s most prestigious surfing event will again be staged at Supertubes, the 300 metre stretch of coastline universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s top 10 high performance surf breaks.

The stellar field for the 2011 Billabong Pro J-Bay, arguably the most talented group of surfers ever assembled, includes 10-time and reigning ASP world Champion Kelly Slater (USA); South African superstar and defending event champion, Jordy Smith; former two-time world and event champion Mick Fanning (AUS) and previous Billabong Pro J-Bay champions Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow (both Australians).

Throw in the progressive manoeuvres of Dane Reynolds (USA), the precocious talents of Owen Wright (AUS), Michel Bourez (TAH) and 2010 runner-up Adam Melling (AUS), add established stars like current ASP World Tour No. 1 ranked Adriano de Souza (BRA), the Hobgood twins – 2000 world champion CJ and 2009 J-Bay runner-up Damien – along with fellow American Bobby Martinez and spectacular surfing performances are guaranteed to light up the waves at Supers.

The 36 man field also includes South Africa’s ‘uber-wildcard’ Sean Holmes (Cape Town), conqueror of both Slater and the late Andy Irons (HAW) on his way to fifth place last year. Holmes’ uncanny affinity with the waves at Supertubes has wrecked the title hopes of so many of the top contenders over the years.

The second wildcard goes to the winner of the VonZipper Superheat, a five-man encounter held on the first day of the event featuring South African rising stars Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay) and Dale Staples (St Francis Bay); international contenders Granger Larson (HAW) and reigning ASP World Junior Champion Jack Freestone (AUS) along with Shaun Payne (St Francis Bay), winner of the Xcel Pro Showdown at Supers.

This year sees three days of major underground music talent coinciding with the world-class surfing action. The Billabong Pro Music Festival runs Friday to Sunday, 15 to 17 July, at the Jolly Dolphin featuring a lineup of 14 top SA bands including the likes of Aking, City Bowl Mizers, P.H.Fat, Jack Parow and the ever-popular local Hot Wasabi band fronted by the legendary Steve Walsh.

Billabong continues its efforts to heighten awareness of local and global surf communities to the challenge of climate change, and how we all need to become part of the solution, by making the 2011 Billabong Pro J-Bay a ‘greener event’.

Building on the programs instituted over the past two years, the estimated 384.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions generated by the event activities, including the travel by local and international participants and officials, will be reduced wherever possible. The remaining emissions will be offset using United Nations Kyoto compliant carbon credits ensuring a low carbon, climate-conscious event and that the barrels ridden at Supers are green in more ways than one.

Greening initiatives at the event include using renewable energy, biodegradable food and beverage containers, paper instead of plastic bags and bio-diesel fuel in event vehicles where possible alongside an event recycling program. More about climate change and what it means to surfers can be found at www.cleanerclimate.com/billabongpro

The eyes of the surfing world will be firmly fixed on Jeffreys Bay from 14-24 July as hundreds of thousands of surf fans worldwide log millions of page impressions while following the fortunes of their favourite surfers.

All the action will be covered via webcasts on www.billbabongpro.com featuring live scoring, expert commentary and interviews, video footage with multiple camera angles, slow-motion replays, video on demand highlights of previous heats and online competitions with valuable prizes.

The optimum experience remains attending the event and there is nothing quite like watching the action live from the natural amphitheatre on the dunes overlooking the liquid runway known as Supertubes, mingling with the world’s best surfers and enjoying the legendary party atmosphere in J-Bay throughout the 11-day event. Be there.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.

\ends
Compiled and 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

Defending champions Border retained the coveted President’s Cup at the 2011 Billabong SA Surfing Championships which was completed in clean, offshore four foot surf at Seal Point in Cape St Francis on Sunday (May 15).

Not only did the team from East London win the 46th team title for the second year in a row but they also produced the Open Men’s champion in Greg Emslie, the runner up and Surfer of the Contest recipient Wayne Monk as well as the Women’s champion in Nikita Robb.

This was Emslie’s second title in a row and his fourth SA Championship victory. He joins George Thomopoulos on four SA Championship wins and one more will see him match Chris Knutsen.

Robb returned from competing on the World Qualifying Series to represent her beloved Border and it proved to be a good decision. 2010 National Team member Chantelle Rautenbach of Boland was second in the Women’s final.

Western Province surfer Nick Godfrey, who grew up surfing Seal Point, beat Steven Sawyer of Eastern Province to win his second Under 20 Boys crown in three years while Sarah Baum of KZN Central edged fellow National Junior Team member Bianca Buitendag of Southern Cape to take honours in the Under 20 Girls division.

The four new champions, who shared R30,000 in prize money, were awarded their trophies by Surfing South Africa President Mark Hoffman, Vice President Ant Brodowicz, Board Director Emile Zoetmulder and legendary coach Graham Hynes.

All the competitors earned 3A PST points by competing in the 2011 Billabong SA Championships.

Mark Hoffman presented the coveted Presidents Cup trophy to the Team Champions Border, who were also named as the team with the most spirit during the event. The East London side not only won the accolades and the bulk of the trophies but also took home ten cases of Carling Black Label from SAB for their efforts.

The Billabong SA Surfing Champs was proudly presented by Zigzag, fuelled by Monster, coordinated by Surfing South Africa, supported the Cape St Francis Resort and hosted by the Eastern Province Surfing Council.

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) as the governing body for the sport and is a member of the International Surfing Association. (ISA)

Updated heat sheets, results and full image galleries available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and on the official SA Champs 2011 media portal, hosted by: www.zigzag.co.za
Results:
Open Men
1st – Greg Emslie (Border)
2nd – Wayne Monk (Border)
3rd – Klee Strachan – (KZN Central)
4th- Casey Grant – (Southern KZN)

Open Women
1st – Nikita Robb (Border)
2nd – Chantelle Rautenbach (Boland)
3rd – Michelle Imeson (Southern KZN)
4th – Tasha Mentasti (Boland)

U20 Boys
1st- Nick Godfrey (W.P)
2nd – Steven Sawyer (E.P)
3rd – Matt Bromley (W.P)
4th – Dylan Lightfoot (E.P)

U20 Girls
1st – Sarah Baum (KZN Central)
2nd – Bianca Buitendag (Southern Cape)
3rd – Faye Zoetmulder (E.P)
4th – Emma Smith (E.P)

Surfer of the Contest
Wayne Monk (Border)

Team Spirit award
Border

President’s Cup
1st – Border                                        43,464 points
2nd – KwaZulu-Natal Central              41,836 points
3rd – Eastern Province                          41,200 points
4th – Western Province                       39,844 points
5th – Southern KwaZulu-Natal            37,634 points  
6th – Boland                                         32,300 points
7th – Southern Cape                           29,630 points
8th – Zululand                                      19,910 points

ENDS

From Surfing South Africa
www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
0824541149

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

The Billabong Girls Get Out There will conclude their 3 week- long summer tour with two highly anticipated back-to-back events in Cape Town.

Muizenberg will host the first of two action packed events on Tuesday 21 December, immediately followed up with one final activation at Cape Town’s famed Camps Bay on Wednesday 22nd December.

The three week long summer tour kicked off in fine style on Ballito’s Willard Beach last Saturday 11th December and was followed up the next day (Sunday 12th December) at Durban’s Suncoast Beach.  It was then the turn of the South Coast holiday town of Margate to deliver a hugely successful conclusion to the KZN leg with the third activation on a sun-soaked, jam-packed Margate main beach.

After heavy rain unfortunately enforced the cancellation of the Port Elizabeth’s activation, the Billabong Girls Get Out There Summer tour redeemed the garden route crowds with two sun-soaked events in the bustling holiday towns of Plettenberg Bay and Mossel Bay respectively.

All eyes are now on Cape Town as the Billabong Girls Get Out There prepares to wrap up the summer roadshow after almost three weeks touring the country’s coastline.

Starting at 10am and wrapping up at 3pm, each event promises a fun-filled day for the entire family, with a primary ploy to get girls onto the beaches and experience the healthy, energizing Billabong lifestyle.

Whether it’s free surfing lessons, art workshops, beach games, or give-aways; the Billabong Girls will spice up those long sunny beach days this Summer.

At every activation, Billabong, in collaboration with 8.ta, will be holding FREE Learn to surf classes throughout the day with professional surfer, Tarryn Chudleigh. These classes will happen every hour on the hour and numbers are limited so be sure to get there early. Every girl who partakes in the surf school will receive a goodie bag containing Billabong and 8.ta give-aways

Bevcan will be fronting the fun on their giant inflatable slide and chill out area, they’re also hosting a competition where anyone can win a uniquely designed surfboard at each event!

Seventeen Magazine is focusing on all the things girls just love such as Hula hoop games; Twista; Celebrity Quiz, Bingo; UrbanScout sign ups; Pamper Corners as well as the Ava A-List girl search.

A free creative corner is also available throughout the day, where girls can express their creative side with paints on canvas, beading and sand art.

As if that’s not enough, Billabong, Seventeen, Sony, and Nixon will be giving away awesome prizes at each event so make sure you fill out as many entry forms as possible at the beach to stand the chance of winning.

The day is all about fun with the Billabong beach DJ keeping the happy summer sounds coming your way while MC, Marius Roberts, will get you involved in games and activities with heaps of prizes to give away.

So be sure to join the Billabong Girls Get Out There Summer tour at one of their remaining  four FREE beach day activations as they travel the country’s coastline through the Garden Route and on to Cape Town.

Remaining Billabong Girls Get Out There Itinerary:

Muizenberg, Cape Town
Tuesday 21st December 2010

Camps Bay, Cape Town
Wednesday 22nd December 2010

Using Sony Bloggie’s, daily photographs will be uploaded onto www.billabong.com.
You can follow the tour and check daily uploads on facebook – /Billabong Girls-sa and twitter – /BbgGirlsSA

Thanks to Bevcan, 8.ta, Seventeen, Sony, Von Zipper and Nixon, who have all contributed to making this the coolest beach activation this summer.

/ENDS

Issued on behalf of:

Billabong South Africa
Contact: Brendon Kegel
Telephone: +27 (0) 42 200 2747
Email: brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

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

Be sure to join the Billabong Girls Get Out There Summer tour at one of their eight FREE beach day activations as they travel the country’s coastline from KZN right through the Garden Route and on to Cape Town.

Each event promises a fun-filled day for the entire family, with a primary ploy to get girls onto the beaches and experience the healthy, energizing Billabong lifestyle.

Whether it’s free surfing lessons, art workshops, beach games, or give-aways; the Billabong Girls will spice up those long sunny beach days this Summer.

At every activation, Billabong, in collaboration with 8.ta, will be holding FREE Learn to surf classes throughout the day with professional surfer, Tarryn Chudleigh. These classes will happen every hour on the hour and numbers are limited so be sure to get there early Every girl who partakes in the surf school will receive a goodie bag containing Billabong and 8.ta give-aways

Bevcan will be fronting the fun on their giant inflatable slide and chill out area, They’re also hosting a competition where anyone can win a uniquely designed surfboard at each event!

Seventeen Magazine is focusing on all the things girls just love such as Hula hoop games; Twista; Celebrity Quiz, Bingo; UrbanScout sign ups; Pamper Corners as well as the Ava A-List girl search.

A free creative is also available throughout the day, where girls can express their creative side with paints on canvas, beading and sand art.

As if that’s not enough, Sony, Von Zipper and Nixon will be giving away awesome prizes at each event so make sure you fill out as many entry forms as possible at the beach to stand the chance of winning.

The day is all about fun with the Billabong beach DJ keeping the happy summer sounds coming your way while MC, Marius Roberts, will get you involved in games and activities with heaps of prizes to give away.

Starting at 10am and wrapping up at 3pm, join the Billabong Crew for plenty of free fun in sun with the Billabong Girls Get Out There Summer Tour 2010.

Billabong Girls Get Out There Itinerary:

Ballito, KZN
Saturday 11th December 2010

Sun Coast, KZN
Sunday 12th December 2010

Margate, KZN
Monday 13th December 2010

Hobie Beach, PE
Thursday 16th December 2010

Main Beach, Plettenberg Bay
Friday 17th December 2010

Dias Beach, Mossel Bay
Saturday 18th December 2010

Muizenberg, Cape Town
Tuesday 21st December 2010

Camps Bay, Cape Town
Wednesday 22nd December 2010

Using Sony Bloggie’s, daily photographs will be uploaded onto www.billabong.com.
You can follow the tour and check daily uploads on Facebook – /Billabong Girls-sa and twitter – /BbgGirlsSA

Thanks to Bevcan, 8.ta, Seventeen, Sony, Von Zipper and Nixon, who have all contributed to making this the coolest beach activation this summer.

/ENDS

Issued on behalf of:

Billabong South Africa
Contact: Brendon Kegel
Telephone: +27 (0) 42 200 2747
Email: brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

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

Chantelle Rautenbach won the Billabong Pro Junior Women’s title at Victoria Bay on Friday, defeating Sarah Baum in the final held in rippable head-high waves peeling down the point at the iconic Southern Cape surf break.

Rautenbach, 20, from Melkbosstrand controlled the final from outset, selecting two waves that allowed her to utilise her full repertoire of backhand manoeuvres and post scores of 6.5 and 5.0. While she didn’t improve on these for the remainder of the heat, they ultimately proved sufficient to clinch victory, a cheque of R2 000 and a haul of 1 000 points on the Pro Surf Tour (PST) rankings.

Baum was the favourite going into the final after a convincing semifinal victory over top seed Bianca Buitendag (George), but the 16 year-old from Athlone Park struggled to find waves with good scoring potential during the final and, with a highest ride of 4.35, was left needing 7.15 points when the curtain came down on the 25 minute match up.

Rautenbach, who captured the SA Open Women’s crown in East London last weekend, defeated Heidi Palmboom (Bluff) in a wave-starved, low-scoring semi-final. Palmboom and Buitendag finished equal third overall in the event.

Day 3 action opened with the Pro Junior men going to work in solid 1 to 1.5 metre waves that offered plenty of opportunity for high performance surfing. The country’s best surfers aged 20-and-under did not disappoint, tearing into the long lines on the point and producing several shock eliminations.

First to be ousted was fourth seed Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), winner of the first Billabong Pro Junior event in April, and he was soon followed by the seemingly unstoppable Benji Brand (Kommetjie), then second seed Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga) and Scottburgh standout Slade Prestwich.

The Pro Junior men’s quarterfinal heats, using the man-on-man format, were held at the end of the day and saw top seed Chad du Toit (Berea) lead throughout to defeat Shawn Dennis (Durban) and set up a crucial semifinal encounter with Matt Bromley who eliminated fellow Billabong team rider Kommetjie resident Davey Brand in their quarter.

The match-up between 2009 ASP Africa champion du Toit and Bromley will be one that the Kommetjie surfer will be desperate to win. With Staples and du Toit having secured their participation in the inaugural ASP World Junior Tour by reaching the last 16 here, Bromley needs to reach the final of the Billabong Pro Junior Vic Bay to clinch the coveted third and final invitation.

In the bottom half of the draw, J-Bay standout Steven Sawyer grabbed victory over Haydn MacNicol and will go up against Nick Godfrey (Cape St Francis) in the second semifinal on Saturday.  Godfrey, a previous Vic Bay winner, had racked up an 8.0 and a 6.0 to eliminate David van Zyl (Glenashley).

In between the clashes of the Pro Junior titans, the semifinals U12 boys produced a spectacular display of rising talent as Adin Masencamp (Somerset West) simply blitzed to book his berth in the final alongside runner-up Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay). The pair will be up against perennial achiever Donovan Wichmann (Marina da Gama) and diminutive Ford van Jaarsveld  who caused an upset by ousting fellow Kommetjie surfer Ethan Fletcher.

In the U14’s, long time friends and rivals Max Armstrong (Scarborough) and Benji Brand had their opponents fighting for second place in their respective semifinals as they continuously delivered excellent scores. The pair will duke out tomorrow’s final against respective runners-up Shane Sykes (Salt Rock) and Steffen Burrows (Strand).

The highly competitive U16 boys quarterfinals produced another phenomenal display by Benji Brand as the Billabong rider racked up scores of 8.1 and 7.0 to move into the semis along with Matt McGillivray (Port Elizabeth) while Dylan Lightfoot (J-Bay) and a fast improving Brandon Benjamin advanced from Heat 2.

Slade Prestwich detonated with an excellent 8.25 to win Heat 3 ahead of newcomer Wade Simkiss with Max Armstrong and Steven Sawyer dominating the last quarterfinal.

Prestwich then went on to book his spot in tomorrow’s final of the R2 000 VonZipper Air Show by punting a massive boost in the U16 trials.

With the wave period shortening and the swell dropping the organisers will make a call at 7.30am on when and where the final day of action will be staged.

Anyone who would like to be included onto the Billabong Junior Series event SMS notification database can send their name and mobile number to brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

There are daily video and picture uploads for each day of the event on www.billabong.com/za and the heat results can be followed as they happen throughout the event on Twitter and Facebook (Username- BillabongSA).

The Pro Surf Tour (PST) events in the Billabong Junior Series are sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport, while the internationally rated Pro Junior men’s event is sanctioned by ASP Africa, the regional office for ASP International.

The series is proudly supported by Von Zipper, Kustom and Nixon and fueled by Monster Energy.

\ends

Issued on behalf of:

Brendon Kegel – Media and Communications
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2747
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Cell:                  083 799 0110
Email:               brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Compiled & Issued by:

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

After getting the Billabong Junior Series underway in half-metre waves at the preferred venue of Victoria Bay this morning, the organisers made an inspired decision to switch the season-ending event to Herold’s Bay, which paid off handsomely as the country’s top junior surfers reveled in consistent one metre surf.

Having completed the opening rounds of the Under 12 and U14 boys divisions at Vic Bay, contest director Colin Fitch called a 30 minute break when the waves became inconsistent on the dropping tide. Reports that Herold’s Bay had bigger waves saw the organisers successfully complete a swift transfer of the contest infrastructure and 90 minutes later the event was up and running 30 Kms down the coast.

Other than Adin Masencamp (Somerset West) placing  third and having to contest Round 2 of the U12 boys, the top seeds Jordy Maree (Kalk Bay), Billabong’s Jake Elkington (Cape Town), Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie) and Donovan Wichmann (Marina da Gama) all progressed directly to the semifinals.

The usual suspects also advanced from Round 1 of the U14 boys where Wichmann, Jason Harris (Scottburgh), Jonah Paarman (Kommetjie) and Matt McGillivray (Port Elizabeth), along with newcomer Jerry van Wyk, booked their places in the last 16 against the top eight seeds in the division.

The U16 boys were first up once the event restarted and Heat 1 saw 16 year Sarah Baum (Athlone Park), just back from a successful stint competing in the ASP Star-rated events in the California, upstage her male rivals by winning the encounter and advancing to the last 16 along with second placed Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay).

Benji Brand (Kommetjie), winner of the U16 boys in the Billabong Junior Series event on the Dolphin Coast in April, delivered his customary high-powered performance in the left-handers to convincingly win his heat, as did fellow Billabong team riders Steven Sawyer (Jeffreys Bay) and Mikey Venter (Warner Beach), top seed Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie) and No. 2 seed Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh).

Only one heat of Pro Junior (U20) women was run which saw Morag Steele and Cara MacDonald join the stacked heats in Round 2 that feature the likes of Southern Cape local and top seed Bianca Buitendag (George), fellow international campaigners Sarah Baum and Billabong team rider Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie), Alice McGregor (East London), SA Open champion Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand) and Kirsty Delport (Durban).

The day’s proceedings were completed by the four Round 1 heats in the Billabong Pro Junior, a R37 500 Grade-1 ASP Pro Junior event that will determine the yearend ASP Africa Pro Junior rankings for 2010 and the recipients of the three invitations to compete in the inaugural ASP World Junior Tour starting in Bali at the end of October.

Heat winners Jacob Mellish (Somerset West) and local Vincent Withers (Wilderness) along with Mikey Venter and Jordan Alexander (Cape Town) who received walk-throughs, and their respective runners-up, joined the top 24 seeds in Round 2, which promises to produce world-class action when the event gets underway on Thursday.

There will be daily video and picture uploads for each day of the event on www.billabong.com/za and the heat results can be followed as they happen throughout the event on Twitter and Facebook (Username- BillabongSA).

The organisers will check the waves at Vic Bay at first light on Thursday to decide when and where to commence the event.

Anyone who would like to be included on the Billabong Junior Series event SMS notification database can send their name and mobile number to brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

The Pro Surf Tour (PST) events in the Billabong Junior Series are sanctioned by Surfing South Africa (SSA), the national controlling body for the sport, while the internationally rated Pro Junior men’s event is sanctioned by ASP Africa, the regional office for ASP International.

The series is proudly supported by Von Zipper, Kustom and Nixon and fueled by Monster Energy.

\ends

Issued on behalf of:

Brendon Kegel – Media and Communications
Billabong South Africa
Tel:                   042 200 2747
Fax:                  042 293 2478
Cell:                  083 799 0110
Email:               brendon.kegel@billabong.co.za

Compiled & Issued by:

Life’s a Beach Communications 

PO Box 48272, Kommetjie, 7976 South Africa
Tel / Fax:     +27 (0) 21 783 4965
Mobile:        +27 (0) 82 423 1964
Email:          lifesabeach@mweb.co.za