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South Africa’s hottest under 20 surfers are going to convene at Victoria Bay in the Southern Cape next week (23 – 26 September) to battle it out during the 13th annual Billabong Junior Series championships.

Apart from determining winners in the U20 category, there will also be U16, U14 and U12 categories. The event will also determine the ASP Africa Pro Junior champions for 2009 and who will be selected for the ASP Africa squad that will be taking part at the Billabong ASP World Championships in Sydney in January – which is THE top event in junior surfing.

Surfers who will be taking part include Casey Grant (20) of Scottburgh, Shaun Joubert of Mossel Bay, Matt Bromley of Kommetjie, Brendon Gibbens (also of Kommetjie), Klee Strachan of Winkelspruit, Chad du Toit of Durban, Dale Staples and Nick Godfrey of Cape St Francis, Kyle Lane of Umhlanga and another Scottburgh surfer, Haydn MacNicol.

The girls include Victoria Bay’s Bianca Buitendag, Tarryn Chudleigh of Kommetjie, Sarah Baum of Athlone Park, Heidi Palmboom of the Bluff, Chantelle Rautenbach of Melkbosstrand, Tanika Hoffman of Kommetjie, Alice McGregor of East London and Faye Zoetmulder of Port Elizabeth.

The U16 boys event will see the likes of Michael February of Kommetjie, Dane Staples of St Francis Bay, Steven Sawyer of Jeffrey’s Bay, David van Zyl of Glenashley and Capetonians Jarred Veldhuis and Daniel Wilson in action.

The U14 boys are Daniel Buitendag of Vic Bay, Benji Brand of Kommetjie, Slade Prestwich of Park Rynie, Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand, Max Armstrong of Scarborough and Dylan Lightfood of Jeffrey’s Bay.

The U12 boys will include Shane Sykes of Salt Rock, Donovan of Marina da Gama, Jody Maree of Kalk Bay, Ethan Fletcher and Jonah Paarman – both from Kommetjie – Matthew McGillivray of Port Elizabeth, and Steffen Burrows of the Strand.

The event will coincide with the Von Zipper Air Show, where selected surfers will show off and be rewarded for their skill at performing aerial manoeuvres.

Tags: Alice McGregor, Benji Brand, Bianca Buitendag, Billabong Pro Junior Series Championships, Brendon Gibbens, Casey Grant, Chad du Toit, Chantelle Rautenbach, Dale Staples, Dane Staples, Daniel Buitendag, Daniel Wilson, David van Zyl, Diran Zakarian, Donovan, Dylan Lightfood, Ethan Fletcher, Faye Zoetmulder, Haydn MacNicol, Heidi Palmboom, Jarred Veldhuis, Jody Maree, Jonah Paarman, Klee Strachan, Kyle Lane, Matt Bromley, Matthew McGillivray, Max Armstrong, Michael February, Nick Godfrey, Sarah Baum, Shane Sykes, Shaun Joubert, Slade Prestwich, Steffen Burrows, Steven Sawyer, Surfing South Africa, Tanika Hoffman, Tarryn Chudleigh, Victoria Bay, Von Zipper Air Show
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Wetsuits were exchanged for more formal wear at the third annual South African Surfing Awards.

The event, proudly presented by Zigzag Magazine in association with Paarl Web, took place at Suncoast Casino in Durban last Saturday night, 25 April 2009.

Local legend and big wave rider Grant “Twiggy” Baker walked away with the evening’s most prestigious award, Surfer of the Year, which looks to recognise the surfer who exceeded all surfing expectations in the twelve months gone by.

Baker scooped top honours for his undeniable rise to the forefront of big wave surfing across the globe after winning the 2008 Red Bull Big Wave Africa and a Billabong XXL Award for the largest wave ridden in the last 12 months.

” 2008 was a phenomenal year. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, but this evening and this award all starts here, with being a South African surfer. We owe everything we have to the SA surf legends who are here tonight, and i want to pay tribute to them. But most of all, this award goes to all the surfers in South Africa. Thank you, it’s an honour.” said winner Twiggy.

Other awards of the evening included :

1.        Pro Junior Champ 2008 : Bianca Buitendag (George)
2.        Pro Junior Champ 2008: Klee Strachan (Amanzimtoti)
3.        PST Champ 2008: Tammy Lee Smith (Ballito)
4.        PST Champ 2008: Devyn Mattheys (East London)
5.        ASP Africa Pro Junior Champ 2008: (Amanzimtoti)
6.        ASP Africa Champ: David Weare  (Durban North)
7.        Blowing Up Performer: Dale Staples  (St Francis Bay)
8.        Contribution to surfing: Louis Wulff  (East London)
9.        Photographer of the Year: Alan Van Gysen (Cape Town)
10.        Pushing The Boundaries: Red Bull Big Wave Africa
11.        World Tour Qualifier: Roseanne Hodge (East London)
12.        World Tour Qualifier: Jordy Smith (Durban)
13.        World Tour Qualifier: David Weare (Durban North)
14.        World Tour Qualifier: Greg Emslie (East London)

Will Bendix, editor of Zigzag, comments; “We’re honoured and extremely stoked to be able to host an evening like this that pays homage to the rich culture and legacy of South African surfing. And as you can see, there’s a lot to celebrate. It’s just an awesome reminder of how lucky we are to be surfers in this country.”

Highlights of the evening included the induction of surfing legends into the Hall of Fame, which honoured an elite group of surfers who have paved the way for South African Surfing. Current members include Max Wetteland, Mike Larmont, Spider Murphy, Graham Hynes and Shaun Tomson amongst others. The new inductees announced on the evening were Errol Hickman, and Michael Ginsburg.

1989 World Champion and surfing legend Martin “Pottz” Potter  was guest speaker. When the awards ended, 1st Project went on to being the roof down with their phenomenal drumming act to round off an epic evening.

Be sure to get your June/July edition of Zigzag to check out all the latest surfing news and highlights of the awards.

Picture Courtesy of Al Nicoll

Story source: Rox-ann Govender, Olivia Jones Communications

Tags: Alan van Gysen, Bianca Buitendag, Dale Staples, David Weare, Devyn Mattheys, Errol Hickman, Graham Hynes, Grant "Twiggy" Baker, Greg Emslie, Jordy Smith, Klee Strachan, Louis Wulff, Martin "Pottz" Potter, Max Wetteland, Michael Ginsburg, Mike Larmont, Roseanne Hodge, Shaun Tomson, South African Surfing, South African Surfing Awards, Spider Murphy, Tammy Lee Smith, Will Bendix, Zigzag Magazine
Posted in Industry News, Surfing Events, Surfing Media | | No Comments »

South Africa’s best junior surfers are gearing up for the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Junior Surfing Championships at North Pier in Durban.

The Association of Surfing Professionals Grade 2 junior event is due to take place from April 17 – 26 2009.

With a generous prize pot of $10 000 (about R91 000) and several points up for grabs, the contest is attracting every major name in South African junior surfing, as well as an impressive line-up of international surfers.

Leading the local contingent will be South African junior team top seed and one of the most dominant forces on the local junior surfing circuit, Nick Godfrey of St. Francis.

Dale and Dane Staples, defending champion Klee Strachan (of Winklespruit) and Kyle Lane (of Umhlanga) will also be part of the action.

Tags: 2009 Quiksilver Pro Junior Championships, Dale Staples, Dane Staples, Durban, Klee Strachan, KwaZulu-Natal, Kyle Lane, Nick Godfrey, North Pier, south africa, South African Surfing
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The Board of Directors of Surfing South Africa has named the surfers who will represent South Africa at the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships taking place in Salinas, Ecuador from March 28 to April 5 2009.

The Under 18 Boys team members are: Nick Godfrey (Eastern Province), Shaun Joubert (Southern Cape), Matthew Bromley (Western Province), and Dale Staples (Southern Cape). Brendan Gibbens (Western Province) is the non-travelling reserve.

The Under 18 Girls group will consist of Bianca Buitendag (Southern Cape), Sarah Baum (KwaZulu-Natal), Tanika Hofmann (Western Province) and Kirsty Delport (KwaZulu-Natal). Heidi Palmboom (KwaZulu-Natal) is the non-travelling reserve.

The surfers who will compete in the Under 16 Boys division are Michael February and David Brand (Western Province), Dane Staples (Southern Cape) and Slade Prestwich (KwaZulu-Natal). Steven Sawyer (Eastern Province) is the non-travelling reserve.

The fact that brothers Dale and Dane Staples (both from Jeffreys Bay) both made the 2009 South African Junior Team is not only a proud moment for their family, but also a historic moment for South African surfing as they become the first set of brothers to represent South Africa at a Junior World Championship.

The Junior Championships will involve over 30 countries from five continents. The annual tournament determines the World Junior Team Champions, the World Junior ISA Tag Team Champions and medalists in the Under 18 Boys and Girls and Under 16 Boys Divisions.

Tags: 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships, Bianca Buitendag, Brendan Gibbens, Dale Staples, Dane Staples, David Brand, Ecuador, Heidi Palmboom, Kirsty Delport, Matthew Bromley, Michael February, Nick Godfrey, Sarah Baum, Shaun Joubert, Slade Prestwich, South African Junior Surfing Team, Steven Sawyer, Surfing South Africa, Tanika Hofmann
Posted in Industry News | | 1 Comment »

Fans of the South African junior surfing circuit with access to DStv are in for a treat.

Various SuperSport channels are screening recordings of South Africa’s best junior surfers in action at the fifth and final event in the Billabong Junior Series in Jeffreys Bay.

See the action packed, high scoring, man-on-man final between eventual winner Dale Staples and defending series and event champion Rudy Palmboom in the R35 000 Grade 1 ASP Pro Junior (U20) event.  Watch as two of the country’s hottest junior girl surfers Sarah Baum and Bianca Buitendag fight out an intense duel for the sole invitation to the prestigious Billabong ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January.

Jacob Mellish takes the biggest win of his career in the U16’s while the Jeffreys Bay pair of Dylan Lightfoot and Steve Sawyer battle for supremacy in the U14’s and Max Armstrong trumps the field in the U12’s.

And there is a feast of aerial manoeuvres as Casey Grant flies away with the Von Zipper Air Show title. All recorded and packaged by Silver Bullet Productions with a wide range of repeat broadcasts.

BILLABONG JUNIOR SERIES 2008  JEFFREYS BAY

Thu 30 October         3.00pm           SS2
Fri 31 October           4.00pm           SS1
Sat 1 November        8.30am           SS1

Tags: ASP World Junior Championships, Bianca Buitendag, Billabong Junior Series, Casey Grant, Dale Staples, Dylan Lightfoot, Jacob Mellish, Jeffreys Bay, Max Armstrong, Rudy Palmboom, Sarah Baum, south africa, Steve Sawyer, SuperSport, surfing
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