Young Surfers Gear Up For Billabong Junior Series
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.
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Quiksilver King of the Groms
The Quiksilver King of the Groms wrapped up yesterday in Southbroom, KwaZulu-Natal, and saw Davey Brand from Kommetjie and Beyrick de Vries from Umhlanga Rocks walking away with the Under 16 and Under 20 wins respectively. They were also awarded the overall series titles at the final leg of the 2009 Quiksilver King of the Groms.
For winning, 15-year old Davey earned R3,500, plus another R3,500 for the series win and a trip to France to take place in the Quiksilver King of the Groms world final event.
Beyrick scored the R5,000 winner’s cheque, an additional R5,000 for the series win, and a return air ticket to Hawaii, the Mecca of all surfing, for the 2009 winter season.
The final results of the event were:
Under 16:
1. Davey Brand (Kommetjie)
2. Michael February (Kommetjie)
3. Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)
Under 20:
1. Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga Rocks)
2. Chris Leppan (Umhlanga Rocks)
3. Brendon Gibbens (Kommetjie)
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2009 South African Junior Surfing Team Named
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.
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2008 South African King of the Groms Crowned
Despite being eliminated during the quarter finals of the third event of the 2008 King of the Groms that were held at Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, Mikey February had accumulated enough points in the three events that make up the series to earn himself the Crown yesterday.
With this victory, the young surfer from Kommetjie has secured himself a trip to the Quiksilver King of the Groms International event that will be taking place in France.
“It’s going to be great to surf against the internationals,” Mikey said. “It’s my chance of putting my name out there.”
Nicky Godfrey of Cape St Francis won the U20 Division Series title. His prize includes a return ticket to Hawaii. Said a stoked Nicky: “It’s been a really great series. We’ve had really good waves.”
Casey Grant won himself R5 000 in the U20′s final, and Dane Staples of St Francis Bay won the U16 Division final.
During the Virgin Mobile Expression Session, Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand won the R1000 for the Biggest Air. The Best Wave award and an MP3 player went to Chad Du Toit of Durban.
The Zigzag Blowing Up Award of R2000 and a replica hand-grenade trophy for the surfer who ‘blew up’ throughout the series was won by David Van Zyl of Durban.
Final Results:
Event three: Scottburgh
Premier Grom Division
1. Dane Staples (CStF)
2. Jacob Mellish (SWest)
3. Remi Peterson (JBay)
3. David Van Zyl (Dbn)
U20 Division
1. Casey Grant (Scott)
2. Klee Strachan (Wnr)
3. Chad Du Toit (Dbn)
3. Chris Leppan (Umh)
Virgin Mobile Expression Session:
Biggest Aerial Move – Diran Zakarian (Mbos)
Best Wave – Chad Du Toit (Dbn)
Zigzag Blowing Up Award:
David Van Zyl (Dbn)
RESULTS
2008 Quiksilver King Of The Groms Series:(Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Scottburgh)
U16 Division
1. Mikey February (Kom)
2. Dane Staples (CstF)
3. Devin Lane (Umh)
4. Jacob Mellish (Swest)
5. Beyrick De Vries (Umh)
U20 Division
1. Nicky Godfrey (CStF)
2. Klee Strachan (Wnr)
3. Casey Grant (Scott)
4. Brendan Gibbens (Kom)
5. Mikey February (Kom)
[Source]
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