Beachbum Beachblog

Winter in the gorgeous KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa means… well… sun, surf and the world’s top surfers battling it out at the Mr Price Pro Ballito from 1 – 11 July 2010.

The province of almost eternal summer is home to one of this week-long, 5-star rated surfing event, which forms part of the Association of Surfing Professionals’ (ASP) World Tour and the ASP Africa circuits is also widely regarded to be one of the longest running professional surfing events in the world.

But the top surfers are lured by more than just the historical significance of the event or the ASP ratings points that can be racked up. The R1 million prize money definitely holds an allure as well.

Among the local surfers who will be vying for that significant loot includes Durbanite and former ASP World Tour competitor Ricky Basnett, Greg Emslie from East London, Capetonian Royden Bryson, Durbanites Antonio Bortoletto, Brandon Jackson, Rudy Palmboom and Shane Thorne. Other Natallers competing in the event will include Frankie Obherholzer, Gary Van Wieringen and Gavin Roberts. One of the undisputed star attractions at this year’s event will be Jordy Smith, who is currently ranked number 3 in the world.

This year the Mr Price Pro Women’s event will be added, with the likes of Stacy Guy from Melkbosstrand, Sarah Baum from Athlone Park, Bianca Buitendag from George, and Tanika Hoffman from Kommetjie taking part. In the Pro Junior division, Beyrick De Vries from Umhlanga will battle it out against Davey Brand from Kommetjie, Matthew Bromley from Cape Town and Jaco Steyn from Melkbosstrand.

Apart from the sun and surf, some of South Africa’s greatest musical acts, like Prime Circle and Farryl Purkiss, will also be performing on the nights of the 9^th and 10^th of July. For more information, visit www.mrpricepro.com

Tags: Antonio Bortoletto, ASP Africa, ASP World Tour, Beyrick de Vries, Bianca Buitendag, Brandon Jackson, Davey Brand, Farryl Purkiss, Frankie Obherholzer, Gary van Wieringen, Gavin Roberts, Greg Emslie, Jaco Steyn, Matthew Bromley, Mr Price Pro Ballito 2010, Prime Circle, Ricky Basnett, Royden Bryson, Rudy Palmboom, Sarah Baum, Shane Thorne, Stacy Guy, Surfing South Africa, Tanika Hoffman
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The ten young female surfers who have been invited to take part in the 2010 Roxy Invitational to take place in Ponto d’Oura in Mozambique later this month, have been announced.

The event, presented by Saltwater GIRL Magazine, will feature a mix of novices, title holders and experienced professionals. An invitation to the event is not only an incredible honour, but since competitors vie for an impressive amount of prize money (the first-place winner gets a cool R10 000), invites are therefore quite sought-after. Another enticement is that the competitors will be staying at the Turtle Cove Resort in Tofo. So when they’re not battling it out in the surf, they will be able to unwind with yoga, skin diving and horse riding.

The invited surfers from South Africa are Kirsty Delport, Chantelle Rautenbach, Sarah Baum, Heidi Palmboom, Tarryn Chudleigh, Alice McGregor, Holly Armstrong and Faye Zoetmulder. They will be surfing against internationals such as Philippa Anderson and Paige Haggerston, both from Australia.

The event will be taking place from 23 May to 1 June 2010.

Tags: 2010 Roxy Invitational, Alice McGregor, Australian Surfers, Chantelle Rauntenbach, Faye Zoetmulder, Heidi Palmboom, Holly Armstrong, Kirsty Delport, Mozambique surfing, Paige Haggerston, Philippa Anderson, Ponto d'Oura, Saltwater Girl Magazine, Sarah Baum, South African Female Surfers, Surfing South Africa, Tarryn Chudleigh, Turtle Cove Resort Tofo Mozambique
Posted in South African surfers, Surfing Events | | No Comments »

South Africa’s top junior surfers are all heading to Australia to compete in the Billabong World Junior Championships in January.

Representing us will be Klee Strachan from Winkelspruit, ASP Africa Pro Junior champion Chad du Toit from Durban, Casey Grant from Scottburgh, Beyrick de Vries from Umhlanga and another Durbanite, Kyle Lane.

This will be Klee’s third appearance at the event. “Last year I made round three but got knocked out by Julian Wilson (Australia) who is an unbelievable surfer, so I was not too bummed,” Klee said. “It’s an awesome event and all the surfers in the contest surf really well. I am definitely looking to do well this year. I’ve had three years to see how the standard is so I’ve been training to do well.”

Among the women who will represent South Africa are Sarah Baum from Athlone Park and Bianca Buitendag from George. They will try to beat defending champion, Pauline Ado from France.

The event will kick off at Sydney’s Narrabeen beach on January 9, 2010.

Tags: Australia, Beyrick de Vries, Bianca Buitendag, Billabong World Junior Surfing Championships, Casey Grant, Chad du Toit, Julian Wilson, Klee Strachan, Kyle Lane, Narrabeen beach, Pauline Ado, Sarah Baum, South African Junior Surfing Champions, Sydney
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Sixteen-year old Bianca Buitendag from George managed to win both the U20 and premier Open divisions of the 2009 Roxy Wahine Cup at Suncoast Beach near Durban this past weekend, snatching up R12 500 in prize money and one of the most prestigious titles in South African surfing.

“It was a bit stressful surfing two divisions,” Bianca said after the final. “Saturday wasn’t too bad, because I only had a couple of heats to surf, but making both finals [on Sunday] meant I had to surf five heats. So I had to really conserve my energy, especially with the Open final being the last of the day, because that’s the one everyone wants to win. Fortunately I was staying at the Suncoast Hotel, so I was able to go back to my room between heats and rest to maintain my energy levels through the day.”

By winning the Open division, Bianca managed to defeat defending champion Tarryn Chudleigh from Kommetjie, who came second. Chantelle Rautenbach from Melkbosstrand came third and Tanika Hoffman – also from Kommetjie – came fourth.

In the U20 finals, Bianca beat New Pier’s Kirsty Delport, reigning South African U18 champion Alice McGregor from East London (who came third) and Tarryn, who ended up in fourth place.

The U16 final was won by South African Junior Team member and Warner Beach native Sarah Baum. Sabrina Scott came second, and Emma Smith and Cara MacDonald tied for third.

The U14 youngsters who battled it out were Channelle Botha, who beat Gina Smith, Jordan Vanhoutte and Tahra Uren.

The Novice Division, open to girls who had never surfed a contest before, was won by Jelaine Hermitte, who managed to secure herself a year-long Roxy sponsorship. Jamie-Lee Glazer was runner-up, Holly Konig came third and Michelle Verreynne came fourth. We’re sure that we’ll be seeing more of these names in future!

Tags: 2009 Roxy Wahine Cup, Alice McGregor, Bianca Buitendag, Cara MacDonald, Channelle Botha, Chantelle Rautenbach, Durban, Emma Smith, Gina Smith, Holly Konigg, Jamie-Lee Glazer, Jelaine Hermitte, Jordan Vanhoutte, Kirsty Delport, KwaZulu-Natal, Michelle Verreynne, Sabrina Scott, Sarah Baum, South African women's surfing, Suncoast Beach, Surfing South Africa, Tahra Uren, Tanika Hoffman, Tarryn Chudleigh
Posted in South African surfers, Surfing Events | | No Comments »

Last weekend saw our local junior 2010 team fare extremely well in the team contest in the Reunion Island Challenge that took place at Kalk Bay Reef in Cape Town on Sunday.

Western Province, the hosts, took second place and the visitors from Reunion Island came third. The Emergin South African team came fourth and Boland came in at fifth place.

The U18 Boys Final title was snatched up by South African junior team member David Brand, who managed to beat current SA champion Matt Bromley of Western Province, pushing him down to second place. Hugo Dubosc of Reunion Island came third and Mikey February, another member of the South African team, came fourth.

This victory has managed to distinguish Brand as the top seed in the U18 SA Team when they compete in the ISA World Junior championships in New Zealand in January 2010.

The U18 Girls’ Final title went to Sarah Baum of the SA Team. She beat Camilla Davila of Reunion Island, who came second. Heidi Palmboom of the SA Junior Team came third and current U18 Girls’ champion Alice McGregor of the Emerging SA Team ended up in fourth place.

The U16 Boys’ finals saw the title going to Daniel Wilson of the Western Province. South African team members Steven Sawyer and Jarred Veldhuis came second and third. Fourth place went to another WP surfer, Benji Brand.

The U14 Boys’ Final victory also went to a WP surfer: Max Armstrong. He beat SA Emerging team member Benjamin de Castro. Lucas Jannier of Reunion Island came third and Brandon Benjamin of the Emerging SA Team came fourth.

The Reunion team members have been spending this past week training in Durban, where they will take on the SA team again, as well as a team from Central KwaZulu-Natal and Southern KwaZulu-Natal in Durban tomorrow and Saturday. The Reunion Islanders return home on Sunday, but they’ve already promised to host a reciprocal event on their home turf next year.

Well done Junior SA Team! Hopefully this weekend’s challenge against Reunion Island and the KwaZulu-Natal teams will see a stellar repeat performance!

Tags: Alice McGregor, Benjamin de Castro, Benji Brand, Brandon Benjamin, Camilla Davila, Cape Town, Daniel Wilson, David Brand, Durban, Heidi Palmboom, Hugo Dubosc, Jarred Veldhuis, Kalk Bay Reef, Lucas Jannier, Matt Bromley, Max Armstrong, Mikey February, Reunion Island, Sarah Baum, South Africa's 2010 Junior Team, Steven Sawyer, Surfing South Africa
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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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<!– @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>Kwa-Zulu Natal came out tops at the recent annual South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships with two of their own surfers emerging as champions.

Having a home surf advantage certainly seemed to pay off, because the host province even surfed off with the President’s Cup.

Southern KZN team members Gavin Roberts and Heather Clark won the Men’s and Women’s titles respectively.

According to reports, this past Sunday’s weather in St Mikes was fine and conditions were near perfect with 3 – 6 foot surf.

Roberts beat 2007 SA Champion Devyn Mattheys of Border, pushing him into second place with Dan Redman of KZN coming in third. Eastern Province’s (EP) Ryan Payne came fourth and was crowned Surfer of the Contest for 2009.

Clark successfully defended the title she won at Victoria Bay last year. Nikita Robb of Border was second, Tammy Lee Smith of KZN came third and Faye Zoetmulder of EP was fourth.

The under 20 set also saw KZN surfers rising to the top. Shawn Dennis took the title with fellow KZN boy Kyle Lane in second. Bertie Stuurman of EP came third. Chris Leppan, also from KZN, came fourth.

Despite stitches to her face from an injury sustained when her board hit her in the face during the semi-final, Tarryn Chudleigh of Western Province (WP) still managed to take the Under 20 Girls title.

Sarah Baum of KZN was second, Alice McGregor of Border came third and Lauren Colberg of Boland was fourth.

KZN’s dominance in all four divisions secured them the Presidents Cup which they last won in 2005. Southern KZN came second, Border was third, Eastern Province – who was last year’s champion – came fourth, Western Province was fifth and Boland came sixth. The 2009 South African Surfing Championships were presented by Surfing South Africa, hosted by Southern KZN Surfing Association and sponsored by South Coast Tourism.

Tags: Alice McGregor, Bertie Stuurman, Chris Leppan, Dan Redman, Devyn Mattheys, Faye Zoetmulder, Gavin Roberts, Heather Clark, Kyle Lane, Lauren Colberg, Nikita Robb, Ryan Payne, Sarah Baum, Shawn Dennis, South African Surfing Championships, South Coast Tourism, Tammy Lee Smith, Tarryn Chudleigh
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The third annual Roxy Invitational wrapped up at Ponta d’Ouro in Mozambique this past weekend and the only two non-South Africans in the event finished first and third.

Reunion’s Canelle Bulard surfed away with the title and the R10 000 first prize money. The 15-year old island girl beat Durban’s Sarah Baum (also 15). Johanne Defay, the other competitor from Reunion, finished in third place.

Canelle came to the Roxy shortly after finishing in sixth place at the recent Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Ecuador.

“I am so happy to have won such an amazing contest,” Canelle said during the prize-giving ceremony. “This has been such a great contest and the waves have been amazing, I really love Mozambique now.”

The Roxy Invitational is presented by Saltwater Girl Magazine, in association with Virgin Mobile and Resolution.

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:
Semi-Final 1:
Johanne Defay (Reunion) defeated Alice MacGregor (East London)

Semi-Final 2:
Sarah Baum (Durban) defeated Bianca Buitendag (George)

Semi-Final 3:
Canelle Bulard (Reunion) defeated Kirsty Delport (Durban)

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Canelle Bulard (18.75)
2. Sarah Baum (17.65)
3. Johanne Defay (9.8)

Source.

Tags: Alice MacGregor, Bianca Buitendag, Canelle Bulard, Johanne Defay, Kirsty Delport, Resolution, Reunion surfers, Roxy Invitational 2009, Saltwater Girl Magazine, Sarah Baum, Surfing South Africa, Virgin Mobile
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Ten of South Africa’s hottest young female surfers are currently battling it out at the Roxy Invitational 2009 event in Ponto d’Oura in Mozambique.

The event, in which prize money of R15 000 is up for grabs, has been turned into a truly international contest with the inclusion of two surfers from the island nation of Reunion, Johanne Defay and Canelle Bullard. The week-long contest kicked off on Monday, the 4th of May 2009 and will continue until next Monday.

In attendance is the reigning champion, Port Shepstone’s Heather Clark. She is vying for the winner’s pot of R10 000 against the likes of 2009 Roxy Wahine Cup winner Tarryn Chudleigh from Cape Town, and East London girls Nikita Robb and Alice MacGregor.

Competitors also include SA junior surfing team members Kirsty Delport (Durban), Tanika Hoffman (Cape Town), Bianca Buitendag (George) and Durbanite Sarah Baum, who is fresh from her victory at the Oakley Pro Junior that took place in Port Alfred over the weekend.

Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth) and Tasha Mentasti (Durban) are also competing.

For more information, visit http://www.roxy.co.za/invitational

Tags: Alice MacGregor, Bianca Buitendag, Canelle Bullard, Faye Zoetmulder, Heather Clark, Johanne Defay, Kirsty Delport, Mozambique, Nikita Robb, Ponto d'Oura, Reunion, Roxy Invitational 2009, Sarah Baum, South African surfers, surfing, Tanika Hoffman, Tarryn Chudleigh, Tasha Mentasi
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The world’s best junior surfers will battle it out at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships from January 3 – 10, 2008 at Sydney’s North Narrabeen Beach in New South Wales, Australia.

This is the most presitgious junior event in the world. It marks the culmination of the 2008 ASP Pro Junior Series where competitors from each of the seven ASP regions compete on their domestic tours for a chance at qualifying for the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. A minimum of 13 countries will represent the seven ASP regions this January at North Narrabeen’s world-class beach breaks.

South African wunderkind Jordy Smith took the title in 2006, and some of the brilliant South African surfers hoping to follow in his footsteps will include Klee Strachan, Nick Godfrey, Shaun Joubert, Casey Grant, Rudy Palmboom Jr., Sarah Baum and Nikita Robb.

The names of the other countries’ Billabong ASP World Junior Championships qualifiers whom the South Africans will be competing against are:

ASP North America
- Cory Arrambide (USA)
- Nat Young (USA)
- Andrew Doheny (USA)
- Travis Beckmann (USA)
- Blake Jones (USA)

- Christa Alves (USA)
- Courtney Conlogue (USA)

ASP Hawaii
- Kai Barger (HAW)
- Kiron Jabour (HAW)
- Casey Brown (HAW)
- Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
- TBA (HAW)

- Coco Ho (HAW)
- Leila Hurst (HAW)

ASP Japan
- Shota Nakamura (JPN)
- Nobuyuki Osawa (JPN)
- Kaito Sekimoto (JPN)
- Keito Matsuoka (JPN)
- Koki Nakamura (JPN)

- Nao Ohmura (JPN)
- Sayuri Hashimoto (JPN)

ASP South America
- Alex Ribeiro (BRA)
- Alejo Muniz (BRA)
- Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
- Alex Lima (BRA)
- Magno Dias (BRA)
- Jadson Andre (BRA)

- Diana Cristina (BRA)
- Gabriela Leite (BRA)

ASP Europe
- Maxime Huscenot (REU)
- Marc Lacomare (FRA)
- Medi Veminardi (REU)
- Jatyr Bersaluce (EUK)
- Pierre-Valentin Laborde (FRA)
- Jules Thomet (FRA)

- Alizee Arnaud (FRA)
- Pauline Ado (FRA)

ASP Australasia
- Stuart Kennedy (AUS)
- Heath Joske (AUS)
- Tamaroa McComb (PYF/AUS)
- Jayke Sharp (AUS)
- Lincoln Taylor (AUS)
- Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

- Tyler Wright (AUS)
- Laura Enever (AUS)

ASP International Wildcards
- Andres Wurst (PER)
- Dusty Payne (HAW)
- Owen Wright (AUS)
- Charley Martin (GLP)
- Luciana Heremoana (PYF)

- Sage Erickson (USA)
- Bethany Hamilton (HAW)

Billabong Wildcards
- Granger Larsen (HAW)

- Arini Mason (NZL)
- Paige Hareb (NZL)

Von Zipper Trialists (Top 2 into Billabong ASP World Junior Championships)
- Richard Christie (NZL)
- Nick Riley (AUS)
- Madison Williams (AUS)
- Mitch Crews (AUS)
- Julian Wilson (AUS)
- Nick Vasicek (AUS)
- Craig Anderson (AUS)
- Heifara-Peter Tahutini (PYF)
- Israel Surfer (ISR)
- Israel Surfer (ISR)
- Torrey Meister (HAW)
- Local North Narrabeen Surfer (AUS)
- Raditiya Rhondi (IDN)
- Kolohe Andino (USA)
- Peterson Cristanto (BRA)
- Brent Savage (AUS)

Tags: Billabong ASP World Junior Championships, Casey Grant, Jordy Smith, Klee Strachan, Nick Godfrey, Nikita Robb, North Narrabeen Beach Australia, Rudy Palmboom Jr., Sarah Baum, Shaun Joubert
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