KZN Tops At 2009 SA Surfing Championships
<!– @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.
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Lizzard Nando’s Surf Pro Returns to North Beach
The seventh edition of the Lizzard Nando’s Surf Pro, again a 1* WQS rated event, will take place at Durban’s North Beach between 15 and 17 May 2009. With R100 000 in prize money up for grabs, as well as 250 WQS points for the winner, South Africa’s top international surfers will need no invitation to battle it out.
Mike Frew, Lizzard’s Marketing Manager, says “Lizzard is stoked to once again be able to put on a WQS rated surf event together with Nandos”. Frew is hopeful that the event will see South Africa’s top surfers performing in quality waves as “the month of May sees early winter swells and consistent offshore winds making it prime season for waves in Durban.”
North Beach has become a favourite venue for this event, and Frew says this is because “the natural amphitheatre of North beach means spectators can get a good look at some world class surfing.”
The Lizzard Nandos Pro occurs just after a big WQS event in Scotland, and just before another in the Maldives, which means that most of South Africa’s top surfers will be in the country.
Early favourites for the event include surfers such as Travis Logie, Royden Bryson and Ricky Basnett, as they are all top WCT competitors trying to get back onto the Championship tour. South Coast charger and Lizzard sponsored rider Gavin Roberts will be hoping that his experience as a former WQS campaigner will give him an edge. Antonio Bortoletto, who is arguably one of the most talented surfers in Durban’s waters, will also be a threat due to his intimate knowledge of the conditions at North Beach.
Other Lizzard riders who will be hoping to shine in their sponsor’s title event include Klee Strachan (Warner Beach), Shawn Dennis (Durban), Jacob Mellish (Somerset West), Dave Richards (Kommetjie), Matt Pallet (Durban) and Mark Shepperson (Umdloti).
For more information on the contest, Lizzard products, team riders and more
check out Lizzard Surf’s website. During the event, the site will feature videos, heat scores, results, pictures and news uploaded directly from the Lizzard site office at North Beach. Co-sponsors for the event are Bokomo, Nestle Pure Life Water and Bavaria. The entire event will be organised by Nerve Events.
About Lizzard: Established in 1991, Lizzard is a clothing, accessories and footwear brand with roots in authentic surf culture. From offices in Durban (South Africa) and Burleigh Heads (Australia), products are distributed to 27 countries globally. Lizzard supports independent and core retailers. Lizzardsurf.net showcases the latest ranges, making it easy to find products and to locate the nearest stores or distributors worldwide.
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