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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 »

Billabong has recently announced that it is re-signing one of South Africa’s most talented young female surfers.

Tarryn Chudleigh, the 20-year old surfer from Kommetjie in the Western Cape, has been with the brand’s Girls’ Surf team since she was a tender twelve years old and she is thrilled to have their continued support. “I’m super excited to have re-signed with Billabong again this year. I feel confident going into the New Year backed by such a supportive and strong company.”

Apart from backing her surfing, the former women’s surfing champion has also collaborated with Billabong’s design department to design a co-op signature t-shirt. The shirt will form part of Billabong’s 2010 range and will be available in November. “I’ve had so much fun working on my signature tee,” Tarryn said. “It’s been a dream of mine to have something I designed from Billabong and I can’t wait to see it in store.”

Starting on the 4th of March, Tarryn will also grace our television screens in the reality series Billabong Girls Get Out There Tour. The show, which debuts on 4 March on the Vuzu channel on DStv, details Tarryn’s road trip with seven other Billabong ambassadors as they travelled from South Africa’s surfing Mecca Jeffreys Bay to Durban and on to Cape Town all along the South African coastline in a bright pink bus.

However, Tarryn won’t be hanging about on the couch to watch herself on TV. Come mid-March, she’ll be jetting off to West Australia to compete in the first World Qualifying Series contest. “My goals for 2010 are to make the Top 6 on the ‘Q.S and qualify for the 2011 world circuit.”

Go, girl! If anyone can meet those goals, you can!

Tags: Billabong, Billabong Girls Get Out There Tour, DStv, South African women's surfing champions, Surfing South Africa, Tarryn Chudleigh, Vuzu, WQS
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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 »

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
Posted in Surfing Events | | No Comments »

The sixth edition of the Mr Price South Africa Open surfing championships took place at Nahoon Reef in East London this past weekend with more than 50 of South Africa’s professional surfers turning up to compete.

Surfers were protected by three battery operated shark shield devices which were attached to buoys at the backline of Nahoon Reef. Local Lifeguards replaced the Shark Shield batteries every four hours which means that the electronic force field produced by these devices were in place during every heat. The devices were not used because there was any threat of shark activity during the event, but merely as added protection. According to a report on Global Surf News, Surfing South Africa plans to use these devices during sanctioned events at appropriate surf spots around the country in the future.

With the added protection in place, the surfers were free to focus on delivering their best performances. Focus and a home surf advantage and therefore intimate knowledge of the Nahoon Reef certainly seemed to pay off for Wayne Monk. The 40-year old former two time South African champion rose to victory, blowing younger competitors such as fellow East Londoner Clinton Gravett, Klee Strachan of Winkelspruit and Gary Van Wieringen (Scottburgh) out of the water to clinch his first Pro Surf Tour title.

Klee Strachan grabbed his chance at victory during the under 20 junior division rounds. The former Capetonian surged to victory ahead of Nick Godfrey from Cape St Francis, Jaco Steyn of Melkbosstrand and Chris Leppan of Umhlanga.

The women’s division title went to talented teen Bianca Buitendag of George. She beat current SA Champion Heather Clark of Port Shepstone, Chantelle Rautenbach of Melkbos and Tarryn Chudleigh, who came fourth.

Tags: Bianca Buitendag, Chantelle Rautenbach, Chris Leppan, Clinton Gravett, Gary van Wieringen, Heather Clark, Jaco Steyn, Klee Strachan, Mr Price South Africa Open Surfing Championship, Nick Godfrey, Surfing South Africa, Tarryn Chudleigh, Wayne Monk
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The South African team who will be competing in the 2009 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games has been announced by the Surfing South Africa (SSA) Board of Directors.

The Games will take place in Playa Hermosa near San Jose in Costa Rica in August.

The 2009 South African Surfing Team consists of four men, two women, two male longboarders, three coaches and a manager. The surfers in the men’s team are Brandon Jackson and Damien Fahrenfort, who are both from Durban, Rudy Palmboom from Bluff, and 2008′s SA team captain, Ryan Payne from Cape St Francis. Llewellyn Whittaker from Mossel Bay is the non-travelling reserve.

The Women’s team members are East London chick surfers Rosanne Hodge and Nikita Robb. Tarryn Chudleigh of Kommetjie will be the non-travelling reserve.

The longboarders are South Africa’s current Longboard champion Justin Bing from Noordhoek, and his runner-up Michael Hill from Cape St Francis.

Mike Sheppard will be the team’s manager. Graham Hynes will be head coach, Ant Brodwicz will be deputy coach and Kevin Olsen will be the assistant/technical coach.

Cyril Nel from East London has been appointed by the ISA as one of two head judges for the event. Another Saffa, Sandile Mqadi, will be part of the international judging panel.

(Source)

Tags: 2009 International Surfing Association World Surfing Games, Ant Brodwicz, Brandon Jackson, Cyril Nel, Damien Fahrenfort, Graham Hynes, Justin Bing, Kevin Olsen, Llewellyn Whittaker, Longboarding South Africa, Michael Hill, Mike Sheppard, Nikita Robbb, Rosanne Hodge, Rudy Palmboom, Ryan Payne, Sandile Mqadi, SSA, Surfing South Africa, Tarryn Chudleigh
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He has barely bagged the crown as South Africa’s surfing champion, and already Gavin Roberts is gearing up to participate in this weekend’s Mr Price WP Open.

The event, set to take place in the Cape Peninsula tomorrow and Sunday (6 and 7 June 2009), is also drawing other big-name surfers such as Gavin’s fellow KwaZulu-Natal surfer, Gary van Wieringen.

The Cape’s wild wintry weather  probably won’t deter the 32 guys who will compete in the Men’s Division. That lineup includes surfing talent such as Capetonian Ian Armstrong, Matthew Bromley from Kommetjie and Shaun Joubert of Mossel Bay.

The girls will also be well represented by South Africa’s U20 Women’s Champion Tarryn Chudleigh from Kommetjie, Nikita Robb of East London, Tammy Lee Smith of Salt Rock, and Melkbos surfers Stacey Guy and Chantelle Rautenbach.

Brendon Gibbens, Mikey February and Matthew Bromley from Kommetjie, Jaco Steyn of Melkbos, Shaun Joubert and Somerset Wester Jacob Mellish, Chad du Toit of Durban and Chris Leppan of Umhlanga will surf in the Pro Junior field.

The weather is expected to kick up the swell to an excess of 15 foot this weekened, so these pros should have a lot of fun.

Tags: Brendon Gibbens, Chad du Toit, Chantelle Rautenbach, Chris Leppan, Gary van Wieringen, Ian Armstrong, Jaco Steyn, Jacob Mellish, Matthew Bromley, Mikey February, Mr Price WP Open, Nikita Robb, Shaun Joubert, Stacey Guy, Tammy Lee Smith, Tarryn Chudleigh
Posted in Surfing Events | | No Comments »

<!– @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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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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