Ballito, KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal. Shaun Tomson rode the crest of his career wave earlier this week, when he was honoured with an induction into the elite South African Hall of Fame, the highest accolade that any South African sports person or performing artist can receive.
Listed among the top ten surfers of the century, the former Durbanite was the 1977 World Surfing Champion and six times winner of the Gunston 500 in Durban. Apart from surfing, Tomson is also a renowned author, businessman, environmentalist and motivational speaker.
Former World Surfing Champion, Shaun Tomson, receives his South African Hall of Fame award from Eugene Lewis (CEO, SA Hall of Fame, pictured left) and Johnny Burger (Chairman, SA Hall of Fame). Tomson, who was crowned World champion in 1977, was decorated with the highest honour for a South African sports person at the Coco de Mer Luxury Boutique Hotel in Ballito on Wednesday evening, June 27, 2018. Picture: Pierre Tostee
The South African Hall of Fame celebrates great achievements by extraordinary South Africans excelling in their field, who inspire and empower the youth to holistically reach their full potential. An individual’s integrity, sportsmanship and character are also taken into account.
“The surfboard became a mere vehicle for an incredible human being, Shaun Tomson, to epitomise his passion and perseverance, and then he returned to create a message of hope,” said Johnny Burger, Chairman of the South African Hall of Fame.
“We firmly believe that character supersedes talent and that one human being, no matter how big or small can make an enormous impact. The biggest sporting legend that has ever walked South Africa, besides Gary Player, is Shaun Tomson. We honour you, we respect you and we thank you for leaving something bigger and longer-lasting behind, than just yourself, and that is a true legacy,” said Burger, before handing Tomson his accolade.
On accepting his newest award, Tomson, now California based, said “I am so humbled and so honoured to receive this award from my homeland. I know that I am going to do my homeland proud and spend more time here. What you will, you will become!”
Tomson’s powerful words of inspiration come from his book The Code: The Power of I Will, where he illustrates how people, especially the youth can change their lives in just twelve steps, each beginning with “I will…”.
Shaun Tomson has spent the past few weeks motivating local schools and organisations through the Positive Wave Tour as part of the 50th edition of the world’s longest running professional surfing event, the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong in KwaZulu-Natal
Such is his affinity with the local youth that it has earned him the affectionate nickname ‘Baba Tom’. Wiseman Cele, Manager of New Development for KwaDukuza Municipality said, “The youth that Shaun has interacted with in the last few days have been so greatly impacted by his friendliness, positive energy and accommodative manner, that they started referring to him as Baba Tom. He has become like a father-figure to them.”
“Alchemy is the transference of metals from one state to another which occurs through heat or pressure. Shaun Tomson has to be celebrated not for his achievements, but for his ability to transfer his own pain and transcend every single negative thing that has happened to him to become the person that he is today, an alchemist,” said former South African Champion surfer Greg Swart.
Tomson recently spent an afternoon with Dr. Albertina Luthuli, daughter of anti-apartheid struggle icon, Nkosi Albert Luthuli, where the two philanthropists shared their sentiments on racism, sports, politics and their common love, South Africa.
Tomson’s visit to South Africa culminates with him spending 67-minutes at the Lethithemba Secondary School for the centenary celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18 July #LiveTheLegacy.
Today the swell maxed out between 10-15ft and strong winds and rips made conditions difficult for the competitors. Jordy Smith glided through a few monster barrels to take the win in his round today and has moved on to the quarter finals. The rest of the day was ‘loser rounds’ to see if anyone could make their way back into the fold of first prize competition. The Brazilians are still proving themselves as a strong force to be dealt with. More on that at Kai’s Blog.
Even Shaun Tomson reckoned that he’d much rather prefer the comfort of the commentating box than getting those bombs on the head. The surfers had jet-ski assistance to get to the line-up as it was near impossible to paddle out alone. That fits perfectly with my beachbum style (any takers?).
Day 4’s highlights
{update} – Jordy subsequently got knocked out in the quarters. The waves were a bit inconsistent, but check below for further highlights.
Day 5’s highlights
Final Day’s highlights
Results
Congratulations to Pat Guduaskus (from San Clemente, California, USA) for winning the Mr Price Pro event. He beat John John Florence (HAW) in the final and Jordy Smith came in third. Hopefully Jordy can build on the result and peak at the Billabong Pro and make us Saffa’s proud!
Cape Town surfer Brendon Gibbens is one of the contenders for the new award "best use of social media" at the upcoming South African Surfing Awards presented by Zigzag surfing magazine. Gibbens was nominated for his blog http://brendongibbens.tumblr.com/ blog and his Innersection video clip. The SA Surfing Awards will take place on 9 July at Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World in Durban. Photog: Alan van Gysen
The countdown to the 1970’s themed South African Surfing Awards presented by Zigzag has begun. The event, which takes place on 9 July at Suncoast, will see the honouring of our Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST) and ASP Africa champions and several sought after individual accolades such as SA Surfer of the Year.
One of the most anticipated aspects to the evening is the inductions of South Africa’s golden oldies to the “Legends” and “Hall of Fame” Honours boards. The legends are those who have advanced South African surfing through the contribution to the industry, administration or some other pioneering aspect of our sport, while the Hall of Fame contenders are those who earned their stripes out in the water or through competitive surfing.
The lists read like a who’s who of South African surfing. Max Wetteland, Shaun Tomson, Jonathan Paarman, Gavin Rudolph, Mike Larmont, Tony van den Heuwel, Spider Murphy, Errol Hickman, Mike Ginsberg, Peers Pittard, Graham Hynes, Baron Stander, Peter Burness, Ernie Tomson and John Whitmore are some of the names that those outside of surfing may recognise.
The “Surfer of the Year” award has been dominated by Jordy Smith (Durban) over the last few years. Smith is undoubtedly South Africa’s most successful surfer on the international stage since Wendy Botha won the women’s world title in 1987. Grant Baker has been the only surfer able to break Smith’s stranglehold on this accolade when he took the award after dominating the Red Bull Big Wave Africa and Billabong XXL in 2008.
This year the Surfer of the Year will be split into Men’s and Women’s categories. Smith will be a front runner for the Men’s award once again, having finished runner up to the world title crown last year, the highest Men’s year end ranking by a South African for almost quarter a century. The Women’s award will be a closer fought affair, with Rosy Hodge and Nikita Robb (both East London) enjoying top step international experiences, while exciting young surfers Sarah Baum (Amanzimtoti) and Bianca Buitendag (George) have dominated local contests and ISA events.
Three new exciting awards introduced this year are “best use of social media”, “team performance of the year” and “moment of the year”.
Zigzag, Paarl Media KZN and Carling Black label are once again proud supporters of the South African Surfing Awards. Only a few of the 250 tickets remain. Tickets sold out long before the ticket booth closed last year, so those wishing to attend the event are advised to log on to www.computicket.com to book.
Local legend and veteran surfer Shaun Tomson published a book three years ago. But for some reason – not even he can quite explain why – it did not make it to the shores of his homeland.
But now, three years after publication in the States, Shaun’s “Surfer’s Code Twelve Simple Lessons For Riding Through Life” has finally been released in South Africa. The book is based on the life lessons Shaun learned while surfing. “The book is about what the ocean can teach you and uses surfing as a metaphor for life. It is about riding the wave of life and uses my personal experiences to illustrate each lesson.”
He used to write those life lessons out on cards and hand them out to kids at the beach. Eventually, after collaborating with American surf writer and university lecturer Patrick Moser, the wisdoms saw the light in book form, and that’s how one of South Africa’s own surfing legends entered a new chapter in his life as ‘author’.
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
A new South African magazine aimed specifically at local surfers have seen the light, just in time to usher in 2009. It’s called BOMBsurf Mag and one major way in which it is bound to surely make a splash in these trying economic times is that subscription to its quarterly print edition is free to South Africans! Readers only have to pay for the postage it will cost to get it delivered to them.
The magazine is published by Big Ocean Media Bros, a start up media business with a focus on innovative and relevant content delivery to the South African surf and beach culture niche. The company co-founders and owners are John McCarthy and Iain Evans, two South Africans who, between them, have wracked up a lot of experience in the world of surf and publishing. Both were instrumental in the rebirth of the highly acclaimed SA Paddler magazine and the subsequent publication of the ‘Reflections – Paddling in South Africa’ Coffee Table book. They have played an instrumental role in the creation of events and media platforms that cater to the youth and action sports markets in South Africa.
They founded the magazine and its accompanying website (on which the contents of the entire magazine can be read in full and also for free) because they have always felt that the surfing industry requires a legitimate, relevant and credible series of media platforms to assist in both the growth of the sport of surfing as well as the lifestyle that is associated with it. South African surfers and those interested in surf and beach culture want specialised and relevant local surf content on the media channel of their choice. They want to be informed, entertained and inspired by a global outlook but with an afrocentric bias. And that is exactly what BOMBsurf aims to do.
After glancing through the first issue, which is jampacked with fascinating features penned by some of South Africa’s most legendary wave riders (such as veteran Shaun Tomson and Twiggy Baker), we think that they are definitely succeeding in their quest!
For more information, and to read the first issue in full online, click here.
