Matt Bromley : photo courtesy Surfing South Africa

Surfing South Africa Updates

Cape Peninsula to host junior international surfing tournament this weekend

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 9 October, 2009 : - - The Southern Peninsula of Cape Town will host a unique junior International surfing tournament this weekend between surfers from Reunion Island, Western Province, Boland, the 2010 South African Junior team and an Emerging South African Junior team.

The friendly international is part and parcel of a cultural and sporting exchange programme between Surfing South Africa and Reunion Island. The South Africa juniors are headed up by 2009 ISA World Junior Championships bronze medalist Davey Brand and WP teammate and fellow Kommetjie local Mikey February, both of whom have four national caps as well as a host of national and international experience under their belts.

New caps Jarred Veldhuis of Kommetjie, recently crowned SA Under 16 Champion Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand, JBay stars Steven Sawyer and Dylan Lightfoot, Heidi Palmboom of the Bluff plus the experienced Dane Staples of St Francis Bay and super talented Sarah Baum of Durban should  dominate the individual heats and the all important tag team contest which will determine who wins the title. Team reserve Jacob Mellish will surf for the national juniors as a guest as top seed Beyrick de Vries left for the USA on Thursday.

The SA team has a powerful look but hosts Western Province have selected a team with plenty of local knowledge and could surprise. Captained by 2009 Under 18 SA Champion Matt Bromley, the WP side includes brilliant under 14 year-olds in Max Armstrong, Nic Notten and Ethan Pentz, plus star WP team mates Benji Brand, Daniel Wilson, Jordan Alexander and Papi Makinyane. National team trialists Holly Armstrong and Sabrina Scott are the two WP girls in the team.

The Boland team also looks strong and is out to prove a point. They beat Western Province by one point back in 2006 when the last event of this kind was held and are keen to maintain their record. Jeandre Blignaut, JP Olivier, Rigard Smit, Justin Torode, Leon Du Preez, Steffen Burrows and Dylan Wichmann along with Morag Steele and Roche Louwrens are the Boland lineup for this weekend.

Surfing South Africa’s Emerging SA Junior team will be led by Alice McGregor of Border who won the Under 18 national title at Nahoon Reef last Sunday. Fellow Border surfer and U18 finalist at Nahoon Reef, Jean Du Plessis, will also turn out for the Invitation side along with SSA Lotto scholarship winners Grant Arendse and Brandon Benjamin of WP and Qhamani Bam of EP. Southern Cape surfers Ruben Lamer and Vincent Withers have been called up after good performances in the recent SA Championships while Benjamin de Castro of Muizenberg and national junior trialist Emma Smith of EP is also in the team.

The group of eight Reunion surfers arrived in Cape Town late Thursday evening and will need some time to adapt to the freezing water temperature and the beach break conditions. Reunion is a volcanic Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean which is blessed with warm water and perfect point break surf. It is part of France and many members of the French surfing teams are drawn from Reunion.

Included in the eight are several age group champions and French junior team members who although experienced will be surfing in Cape Town for the first time. The Reunion Island Challenge will take place over two days and all contestants and officials will gather at Long Beach in Kommetjie at 7.30am on both days to determine a venue. The venue will be available on the WP Info line from 8.30 on number 0822334001.

Surfing South Africa (SSA) is the recognized governing body for the sport in South Africa. SSA is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).The Reunion Island Challenge is part and parcel of the SA Junior Team’s preparations for the 2010 ISA World Junior Championships in New Zealand in January and is a talent identification initiative that is part of SSA’s strategic plans.

The event is supported by funding from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDTF)..

www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

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Robin de Kock

Junior Contests - Surfersvillage