by SFT | Sep 30, 2024 | Surfing Today
St Francis Kids Represent
The recent Sea Harvest SA Junior Surfing Championships presented by SMTH Shapes was held at Lower Point in JBay last week, and a slew of St Francis surfers did exceptionally well at the event.
Rory Dace won the U16 division and now puts SA Champion to his long list of wins and titles.
Slayde Shooter surfed an amazing final heat to win the U12 Boys’ division and is also the SA Champion in this division.
Brin Jarvis placed second in the U12 Girls division, and Camilla Prins came third. Brin also won the U12 SA Surf Tour division for the year.
Several other local surfers, including Troye Jorge, David Moussouris, Rylan Jarvis, Jesse Moulang and Jack Erlank, competed in this event as part of the St Francis Kids Represent posse.
The St Francis surfers have been coming through the Seal Point Boardriders Club, and they are getting the valuable contest experience that is so badly needed amongst our young surfers. This should reflect more in the coming years.
The contest enjoyed five days of good to excellent waves and the surfers a;; got an equal chance to show their stuff to the judges, parents and fans that were assembled at Lower Point In Jeffreys Bay. To have two SA Champions emerge from our little town is quite a feat and something that we should all be very proud of. These surfers represented Nelson Mandela Bay Surfriders and Eden Surfriders.
The events were supported by the Kouga Local Municipality – KLM
All photos by Kody McGregor
Read More: Great Surfing in JBay for first two days of the 28th Sea Harvest SA Junior Champs presented by SMTH Shapes
by SFT | Sep 16, 2024 | Surfing Today
As we get ready for the Calamari Festival, let’s look at the upcoming Pam Golding Calamari Festival Bruces Surfski Dice.
Bruces can be perfect for paddling!
Bruces is one of the most famous surfing waves. But it is fickle, often flat … but then it’s a perfect precinct for safe surfski paddling!
On those days, the Huletts right-hander is also wonderful fun for surfskis, as long as they keep well away from the surfers.
The launch at Grannies Pool is also then an easy entry spot for paddlers, and the route along the Santareme coast, within an easy swim of the rocks, a very safe arena for paddlers who are new to paddling on the sea, after mastering the canals and the river.
Paddling Red Tape
These days, due to new safety requirements, paddling races are restricted to paddlers who are members of a club. They also need to be affiliated with Canoeing South Africa. Paddlers are assessed by their club’s safety officer before being able to enter races on the sea. Firstly they are registered as proficient for Inshore Races such as this upcoming race, then for Open Ocean Races, such as our Christmas race around Shark Point.
Canal Paddling vs Sea Paddling
Weekly surfski dices along the Santareme coast were held for many years, but lapsed due to the greater popularity of our Wednesday evening canal time trials, which are accessible to many more paddlers.
But in January this year, local paddling coach Dave Louw re-instated the Friday evening dices from Grannies pool, now called the Bruces Surfski Dices. These are no longer to the Shark Point “lighthouse”, but now to the Port buoy and back. One lap for 5km and two laps for 10km. And they are often accompanied by refreshments afterwards.
Calamari Festival needed a Paddling Race
And so when the Calamari Festival was announced, we decided that we should join the golfers and bowlers and others with a surfski event, which we have called the Pam Golding Bruces Surfski Dice.
It starts at Grannies Pool at 4pm on Friday 20 September, with registration from 3.30pm. Entry is free, but online only, at canoesa.org.za
Singles and doubles are both welcome. Life jackets and leashes are required. The last paddler should be finished by about 5pm. And there will be prizes and complimentary refreshments.
For more information please call Richard Arderne on 0832840168.
See also: Show off your four-legged friend at the Best Dressed Doggo Show
by SFT | Sep 2, 2024 | SA Surf Contest News, St Francis, Surfing Today, Surfing/Action Sports
© @dombarnardt
Seal Point, Cape St. Francis – Finals Day at the 2024 South African Longboard Championships presented by Ryd, sanctioned by Surfing South Africa delivered wild and woolly onshore conditions at Seal Point, Cape St. Francis. Competitors across the board put on exceptionally brilliant performances, with victors proving that they have the mettle to excel in all conditions.
In the Open Men’s division, Sam Christianson (KZN) did the unthinkable and claimed his fourth consecutive South African Longboard title. Holding long, stable noserides and controlled turns despite the bumpy conditions, Christianson scored a perfect 10 point score and an 8.67 to become the irrefutably dominant champion.
In an equally exciting Open Women’s Final, St. Francis local Crystal Hulett (EP) reached the pinnacle of her spectacular performances throughout the week, claiming the 2024 South African Women’s Longboard title. Maintaining perfect poise in the rough surf, Hulett combined graceful noserides and arching turns to emerge the victor.
Having recently placed 9th in the World Junior Shortboarding Championships, Cape St. Francis local Rory Dace (EP) proved that he is a true allround waterman by winning the U18 Boys division.
The Armstrong family from Scarborough in Cape Town celebrated two wins on Finals Day, with Rosa and Maya Armstrong (WP) taking out the U16 and U18 Girls divisions respectively. Both girls expertly navigated the tough conditions with graceful, controlled surfing.
Seal Point, Cape St Francis © @dombarnardt
In the Mystics division (31 – 40 years), a new addition designed to promote growth in women’s longboarding, Tarryn King (WP)
In the U14 Boys division, Gqeberha’s Callum Loftus (EP) earned his third consecutive U14 title, proving to be a budding longboarder with a big future ahead.
Craig Cuff (EP) won the Grandmasters division with a last ditch effort, surfing his way to a near perfect 9.63 and defending his Grandmasters title.
Hugh Thompson (EP), a Finals Day stalwart for many decades, combined drop knee cutbacks and cross steps to claim the Super Legends Title. Interestingly, Thompson was also crowned champion at the first South African longboard champs ever held in 1981.
The past week has demonstrated that the level of longboard surfing in South Africa continues to improve and is truly world class.
See also: SA Longboarding
See also: Entries Are Open For Rip Curl GromSearch Seal Point pres. by Sea Harvest.
by SFT | Aug 28, 2024 | Surfing Today
Seal Point, Cape St Francis – The final competition in the 2024 Rip Curl GromSearch Series will take place on the weekend of 20th – 22nd September. The venue – Seal Point – is a pristine right-hand point break. It features high-performance waves for the best junior surfers in the country to strut their stuff. Entries are open HERE
The Rip Curl GromSearch series has grown phenomenally over the last three years. This has been an amazing year. Events on the 2024 series included Long Beach in Cape Town, Port Alfred, Nahoon Reef in East London and Dairy Beach in Durban.
Premier U16 Division
The GromSearch series focuses on the U16 division, recognised globally as the ‘grom’ division. Every year, the Rip Curl GromSearch Series U16 winners from different countries compete in the International Rip Curl GromSearch finals. This will take place in November in Indonesia.
Through a few very positive partnerships and collaborations, this year’s South African Rip Curl GromSearch U16 Series Winners will compete in the International Finals.
Partnerships and Collabs
Rip Curl South Africa has partnered with Zigzag Magazine, Sea Harvest, and The Royal St Andrews Hotel. So, the two winners will be sent to Indonesia to surf in the International Finals. Thus, they will both receive an entry into the event through their series wins and a R20k travel voucher for this trip.
Further, should either of the winners not be able to attend, the entry and travel voucher will go to the next highest-seeded surfer on the end-of-year GromSearch rankings.
Final Event Entries Are Open
The final event will be the decider, with the points fairly close for both the U16 Boys and Girls. The end-of-year rankings are calculated on four of the five events that comprised the 2024 series.
This year, the Rip Curl GromSearch has support from the Kouga Municipality, which is firmly behind the sport of surfing in this region.
TCS Wi-Fi will supply free high-speed Internet for competitors and spectators.
Complimentary high-resolution images are available for media outlets.
About Surfing South Africa
SURFING SOUTH AFRICA is the recognised governing body for Surfriding in South Africa. It is responsible for the activities of all its disciplines, such as surfing, longboarding, bodyboarding, kneeboarding, para surfing and SUP surfing. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
by SFT | Aug 14, 2024 | St Francis, Surfing Today, Surfing/Action Sports
South Africa’s top longboard surfers coming to Seals for the 2024 SA Longboard Championships
Close to 200 elite longboarders
Close to 200 elite longboarders from around South Africa will descend on Seal Point in Cape St. Francis for the 2024 SA Longboard Championships presented by Ryd, sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, set to take place from the 26th – 31st August.
Competitors are required to qualify for their district teams through trials that have taken place throughout the year before they are invited to represent their region at the national championships.
The South African Champs were last held in Cape St. Francis in 2019. “We’re very excited to be returning to Seals for the 2024 Champs” , says Christy Gilmour, chairwoman of South African Longboarding. “The unique wave offers conditions that are ideal for surfers across all age divisions. It’s going to be an amazing week!”
KwaZulu Natal’s Sam Christianson
KwaZulu Natal’s Sam Christianson will be defending his 2023 Men’s title in an effort to uphold a 3-year streak of national titles (2021, 2022, 2023). Christianson represented South Africa at the 2024 World Longboard Championships in El Salvador earlier this year and is currently on the WSL World Longboard Tour.
Mbuso Zozi (WP) a fairly new name in South African longboarding, will be back to make another attempt at the SA title after claiming a 2nd place at last year’s championships. Zozi also represented South Africa at the World Champs in El Salvador in April.
Multiple South African Champion and accomplished Stand Up Paddle surfer Tarryn King (WP) will be returning this year to defend her 2023 Women’s Title.
Mystix Division
This year, the Mystix division for women aged 31 to 40 has been added to the ranks of the female age categories. This addition will serve to close a jump in age groups to grow women’s longboarding.
Media Contact:
Marishka
eplongboardsurfing@gmail.com
Instagram: @southafricanlongboarding
by SFT | Jul 10, 2024 | SA Surf Contest News, Surfing Today, Surfing/Action Sports
Rip Curl South Africa is pleased to announce a partnership with Zigzag Surfing Magazine to sendthe series winners in the premier Boys U16 and Girls U16 divisions of the 2024 Rip Curl GromSearch Series to the GromSearch International Finals. Sea Harvest and the Royal St Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred are co-sponsors.
This contest will be held in Indonesia in November of this year. Details of the exact location and dates will follow.
These two surfers will each win coveted entries into these finals and a R20k travel voucher to be used towards their travel arrangements to and from this event.
Rip Curl GromSearch International Finals.
On arrival in Indonesia, Rip Curl will host these two surfers at the Rip Curl GromSearch International Finals.
“We are thrilled to be sending the two top U16 surfers from the 2024 Rip Curl GromSearch series to the international finals with support from Zigzag Magazine,” says Rip Curl South Africa CEO Stuart Daykin. “There is much anticipation for this event, and we can’t wait to see our surfers in action on the international stage.”
Rip Curl GromSearch international finals Indonesia – location and date to be announced soon
“We are stoked to partner with Rip Curl and send two surfers to the international finals in Indonesia,” said Zigzag Magazine editor Jazz Kuschke.
Supporting junior surfing in South Africa
“It’s always good to partner with brands that are supporting junior surfing in South Africa, and right now, the Rip Curl GromSearch is the best series for our younger surfers to get valuable competitive surfing experience, size up the world of professional surfing and understand what they need to do and how to do it to succeed in the sport.”
The Rip Curl GromSearch Series events in South Africa are all SURFING SOUTH AFRICA events and will select its winners based on the top four out of five contests. If a winner cannot attend the International Finals, the entry slot and travel voucher will be passed on to the next surfer on the Rip Curl South Africa GromSearch ratings list.
“Surfing South Africa is stoked that Rip Curl will be rewarding the U16 male and female winners of the 2024 Rip Curl Gromsearch Series with slots in the International finals in Indonesia in November,” said Surfing South Africa General Manager Robin De Kock.
Rip Curl and SSA Partnership
“The partnership between Rip Curl and SSA has both ensured the growth of and increased the quality of South Africa’s junior surfers over the last three years, and it is only fitting that the best U16 South Africans will get an opportunity to compete in the International Rip Curl event.
SSA is grateful to Rip Curl and partners, Sea Harvest, the Royal St Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred, and Zigzag Magazine for making this a reality.”
The next Rip Curl GromSearch, event number four, will take place at Dairy Beach from July 12 to 14. Entries are open here.
About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is the official National Federation for Surfing in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South Africa Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognised as the governing body by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Surfing South Africa is responsible for the development of the sport, the hosting of National tournaments, the sanctioning of International events and the selection of National teams in all the disciplines that are part of SSA. SSA is a member of the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA), the World governing body for the sport.
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