by Chris Couve | Oct 1, 2015 | Stand Up Paddle, SUP Surfing
Huntington Beach has become a memorable destination for the young Champion Izzi Gomez (Starboard), having secured her first World Title here last year in advance of the final event, and once again this year, proving the be the place she secures her second.
She wasn’t in a heat when she won, although she did prove victorious over Sophia Bartlow in the semi finals to earn her place in the Finals here at the US Open. She was in fact watching the second semi finals on the beach as Candice Appleby (Infinity) was knocked out by the on form Mariko Strickland (Naish) from Kauai, an act that would secure Izzi’s position as this year’s World Champion prior to the event’s completion. Check out the highlights from today’s competition by CLICKING HERE
So a big congratulations go out to this phenomenal young athlete as she continues to wow the world with her skill and personality, notching up another World Title at such a young age.
However, knowing Izzi, she will not be happy until the job is done, so she will be wanting to finish on a high here at the US Open of Stand Up Paddling. Make sure to watch her in action tomorrow morning for the dramatic final heat against Mariko Strickland as it all comes down to the wire here at the US Open and LIVE at www.watermanleague.com
Mariko Strickland puts on a stellar performance to make it all the way to the finals that will take place tomorrow morning
Mariko Strickland (Naish) from Kauai has without doubt been the dark horse of this year’s US Open of Stand Up Paddling, passing through the rounds under the radar and putting on a series of strong performances that have gotten her all the way to the Finals.
Along the way, she has taken out many of the sport’s leading names, with the last scalp perhaps the most significant where she took down one of the principal Title Contenders and on form surfers of the event, Candice Appleby (Infinity) from right here in California. This win was particularly significant given that it was enough to allow Izzi Gomez (Starboard) to secure the 2015 World Title, not to mention the prestige and excitement of reaching the Finals for Mariko herself.
Mariko has great momentum, is full recovered from her injury of late last year, and has proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with here on the global stage. She will be looking to secure her first event win on the World Tour here in Huntington as it all comes down to the wire in the final morning of competition.
Check out the highlights from today’s competition by CLICKING HERE and make sure to join us for the conclusion of this dramatic Women’s US Open Surfing event LIVE from 7:30am at www.watermanleague.com
by Chris Couve | Sep 22, 2015 | ISA, Stand Up Paddle, SUP Surfing
The International Surfing Association (ISA) has welcomed Norway as its newest Member Federation, further driving the global expansion of the sport.
Global development is a key element of the ISA’s strategy and the consistent growth and reach amongst young people is a driving force behind the ISA’s ambitions of making Surfing an Olympic sport.
Stadt Landet, one of Norway’s picturesque Surfing backdrops. Photo: Hallvard Kolltveit
Filled with youthful values and energy, Surfing has a unique ability to connect with young people around the world. It is hoped that providing more Surfing opportunities and better access to equipment and facilities for young people can help instill Surfing’s core values of excellence, respect, fair-play and innovation.
With a rugged coastline and spectacular Fjords, Norway has many untouched Surf and StandUp Paddle spots that are drenched in natural beauty. Led by President Tore Kramer, the Norwegian Surfing Club is aiming to continue its development under the guidance of the ISA and boost the growth of Surfing amongst young people in the country.
Norway will also send an athlete to the inaugural ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship Presented by Challenged Athletes Foundation, Hurley, Stance and the City of San Diego, which takes place in La Jolla, California this week. Team Norway is also expected to make its debut at the 2015 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, October 11-18 in Oceanside, California.
Luca Guichard surfing in Norway. Photo: Hallvard Kolltveit
Fernando Aguerre, ISA President, said:
“Surfing continues to grow worldwide and the addition of Norway as a new member is testament to the ISA’s global development strategy. There are 35 million surfers globally who participate in more than 100 countries and our aim is to spread the sport even further by providing better access to Surfing opportunities and equipment for more people around the world.
“With its unique culture, expressive nature and special connection with young people, Surfing is a sport that excites, thrills and captures the imagination of participants and fans from all corners of the world and backgrounds. Together, these factors are what fuel our ambition to place our wonderful sport and inspirational athletes on the greatest sporting stage at the Olympic Games.”
Tore Kramer, Norweigan Surfing Club President, said:
“We are delighted to join the ISA and to have access to ISA programmes and the many other benefits that come with our membership. We believe this is vital for the future growth of our organisation and the development of Surfing in Norway. We also believe that the ISA World Championships are the best stage for competitive Surfing and our athletes are looking forward to taking part in many world class events in the years ahead.”
Original Article and Images Supplied by ISA
by Chris Couve | Sep 15, 2015 | Stand Up Paddle, SUP Surfing, Surfing South Africa
The inaugural Tigers Milk Surf Classic was completed on a high note at Muizenberg Corner yesterday (Sunday, September 13th) and the large crowd who gathered to watch the unique multidiscipline event were treated to some top class performances in each of the divisions.
As the strong southeaster backed off conditions at Surfers Corner improved and the competitors posted some high scores. South African Men’s SUP Champion Justin Bing showed his class, scoring the only 10 point ride of the event while two time World Longboard Champion Matthew Moir came close with a couple of 9 point rides as he worked his way to the Final.
Women’s Surfing Champion Nikita Robb. Photo Graeme Field
Others who impressed on the final day of competition were four time South African Surfing champion Nikita Robb, Jeffreys Bay sisters Emma and Gina Smith, talented young surfer Jordy Maree, Muizenberg locals Dillon Fernandez and Paul Sampson Chudleigh, longboarders Tristan Lev, Alfonso Peters,Kay Holt and Simone Robb and SUP exponents Chris Bertish,Tammy Robarts and Roxy Davis.
The inaugural event celebrated a number of firsts.These included a shark sighting which brought a premature close to the proceedings on Saturday, a dispute with local law enforcement officers who issued Tigers Milk with a fine for displaying advertising banners on the beach,the introduction of a Varsity Division into a surf contest and the running of a surf event from inside a restaurant.
Surf contests are usually run from gazebos or structures positioned on the beach but over the weekend officials were able to judge from behind the front window of the restaurant which displayed the live scores on a large screen. The commentators had the perfect vantage point to comment on each ride, the judges were able to see each ride perfectly from the elevated vantage point and for the first time a set of red and green lights, positioned inside the restaurant, was used to indicate the beginning and end of each heat.
All in all, the Tigers Milk Surf Classic, the first major surfriding event to take place at Muizenberg Corner in over 25 years, was completed on schedule, eight champions were crowned, R50,000 in prize money and prizes was handed out at the prize giving and competitors in the Men’s and Women’s Surfing divisions added some Pro surf Tour ratings points to their annual tally.
Justin Bing wins the Mens SUP Wave event with almost prefect performance
The SUP Women’s champion was Tammy Robarts of the Strand with Roxy Towill of Kommetjie taking second spot ahead of Penny Stemmet of Strand. Khara Tompson of Hout Bay was fourth. Justin Bing put on an almost flawless display in the Men’s SUP Division to take the win. Fellow Hout Bay rider, Chris Bertish was second, Dylan Frick of Strand was third and Nic Walker of Bloubergstrand took fourth.
Star of the Sea schoolteacher and former South African surfing champion Kay Holt of Muizenberg beat current World Champion Simone Robb of Kommetjie to take the Women’s Longboard title. Jessie Marjaan Goodman was third and fellow Muizenberg longboarder,Angela Craemer came fourth.
World Champions Simone Robb and Matthew Moir with their ISA 50th Gold Medals
Two time world Longboard Champion Matthew Moir of Kirstenhof took the honours in the Men’s Longboard Division ahead of talented Tristan Lev of Cape St Francis. Muizenberg local Alfonso Peters was third and longboard stalwart Michael Grendon of Scarborough placed fourth. As part of the occasion SA Longboard Team manager Deon Bing presented commemorative International Surfing Association gold Medals to World Champions simone robb and Matthew Moir. The medals have been presented to all previous ISA World Champions in celebration of the World governing body’s 50th Anniversary.
The Women’s Varsity Final was won by Gina Smith, who not only earned R2000 for the victory but also won a custom made Simmons Surfboard for her efforts. Anoush Zakarian came second, Nikita Kekana was third and Dayni Sanderson was fourth. Norman Lotz won himself a Gul wetsuit and R2000 for his victory in the Varsity Men’s Final. Top surfing judge Dillon Lowenthal swopped his clipboard for a surfboard and secured second place in this division while Ben Alheit took third and Daniel Wilson was fourth.
The Women’s Surfing title went the way of four time South African champion Nikita Robb of Cape Town. Robb beat Emma Smith of Jeffreys Bay into second place with Kommetjie based Tarryn Chudleigh taking third spot ahead of Pippa Jones of Marina da Gama.
Jordy Maree of Kommetjie beat Muizenberg local Dillon Fernandes into second place in the Men’s Surfing Final with Kommetjie’s Paul Sampson Chudleigh third and Brandon Benjamin of Retreat fourth.
Men’s Surfing Champion Jordy Maree. Photo Graeme Field
Chris Bertish, the author of the book Stoked, presented local surfer Craig Johnson with a signed copy in recognition of Johnson’s passion and commitment to the sport.
In a special finale to this highly successful event Tigers Milk partners Michael Townsend and Niall Smith committed to sponsoring the Tigers Milk Surf Classic for a further four years and confirmed that the prize money would be increased.
Full results and photo gallery can be viewed here…
Surfing South Africa is the governing body for the sport in South Africa and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
by Chris Couve | Sep 10, 2015 | Stand Up Paddle, SUP Surfing, Surfing South Africa
The tough onshore conditions and a large swell predicted for this weekend’s Tigers Milk Surf Classic is sure to favour the Muizenberg locals competing in this unique multi discipline surfing event and it will come as no surprise if they dominate the results.
In the Men’s surfing division fourth seed Reza de Nicker leads the locals charge at the R5000 prize purse and PST points. He will be challenged by recent SA Champs bronze medal winner Craig Johnson who is seeded sixth in this division while SA Champs Under 20 Division finalist Brandon Benjamin, a Surfers Corner regular, is seeded seventh.
Tarryn Chudleigh will be ripping it this weekend | Photo Credit: Claire Butler
In the Women’s surfing division multi capped provincial and national team member Tarryn Chudleigh grew up surfing the Corner and it will be no surprise to see the second seed in the final come Sunday. Another surfer with total local knowledge is Danielle Johnson who although only seeded sixth in this contest surfs the contest area pretty much every day and must be in the mix for a berth in the Final.
Double World Longboard Champ Matt Moir is set for this weekend’s event
Double World Longboard Champion Matthew Moir stood up on a wave for the very first time at Muizenberg Corner some thirty years ago and has honed his skills as one of the world’s best longboard surfers thanks to his ability to surf difficult “berg surf”. It will take a lot to beat him over the weekend but according to another local, Kwezi Quika, nothing is impossible.
Simon Robb makes it look all too easy…
Kommetjie based Women’s World Longboard Champion Simone Robb honed her skills in the rough and tumble that is Muizenberg and she, along with Jessie Marjaan Goodman and seven time SA Champion Kay Holt will be the locals to watch in this division at the weekend.
Current Women’s SUP Wave Champ will be competing at her home ground
Local businesswoman Roxy Davis is the stand out local in the Women’s SUP division. She will be representing South Africa at the next ISA World SUP Championships but this talented waterwoman would have been a standout in the surfing or longboard divisions had she decided to compete in either of them. Davis has national colours in all three disciplines.
Durbanite Justin Bing will be down to prove his mettle
Justin Bing, a national longboard and national SUP representative, has been based in Durban for about a year but the Corner is a surfspot that has helped him achieve a number of milestones so he is by default, a local. He has the strongest pedigree in the Men’s sup Division but he will have to keep an eye on young Dylan Frick who has just returned from competing in Japan and has a point to prove..
The judges will be adjudicating the event from behind the glass windows of the restaurant which overlooks the contest area and a monitor will be installed in Tigers Milk on both days which will show the live scoring in each and every heat.
The 2015 Tigers Milk Surf Classic is the major tournament to take place at Muizenberg Corner in thirty years. It is also the first multidiscipline event to be held at this venue and offers a total of R50000 in prizemoney and prizes across the six divisions.
The contest is scheduled to kick off at 8am on both Saturday and Sunday and Tigers Milk will be open for breakfast from 8am on both days. The prizegiving will take place inside the restaurant immediately after the last final on Sunday September 13th.
As safety is paramount in a big event such as this and because September sees an increase in offshore shark activity along the False Bay Coast and Surfing South Africa has engaged the services of the Shark Spotters for the duration of the event.
Event: Tigers Milk Surf Classic
Where: Surfers Corner, Muizenberg
When: September 12th & 13th, 2015
Words: Robin de Kock | SSA General Manager
The heats and provisional contest schedule for the 2015 Tigers Milk Surf Classic are posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
Surfing South Africa is the governing body for the sport in South Africa and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
by Chris Couve | Sep 2, 2015 | SUP Surfing, Surfing South Africa
Event: Tigers Milk Surf Classic
Where: Surfers Corner, Muizenberg
When: September 12th & 13th, 2015
Tigers Milk Surf Classic attracts over 100 multi discipline surfriding competitors to Muizenberg Corner
Surfers Corner in Muizenberg is the most popular surfing beach in Cape Town and the country and it seems only fitting that the popular Muizenberg Corner restaurant, Tigers Milk, has stepped up to present the first ever multi discipline surfriding event to ever take place at this iconic venue.
Over 100 surfers, longboarders and SUP waveriders have entered the Tigers Milk Classic which will take place at the Corner on September 12th and 13th. Among the entries are World Champions, national champions in all three disciplines, national team members in all three disciplines and numerous provincial champions and team members.
Matthew Moir, a two time World Longboard Champion, is top seed in the Men’s Longboard division while current World Longboard Champion Simone Robb is top seed in the Women’s Longboard division. Other Longboarders who have made their mark in top longboard events include Kwezi Qika,a member of the National Team in 2006, provincial representatives William Wallace, Michael Grendon,Tristan Lev, Tyrone Jensen,Robin Somogyvari, Alfonso Peters,John and Nobel de Castro, Kay Holt, Jessie Marjaan Goodman,Margreet Wibbelink, senior WP Longboard administrators, Patrick Corbitt and Paul O’Connell as well as legendary Longboard “Diva” Bernie Shelley.
The SUP contingent is headed by National representatives Justin Bing, Dylan Frick and the legendary Chris Bertish with Roxy Davis, Penny Stemmet and her twin sister Tammy Robarts top seeds in the Women’s SUP. The Varsity Division sees National team surfers Gina Smith, Nikita Kekana, Anoush Zakarian all competing in this unique addition to a local surfing event.
South African Team captain and current World ranked professional surfer Mikey February is top seed in the 2A Rated PST Men’s Surfing Division which has attracted former junior national team members, Jordy Maree, Steff Burrows and Diran Zakarian while current national team surfers Tanika Hoffman & Faye Zoetmulder come up against fellow national representatives Tarryn Chudleigh, Emma Smith and four time SA Champion Nikita Robb in the 2A Rated PST Women’s Division.
Others to watch in the Men’s Division are recent SA Championships finalists and Muizenberg locals Craig Johnson and Brandon Benjamin, top junior surfers Jake and Max Elkington, Ethan Fletcher and Ford Van Jaarsveldt as well as Dillon Fernandez, Paul Sampson – Chudleigh and Donovan and Dylan Wichmann. Crystal Hulett, Danielle Johnson, Natasha Van Greunen, Pippa Jones are all well known provincial surfers and could surprise in the Women’s Division.
Each of the six Divisions offers R5000 in prizemoney with the winner of the Men’s Varsity Division securing himself a custom made Simmonds Surfboard. The winner of the Women’s Varsity Division will receive a Gul wetsuit in addition to her prizemoney.
Vouchers for meals at Tigers Milk and a bunch of spot prizes will be won by contestants in the Tigers Milk Surf Classic and spectators will be able to listen to keep up with all the heats as they take place courtesy of the Surfing South Africa live scoring system.
All the officials including the judges will be adjudicating the event from behind the glass windows of the restaurant which overlooks the contest area and a monitor will be installed in Tigers Milk which will show the live scoring.
The prizegiving will take place inside Tigers Milk immediately after the last final on Sunday September 13th.
The heats and contest schedule for the 2015 Tigers Milk Surf Classic posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za on Friday September 4th
Surfing South Africa is the governing body for the sport in South Africa and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
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by Chris Couve | Sep 1, 2015 | SUP Surfing
After the recent completion of the third and final event of the 2015 SUPSA SA Wave Surfing Series in Cape Town the final national rankings for the 2015 season have been released by SUPSA. Competitors retain their two best scores from the three events, which started with the Coreban Summer Series held in December 2014 at Big Bay Bloubergstrand. This was followed by the HW Brokers Supdurbs Pro held in Durban in early July, followed by the UnderArmour SA SUP Wavechamps also held in Blouberg two weeks later.
Competitors were fortunate this year in that all three events were held in decent sized surf for a considerable portion of the time, allowing them to enjoy some great conditions along with some more challenging ones. This allowed the top competitors to showcase the full extent of the progression in their SUP surfing skills which the last couple of years has demanded.
The Open Men and Ladies divisions rankings are the major criteria used for selection of the SA Team to attend the ISA World Championships, and as usual they were very tightly contested, with the finalists in both divisions of the SA Champs all in with a chance of qualification until the final results were announced.
Justin Bing retains his number one SUP Wave position
In the end it was Coreban teammates Justin Bing and Tom King who claimed the coveted top 2 spots in the Open Mens rankings with 2.7 points each, with Justin retaining the number one position by virtue of his win in the SA Champs, which outranks the other events in the event of a tie. Brandon Ribbink was the third surfer to win an event which resulted in him finishing just behind the other two event winners. Two Juniors, Nick Walker and Matthew Maxwell, proved that the future of SUP surfing is in good hands by finishing in 4th and 5th position respectively.
New comer Roxy Davis is crowned Open Ladies Division Champion
The Open Ladies division was also a cliffhanger right until the end of the final heat of competition. Eventually it was relative newcomer to competitive Sup surfing, Roxy Davis, who walked away with the honours after being the most consistent surfer in the 3 contests, ahead of Tammy Robarts, Tarryn Kite and Penny Stemmet, all of whom have represented SA at previous ISA World Championships.
Grantley Read takes the Legends SUP Wave title
In the Legends Division, Grantley Read remained as consistent as ever to take the honours ahead of perennial competitor Gary van Rooyen, with Dave Maxwell and Deon Bosman filling out the placings.
In the Divas division Kim Duvenhage took the top spot followed by Angela Whittle and Sue Maxwell.
In the Junior Boys, Nick Walker made a clean sweep of the 3 events, with Matthew Maxwell runner up, and Kimon Dos Santos and Joshua Robertson claiming 3rd and 4th respectively in their final year in the Junior division. It was encouraging to see 24 entries in this division during the course of the 3 events, as well as the first separate Junior Girls division being run separately during SA Champs, which will hopefully be supported enough to be a permanent division in future.
