by Mandy Scanlen | Aug 13, 2018 | South African Surfing Championships, Surfing South Africa
Sunday August 12th – Local girl Zoe Steyn became the youngest female surfer in the 53 year history of the South African Surfing Championships to win the Open Women’s Division title when she dominated the final in 4 – 5 foot Nahoon Reef surf at the 2017 Mercedes–Benz SA Surfing Championships hosted by Buffalo City Municipality.
She was also named Surfer of the Contest and was awarded the trophy by last year’s award winner, Heather Clark.
It has been a special few weeks for the humble East London girl, who was selected to represent South Africa at the ISA World Surfing Games which take place in Japan in September. She will also represent South Africa at the ISA World Junior Championships in California at the end of October.
Runner up Heather Clark of Ugu Surfriders is an eight time Open Women’s Champion. She won her first South African Championship title at Nahoon Reef in 1989.
Tayla de Coning, Steyn’s Buffalo City teammate and fellow South African junior team member, came third while 2017 SA Champion Olivia Brand of eThekweni, was fourth.
Talented Jordy Maree, a late replacement in the Cape Town Surfriders team, celebrated his birthday on Saturday and won the South African Men’s Open Championship today when he posted a 17 out of 20 heat score to edge Chad du Toit of eThekweni Surfriders, into second place.
Maree joins the long list of surfers who have used a backhand attack to secure victory at Nahoon Reef. Last year’s champion, Brandon Benjamin, also of Cape Town Surfriders, used his backhand to become the 2017 champion.
Tyrell Johnson came third in the final with his young Buffalo City teammate Thomas Lindhorst, taking fourth.
In the Over 35 Men’s Division, Cape Town Surfrider’s team captain Neil Zietsman won his first ever National title when he beat Alan Johns of Ilembe Surfriders into second place. Tyrell Johnson of Buffalo City incurred a technical penalty which dropped him into third place ahead of his brother, Orrin.
The Over 30 SA Women’s title was won for the second year in a row by Heather Clark and for her consistent performances in this division and the Open Women’s group, she was awarded the Dave Fish Trophy by last year’s winner Greg Emslie.
Tasha Mentasti of Eden Surfriders was second, Michelle Van Kempen of Nelson Mandela Bay came third and Nicki Seligmann of Cape Town was fourth.
Greg Emslie successfully defended his Over 40 title, narrowly beating Gary Van Wieringen of Ugu Surfriders by one point. Emslie’s Buffalo City team mate, Tristan Johnson, was third and Warwick Heny of Nelson Mandela Bay, came fourth.
Another surfer who defended his title by the skin of his teeth was Wayne Monk of Buffalo City. Monk edged Ryan Ribbink of Buffalo City into the silver medal slot just seconds before the siren sounded. Ribbink’s eThekweni teammate, Warren Dixon, came third and the copper medal went to Tristan Johnson of Buffalo City.
Adding to Buffalo City’s list of successes at the 2018 Mercedes–Benz SA Championships hosted by Buffalo City, was a victory for Gareth Sepp in the Over 50 Division final over defending champion David Malherbe and his brother, Andre, who was third.
Sean Jerram of Cape Town had to settle for fourth place behind the three Buffalo City surfers.
Nahoon Reef local Nick Pike took more gold for Buffalo City when he won the Over 55 title ahead of Stephen Hair of Eden. Pike’s teammate Toby Mare won a bronze medal and Volker Mielck of Cape Town, won copper.
In the Over 60 Final, Jeremy Zinn of Cape Town Surfriders pulled out all the stops to beat defending champion Gordon Harmer of Buffalo City. Kelly Kellerman of eThekweni was third and Andre Venter of Nelson Mandela Bay came fourth.
All the winners won the coveted Surfing South Africa floating trophies, gold medals and R1000 in cash.
Buffalo City won the Masters Cup for the 13th year in a row, beating Cape Town Surfriders into second spot. Then came eThekweni, Nelson Mandela Bay, Eden,Ilembe and Ugu Surfriders.
The East London team retained the Presidents Cup for the highest scores in the Open Divisions. eThekweni came second, followed by Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay, Ugu, Ilembe, Eden and Cape Winelands.
The Champions Cup, which is presented to the Team that scores the highest combined points total, went to the dominant Buffalo City Team. eThekweni came second, Cape Town were third followed by Nelson Mandela Bay, Ugu, Ilembe Eden and Cape Winelands.
All the heat results, team results and photos from the six days of competition are posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za.
The 53rd edition of the South African Surfing Championships began on Tuesday at Nahoon Reef and ended at Nahoon Reef on the final day. Two of the five days of competition were held at Nahoon Corner courtesy of some huge storm surf that hit East London midweek.
Despite these challenges the 2018 Mercedes–Benz SA Surfing Championships hosted by Buffalo City and supported by Sport and Recreation SA, was a huge success. Over 150 surfers from eight Districts competed in the Championships, which were held in great surf over six days. The final two days of competition were streamed live on www.vodacom.co.za/viewplus
Feliciano Janneker, Manager External Affairs and Stakeholder Relations, was at Nahoon Reef to watch the finals and commented on the event. “At Mercedes–Benz South Africa it is important to embrace those things that bring us together. The passion for sport connects us and has brought us together with the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) and Surfing South Africa in this very fitting partnership. We believe that sport is an embodiment of togetherness and positively contributes to social change. We are very proud of this partnership and we thank BCMM for bringing it to the city. Thank you to all the participants and the community at large for coming out in multitudes to support the event for the second year in a row. Congratulatory greetings to all the winners, we hope we see you again next year”
The 53rd South African Championships was presented by Surfing South Africa, the National Governing body for the sport in South Africa and hosted by Buffalo City Surfriders. Surfing South Africa is a member of the South African Sports Commission and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). Complete heat sheets and photos will be posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and on the Surfing SA Facebook page.
2018 South African Women’s Champion Zoe Steyn – photo Ian Thurtell
2018 South African Men’s Champion Jordy Maree – photo Ian Thurtell
Compiled by Robin de Kock
General Manager Surfing South Africa
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
by Mandy Scanlen | Aug 10, 2018 | South African Surfing Championships, Surfing South Africa, Uncategorized
East London storm wipes out Day Four of the 2018 Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships presented by Buffalo City.
Torrential rain and gale force winds which hit East London at around midday on Day Four of the 2018 Mercedes – Benz South African Surfing Championships hosted by the Buffalo City Municipality, forced officials to shut down the contest after only fourteen of the twenty three scheduled heats had been run.
At the start of the day’s competition 5-6 foot waves were pouring into Nahoon Reef and it seemed that the predicted storm might well have moved on. At midday the rain started to fall and the visibility on the ocean dropped making things difficult for surfers, judges and water safety. By 12.30pm the rain was buffeting down and the wind had increased to gale force and the decision to cancel the contest for the rest of the day was inevitable.
Before the storm hit there was some top notch surfing by the Open Men’s division and the Over 40 competitors. Standout on the morning was five time SA Open Champion and defending Over 40 Division Champion Greg Emslie who blasted his way into the quarter finals of both divisions.
Joining him in the quarter finals are his 14 year old nephew Daniel and fellow Buffalo City surfers Thomas Lindhorst, Tyrell Johnson and Luke Malherbe, eThekwini’s Brandon Jackson and Chad du Toit, Liam de Villiers, Michael Monk and Richard Kidd of Ilembe, Joshe Faulkner and Kelvin Zehmke of Nelson Mandela Bay, Jordy Maree of Cape Town Surfriders and Cody Coetsee of Ugu.
Buffalo City are represented by Greg Emslie and Tristan Johnson in the Over 40 Division Quarters and will come up against Graeme Field, Ryan Kuhn and Stephen Hutchison of Cape Town Surfriders, Justin Maisch, Chad Delport and Gary Van Wieringen of Ugu, Ross Solomon and Karl Ribbink of eThekweni, Dave Pietersen of Ilembe and Warwick Heny of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Due to the early shutdown of competition on Day Four organisers will run 25 heats tomorrow (Saturday) and twenty one heats on Sunday, which is the final day of competition.
The Heat Sheets and updated schedule and photos are available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
The Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships is hosted by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Surfers representing eight districts are competing for nine individual national titles as well as coveted Presidents Cup, Masters Cup and Champions Trophy at this, the 53rd edition of the SA Surfing Championships.
Saturday and Sunday’s heats will be streamed live on www.vodacom.co.za/viewplus
The South African Championships are presented by Surfing South Africa, the recognised governing body for the sport and hosted by the Buffalo City Surfriders. Surfing South Africa is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic committee (SASCOC), the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
Jordy Maree of Cape Town Surfriders : Photo Ian Thurtell
oshe Faulkner of Nelson Mandela Bay : Photo Ian Thurtell
Compiled by Robin de Kock
General Manager, Surfing South Africa
0824541149
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.comj
by Mandy Scanlen | Aug 10, 2018 | Surfing South Africa, Uncategorized
Women’s Day celebration on the waves of Nahoon Reef at the 2018 Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships hosted by Buffalo City
The 2018 Mercedes – Benz South African Surfing Championships hosted by the Buffalo City Municipality is celebrating National Women’s Day in perfect three to four foot surf at Nahoon Reef today.
After two days of strong winds and unruly surf, East London has produced the perfect day for the 30 women who are at the championships representing their respective districts and Contest Director Ann Wright had no hesitation in getting the third day of the contest going at 8am.
Today belongs to the female competitors at the event and the whole day will feature all the early rounds of the Open Women and Over 30 Women’s Divisions.
Today these graceful and competitive surfers will be cheered on from the side-lines by their male counterparts.
Among the competitors are South Africa’s queen of surfing Heather Clark, the defending Over 30 champion and eight time South African champion. Clark has been competing at the highest level for two decades and has made a name for herself all over the world during her career. A former professional who competed on the World Tour and an ISA world Masters Champion, Clark continues to show the way for the new generation of female surfers. Although she is the oldest competitor among the women she remains a threat in every heat she competes in and takes her wins and losses with style, class and grace. This champion surfer, who based in the St Mikes area on the KZN South Coast not only surfs every day but also makes time to coach young surfers and mentor younger competitors.
Another surfer with a long history in the sport is Tasha Mentasti. Mentasti is a former junior champion, SA Champion and National team member and continues to compete at the highest level. She is an international coaching instructor and course presenter, contest commentator and contest director, qualified surfing judge and is heavily involved in the growth of Adaptive surfing in South Africa. Her life revolves around the sport she loves and as a representative of Accelerate, Surfing South Africa’s marketing company, Mentasti lives and breathes surfing.
The youngest surfer in the Women’s divisions at this year’s Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships is 13 year old Eat London local Aimee du Preez, who at the tender age of 10, began competing in national surfing events. She ended 2017 as the top ranked girl in the Under 14 Division of the South African Surf Tour and is already a tough competitor in the older age division. This is the first time that she will be competing in the Open Division at the SA Championships.
Also competing are defending Open Women’s champion Olivia Brand of eThekweni Surfriders, current National Team members Zoe Steyn of Buffalo City Surfriders and Nicole Pallet of eThekweni, who will be hoping to secure good results at Nahoon before they leave for the ISA World Surfing Games in Japan in a months’ time.
Professional Jeffreys Bay based surfers Emma Smith and Kai Woolf will be representing Nelson Mandela Bay at this event and Surfing South Africa’s Development Officer Danielle Powis has made the long journey from Cape Town by car to represent Cape Winelands at the championships.
Also competing are 2018 national junior team members Kayla Nogueira from eThekweni, Tayla de Coning from Buffalo City and former national junior team member Olivia Izzard of eThekweni.
The complete set of heat sheets for the Open Women’s Division and the Over 30 Women’s Division are available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
Heats results and photos are also updated on the Surfing SA Facebook page.
The Mercedes – Benz SA Surfing Championships is hosted by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Surfers representing eight districts drawn from three provinces have made their way to East London to compete for nine individual national titles as well as coveted Team Championships at the 53rd edition of the SA Surfing Championships.
The event runs until Sunday when the semi finals and finals will be held. The final two days of competition will be streamed live on www.vodacom.co.za/viewplus
The South African Championships are presented by Surfing South Africa, the recognised governing body for the sport and hosted by the Buffalo City Surfriders. Surfing South Africa is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic committee (SASCOC), the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
