Champions Decided at 2015 Tigers Milk Surf Classic

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 13^th) 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 50^th 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).

Muizenberg locals determined to make their mark in this weekend’s Tigers Milk Surf Classic 

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 13^th.

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 12^th & 13^th, 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).