It started in a remote corner at edge of the world where the Southern Ocean pounds the isolated Tasmanian shoreline. The O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series then moved up to the northern town of Thurso in Scotland for its perfect but freezing reef breaks.

The southernmost and northernmost events in professional surfing brought together exploration and competition within the depths of nature.

And now come the wilds…

Cape Town with its selection of treacherous waves around the Cape Peninsula under the towering cliffs of the Table Mountain Range, is home to the third stop on the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series.

From June 20 until June 24, the world’s best surfers, including South African World Tour star and event ambassador, Jordy Smith, will venture to the rugged surf spots scattered around the Cape Peninsula to brave the elements.

With water temperatures around 10 degrees, heavy winter storms generating consistent and potentially huge swells, the prevalence of bull kelp around many of the surf spots and the threat of Great White Sharks (against which precautions will be taken), the O’Neill Cold Water Classic South Africa can rightly claim to be the ‘wildest event in professional surfing’.

“It’s going to be an incredible event,” says Jordy Smith, winner of the inaugural Cold Water Classic Series event in Tasmania. “Cape Town offers an amazing variety of waves. There are both sides of the peninsula to choose from, which can hold all types of swell – but it can get pretty extreme out there.”

Keeping the event mobile as with the rest of the series, there are a huge variety of waves to choose from during the week for the 4 Star ASP WQS event.  Misty Cliffs, a favourite wave of Jordy’s in the area, is just one of the world-class beach breaks on offer with fast, hollow waves.

A few of the other options include Outer Kom – an open ocean left hand reef break featuring a radical drop outside a giant kelp bed and a great barrel section, Crayfish Factory – a heavy right hander with a ledging reef takeoff before running down a kelp infested point, and Kalk Bay – a dredging left hand barrel across a very shallow slab of reef that provides potential 10 point tube rides.

“The Cape Town event is going to be awesome,” says Australian surfer Jarrad Howse, just one of the top name surfers who is following the entire Cold Water Classic Series. “I’ve been there once but never surfed, so I’m looking forward to getting there early and exploring the variety of world class reef and beach breaks on offer before the rest of the competitors arrive.”

Paul Canning, O’Neill’s South African marketing manager is eagerly anticipating the Cold Water Classic Series’ arrival in Cape Town. “The standard has been set pretty high with the opening two events especially in so far as surf,” he said. “I hope we get some nice big storms over the week of our event so we are able to continue this high quality.”

Living up to its promise to explore the wilds and venture into the unknown, the CWC Series has so far exceeded all expectations.

“The surfers all love it,” says Jarrad Howse. “It has created an experience that’s so different to the typical warm water, junky surf, hotels on the beach style,” he said. “It has incorporated travel, exploration and discovery and tested us all with freezing water – but with the opportunity to surf good waves in amazing locations.”

In addition, with its own Series ranking list, there is also $50,000 up for grabs for the winner.

Currently leading the Series is the CWC Scotland winner Lord Adam Melling. However with the Series well and truly underway there is going to be some stiff competition in South Africa including the likes of former World Tour Champion Sunny Garcia as well as young Hawaiian talent John John Florence and local legend Sean Holmes.

A 4-Star event on the ASP World Qualifying Series, the CWC South Africa still rewards the surfers with just as many CWC Series points as the other six star CWC events – bringing them ever closer to that $50,000 prize money as the series winner.

Adam Melling is closely followed in the rankings by Joan Duru, Yuri Sodre and Nathan Hedge and Scotland’s runner up Lord Luke Munro.

Despite winning the inaugural Cold Water Classic event in Tasmania, the South African WCT star Jordy Smith was forced to miss Scotland with clashing events, but still sits in 6th place on the rankings list – and will be one of the favourites in his home country.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

Rating: 4-star World Qualifying Series
Prize-money: US$ 85.000
Event Ambassador: Jordy Smith

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Gavin Roberts and Heather Clark win the 2009 South African Surfing Championships

There were celebrations at St Mikes Sunday ( May 31) as Southern KZN team members Gavin Roberts and Heather Clark won the Men’s and Women’s titles respectively in perfect 3 – 6 foot surf and fine weather on the final day of the South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships.

Roberts beat 2007 SA Champion Devyn Mattheys of Border into second place with Dan Redman of KZN grabbing third ahead of 2009 Surfer of the Contest Ryan Payne of EP.
Clark successfully defended the title she won at Victoria Bay last year after fighting her way through the repercharge round early in this year’s event. Nikita Robb of Border was second, Tammy Lee Smith of KZN came third and Faye Zoetmulder of EP was fourth.

Shawn Dennis found form in the Under 20 Boys Final to beat fellow KZN surfer Kyle Lane into second place while 2009 Junior Surfer of the Year and Lotto Scholarship recipient Bertie Stuurman of EP came third. Underling KZN’s dominance in this division was Chris Leppan who was fourth.

Plucky Tarryn Chudleigh of Western Province showed her character when she ignored the pain of stitches to her face to add the Under 20 Girls title to the many South African Championship wins she has achieved over the last seven years.
Chudleigh’s board hit her in the face during her semi final and she had to be taken to hospital but she was back in time for her final and did Western Province proud.
Sarah Baum of KZN was second, Alice McGregor of Border came third and rookie Lauren Colberg of Boland was fourth.

KZN’s dominance in all four divisions secured them the Presidents Cup which they last won in 2005 while a determined performance by the Southern KZN team led by Gavin Roberts and Heather Clark gave them second place behind their neighbours from Durban.

Border were third only 396 points behind the hosts, last years champions Eastern Province, came fourth, Western Province were fifth and Boland came sixth.

The 2009 South African Surfing Championships were presented by Surfing South Africa, hosted by Southern KZN Surfing Association and sponsored by South Coast Tourism.

Surfing South Africa is recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa.
SSA is made up of six provinces: Boland, Border, Eastern Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Southern KZN and Western Province.
The South African Bodyboarding Association, the South African Longboarding Association and the South African Students Surfing Union are all affiliated to Surfing South Africa.
SSA sanctions the annual Pro Surf Tour, coordinates and runs National Surfing Championships, selects National teams and is responsible for the administration of the sport. www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

FULL RESULTS
OPEN MEN
1. GAVIN ROBERTS (SKZN)
2. DEVYN MATTHEYS (BORDER)
3. DAN REDMAN (KZN)
4. RYAN PAYNE (EP)

OPEN WOMEN
1. HEATHER CLARK (S/KZN)
2. NIKITA ROBB (BORDER)
3. TAMMY LEE SMITH (KZN)
4. FAYE ZOETMULDER (EP)

UNDER 20 BOYS
1. SHAWN DENNIS (KZN)
2. KYLE LANE (KZN)
3. BERTIE STUURMAN (EP)
4. CHRIS LEPPAN (KZN)

UNDER 20 GIRLS
1. TARRYN CHUDLEIGH (WP)
2. SARAH BAUM (KZN)
3. ALICE MC GREGOR (BOR)
4. LAUREN COLBERG (BOL)

JUNIOR SURFER OF THE CONTEST
BERTIE STUURMAN (EP)

SURFER OF THE CONTEST
RYAN PAYNE (EP)

TEAMS
1. KWAZULUNATAL 47344
2. SOUTHERN KWAZULUNATAL 38690
3. BORDER 38294
4. EASTERN PROVINCE 36922
5. WESTERN PROVINCE 36512
6. BOLAND 33750

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2009 South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships
A premier Surfing South Africa tournament
St Michaels on Sea, Southern KwaZulu Natal
May 28 – 31, 2009
Thursday May 28 : Day One

St Mikes delivers the goods on Day One of the 2009 South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships

Competitors in the first round of the Men’s and Under 20 Boys Divisions of the 2009 South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships were treated to typical six foot St Mikes surf on Day One of this premier Surfing South Africa event and made the best of the conditions.

In the Men’s division Southern KZN surfers used their local knowledge to produce four heat winners in Gary Van Wieringen, Gary Footit, Ryan Balfour and Gavin Roberts and they have advanced to Round Four. Another SKZN surfer,Wynand Louw, came second and advances to Round Three.
Border secured three wins with former two time SA Champion Wayne Monk, Philip Malherbe and 2007 SA Champion Devyn Mattheys advancing to Round Three while teammate Tyrell Johnson’s second place sees him in Round Three.
Josh Salie and Brandon Roberts were Round One winners for Western Province and David Richards posted a second place while Llewellyn Whittaker was the only Boland Round One winner. Teammates Peder Christensen, Johan Kriek and Mikhail Thompson secured second place finishes and will advance to Round Three alongside Paul Canning, Wes O’Driscoll, Michael Vawda and Manfred Adrio of KZN and defending champion Shaun Payne of Eastern Province.
Dylan Stone of Eastern Province won his heat and advances to Round Four as does Dylan Stewart of KZN.

First round upsets included that of WQS surfer Dan Redman of KZN who is in the repercharge round along with 2008 finalist and SA Team captain Ryan Payne of EP.

In the Under 20 Boys Division Western Province and KZN posted two wins each in Mikey February and Jaco Steyn and Chris Leppan and Haydn Mc Nicol respectively while 2007 U20 champion Klee Strachan of Boland secured a win as did Remi Petersen of Eastern Province.
Mbongeni Hlengwa,a SSA Lotto Scholarship recipient and Southern KZN teammate David Defillipi as well as Donovan Zoetmulder of Eastern Province, Bolanders Jacob Mellish and Tommie Kruger and KZN surfer Shawn Dennis all secured second spots in their respective Round One heats and advanced to Round Three.
The major upsets in this division was the third place finish by former SA Under 20 Champion Kyle Lane of KZN who will now have to fight his way out of the repercharge round.

This is the seventh time that the Southern KZN Surfing are hosting the South African Championships and the sixth time that St Mikes is the venue for the event.
Support by South Coast Tourism is a unique first for the tournament as it is the first time that a tourism body has ever sponsored the South African Surfing Championships.

The opening function was held at Backline in Margate at 6pm on Wednesday night (May 27) and the event will conclude with the finals in the Men’s Women’s, Under 20 Boys and Under 20 Girls Divisions on Sunday May 31.

The venue can be viewed on webcam each day by going to www.margate.co.za.

The contest is presented by Surfing South Africa (SSA) who are recognised by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa.
The host province is Southern KZN which affiliated to the national body back in 1971.

SSA is made up of six provinces: Boland, Border, Eastern Province, KwaZulu Natal, Southern KZN and Western Province. The South African Bodyboarding Association, the South African Longboarding Association and the South African Students Surfing Union are also affiliated to Surfing South Africa.

SSA sanctions the annual Pro Surf Tour (PST), coordinates and runs National Surfing Championships, selects National teams and is responsible for the administration of the sport.

The 2009 South African Surfing Championships is presented by Surfing South Africa, hosted by Southern KZN Surfing and supported by South Coast Tourism info@tourismsouthcoast.co.za
Photos – Julie de Vries

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