The 2009 South African
Championships kick off
in St Mikes – TODAY 0
St Mikes, the power point break on the Southern KZN coast will host the 2009 South Coast Tourism South African Surfing Championships, which gets under way today, Thursday (May 28) and ends on Sunday (May 31).
Over 100 surfers representing six provincial teams will be action in four different divisions for Men and Women and they will be competing in South Africa’s longest running event.
All the participating surfers have been selected for their provincial teams after competing in rigorous trials and will not only be focused on achieving individual glory in one of the four divisions but will also be surfing for team honours and the winning of the 40 year old Presidents Cup.
This will be the seventh time that the Southern KZN Surfing Association will be hosting the premier championship on the Surfing South Africa calendar and the sixth time that St Mikes will play host to the event.Southern KZN Surfing Association hosted its first ever SA Championships at Trafalgar in the mid 70’s.
Although the talented Southern KZN surfers have never won the Presidents Cup they came a close second to neighbours KZN in 2003 when the event last took place on the shores of St Mikes.
Southern Natal has produced a couple of Men’s and Women’s champions in Mark Brodowicz, who won the National title in 1978 in East London, the year his brother Ant won the World Championship title at the same venue and Brian Jacobs, who took honours in 1983.
Southern KZN home grown products, Heather Clark, Kay Holt and Sarah Maritz have won a bunch of Women’s titles between them but of the three only Clark, the defending champion will be competing. As usual she is in the Southern KZN team and her local knowledge, experience and determination must make her the favourite to successfully defend her crown.
In 2003 when the SA Championships was last held at St Mikes, Quintin Jones of Western Province won the Open Men’s title but he is not competing this year.
2008 Men’s champion Shaun Payne will be back surfing for provincial champions Eastern Province this year and the Cape St Francis local is out to make it two in a row.