Review: 2013 South African Junior Surf team

The selection process for this team started back in November, when we reverted back the older system of regional trials, and then the top performers progressing through to the national trial, this system ensures we draw on the very best talent the country has to offer.

The National Junior Selection trial took place at Cape St Francis Beach break on the last weekend of January, difficult conditions ensured that only the crème of the crop rose to the top, and booked a spot in the 2013 national junior side.

This 12 strong team will jet off to Nicaragua in Central America in just over 2 months to compete in the 2013 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

With the ISA including a u/16 Girls division at the championships for the first time in history, some of the younger talent had a shot at receiving their Protea Blazer.

Heading up the South African u/16 Girls side, is Warner Beach’s Chanelle Botha (yes, she is my sister), Chanelle will earn her second cap as a Protea surfer, competing last year in the u/18 girls division, now a year down the line, Chanelle is far more experienced, and is hungry to do her country proud in Nicaragua.

Anoush Zakarian of Melkbos, takes the second slot in the u/16 girl’s side, and will earn her first cap as a national surfer, this talented goofy footer from the Cape has been knocking on the door for quite some time and it only seems fitting that she fly’s the SA Flag at worlds this year.

Matt Mc Gillivray, will earn his second cap, and although he has been battling with a ankle injury, will no doubt make a big impression on the world junior stage, based on his performances in the back half of 2012 and his determination that has become his trade mark.

New Cap Jordy Maree, the powerful goofy footer from Kalk Bay, as well as 2012 National junior team member with new cap and Balito boy Shayne Sykes rounding of a very strong u/16 boys side.

Jeffrey’s Bay’s Gina Smith, who gained entry into the SA Junior team by winning the u/17 division at the 2012 Hurley SA Junior Champs, heads up the u/18 girls side , with probably the most improved junior girl in the country and 2012 SA Junior Team member Nicole Pallet to back her.

Benji Brand, a seasoned competitor, who earns his third cap, also qualified for the team by taking out the 2012 u/17 SA Title at the Hurley SA Junior Champs last year, he is grouped with Dylan Lightfoot, former silver medalist and local powerhouse of Jeffery’s Bay, as well as Amanzimtoti’s Josh Smit who was on blistering form at both the national and regional trials, and brother of u/16 Girl Anoush, Diran Zakarian will finish up an exceptional u/18 boys side.

The team management , includes Surfing South Africa Vice President Jonny Bakker who will manage the team along side coaching legend Graham Hynes who will be assisted by 1978 ISA World Champ himself Ant Brodowicz . 

With just over 2 months to go we hope to see the team under go some serious high performance national camps, to ensure each and every team member is at top of their game.

The team ratio was 7 new caps to 5 previous SA team members in 2012 to a team of 8 former SA Junior team members to just 4 new caps this year, so the team is far more experienced these and looking to get back on the podium where they belong.

Having watched these kids from the judging tower over the past 5 I have all the confidence in the strength of this team, and their ability to bring a host of silverware back to the South African shores.

Wade Botha 

Ballito to Bali and beyond!

So since the end of June my life has been anything but boring, just the way I like it! As my Gap year comes to a close I can happily say I’m ready to join the real working world, now that I have checked off a couple of the thing I wanted to do before I conformed to what society would have me do.

To kick off this 3 month rollercoaster of activities and travels, the beginning of July saw the eyes of the surfing world focus on South Africa, as the African Leg of the ASP World Tour came to town and I was once again given the opportunity to represent South Africa on the international judging panel.

First up was the Mr Price Pro , this was a prime event, featuring the top 96, Once again Ballito delivered and gave us clean contestable waves and at the end of  7 days of surfing it was Irelands Glen “Micro” Hall who emerged victorious over the USA’s Nathaniel Curren.

The next day I was on a flight to P.E and off to judge the Billabong Pro J Bay, there was a lot of negativity about the event being downgrade to a 6 star as opposed to at WCT event like it had been in the past, It was however advantageous to the local surfers who are currently fighting it out to make the top 16.

Some of the Saffa standout were, Casey Grant , Matt Bromley and Dale Staples who finished off in 5^th, causing the upset of the event and eliminated Jon Jon Florence, the Hawaiian wonder kid.

Final day was run in dismal small and onshore surf but Brazil’s Adriano De Souza still managed to put together some beautiful surfing to take the win over Frenchman Joan Duru.

After J-Bay I had 2 weeks at home to get everything sorted for the trip of a life time......Bali for 3 weeks, since I was 15 it’s been a trip I’ve spent many hours, most of which were spent in classrooms and lecture theatres dreaming about.

Durban – Johannesburg – Hong Kong and finally Bali, after 30 odd hours of travelling there I was with 2 of my best friends in surfers paradise, all the videos I had watched, all the photo’s I had seen in the magazines where now waiting for me just outside those airport doors!

We got a taxi (might have been slightly ripped off hahah) straight to Kuta, where we stayed for 4 days which consisted of super fun surfs out at airport lefts, Mc Donalds free wifi and of course free flows at Sky Garden, we had a love hate relationship with that place haha!

From Kuta we ventured out onto the Bukit peninsula, we stayed in Bingin a beautiful sea side village, did I mention it was at the bottom of a cliff so we had to climb hundreds of stairs multiple times a day, whilst on the peninsula we surfed Uluwatu, Bingin and Dreamlands.

While we were out on the peninsula the Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang ran and we got to wate the event unfold, Saffa Dylan Lightfoot was one of the invited surfers, he got one insane backhand barrel for an 8.25 and needing a small score the sea went flat but even though he didn’t advance he defiantly stepped up and showed everyone he means business, after Dyl’s heat we got to sea surfing’s most inspirational individual, Bethany Hamilton, the first ever female invitee to this event, she didn’t disappoint as she advanced into the quarter finals.

After a week out on the peninsula we made our way back to Kuta and met up with 2 other Saffa mates of ours and we all booked a trip over to the island of Nusa Lembogan, just a 2 hour boat ride, What a rad island it was, partly because it was the first rights I got to surf during the trip, we spent 4 days on the island surfing, exploring, diving and checking out the local cuisine.

Once again we headed back to Kuta to round up the last week of the trip , we did plenty day trips to different surf spots, and scored some really fun rights at Canggu, night time was spent Sky Gardening, always seemed like a good idea at the time, haha ask us the next morning and you were likely to hear “oath im not going out tonight!” and true as bob back at Sky Garden we were at 9pm haha.

Sad to leave but happy to be going home we waved goodbye to a trip that will forever stand out in my mind.

Home on the Friday and back on the road the next Tuesday , this time to Cape St Francis to Head Judge the Billabong Pro Junior, fun waves, strong off shores a little rain and plenty sunshine, topped with the best junior surfers the country has to offer all made for a great weekend the event was a success and it was Davey Brand and Bianca Buitendag who walked away as the winners.

Next up was Cape town to learn how to present the ISA level 1 judges course.

I’ve been home for a little over a week now and in a few days time im off to Jefferey’s Bay to Head Judge the Hurley SA Junior Champs (I must have done a good job at the Billabong junior haha).

So an exciting few months have gone by, and I enjoyed every minute of it, still got a couple other trips in the pipeline between now and new years.

I truly am blessed and super grateful for all I have and all I’ve done.

Wade

Somewhere South

For all you MTB enthusiasts ,click the link and feast your eyes on a rad little down hill MTB clip Shot and Edited by Zayne Botha.
Share and Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywJcUq4W2i4

Warner Boyz Event 1 - Press Release

I've recently become interested in event journalism, having been involved in the surf scene for a few years this piece came easily, keen for the challenge of reporting on a sport I'm not so familiar with.

Anyway it was a great event and I'm excited to be the man behind such a great surf club that will hopefully elevate the local level of surfing.

SURF SERIES IS OFF TO AN EPIC START

Enjoy!

The 2012 Warner Boyz Surf Series got off to a great start on the weekend, contestants were greeted with 2 – 3 foot bowly rights and lefts, with sunshine, crystal clear water and not a breath of wind.

With great waves on offer high scores were being dropped left right and center, Koby Oberholzer, Matt Sills, Sam Christianson, Slater Ruddling Landon Kruger , Michelle Imeson , Nicole Pallet, ChanelleBotha, Klee Strachan , Wade Botha and Gary Van Wieregen were all quick out the starting blocks with strong performances in the earlier rounds.

As the tide drained, the shallow banks made for some tricky waves and those who managed to find the waves that could connect from the outside to the inside managed to advance into the finals.

First up were the Groms, with a strong charge from the Durban groms Koby Oberholzer knew he had his work cut out for him, and rose to the challenge dropping some high scores to emerge victorious, the talented Durban duo of Matt Sills and Sam Christianson took out 3^nd and 3^rd with new comer Jethrow Gray reaching his first ever final to finish 4^th.

The u/20 boys were not to be out done with a nerve wrecking to and fro battle between Mikey Venter and Landon Kruger, Venter got one back on Kruger after Kruger sent Venter to the repo in round 1, and Venter walked away with the win, young Koby Oberholzer and Slater Ruddling finished up 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

When the ladies hit the water it was called the “Michelle and the young guns show” as the three younger girls managed to out class the field to book their place in the final, however Imeson’s experience over the years showed as she picked the beast waves and comfortable took the win over Durban’s Nicole Pallet with Courtenay Ellish taking 3^rd ahead of Chanelle Botha.

The open mens division was run with man on man heats, after 3 rounds of surfing Gary Van Wieregen and Mickey Venter finished off tie third after being eliminated in the semi finals.

The evergreen Klee Strachan used his smooth powerful surfing to rack up a series of nice scores which ultimately saw him rise above Wade Botha in an action packed final.

HUGE thanks go out to Rona from Baggies Kiosk, Karin Mason, Chris Clarke, and of course Clear Water Spur for once again supplying the lunch for the contestants which is always a high light at our events!

See you in June for the next event!

Wade Botha

Meet The Olympian - Tiffany Kruger

Two years back we ran an athlete profile on South African Canoeing super star Tiffany Kruger, as she was selected as part of the Olympic Training squad, with the possibility of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympic Games, well two years later at the age of 24, its official Tiffany will be heading over to London to compete in the ladies K1 200m Sprint Kayak race.

I managed to catch up with Tiff this is what she had to say.

Hi Tiffany

 First of all a huge congratulations on this amazing achievement. Going to compete at the Olympics has to be one of the biggest honours any sportsman/woman can achieve, and only a very small percentage of the population ever achieve it so I’m sure you’ve been on cloud 9 these past couple weeks.

Tiff: Thank you, I do believe that competing at the Olympic Games is any sportsman’s ultimate dream and it is a huge accomplishment! I am super excited to have qualified and I’m very happy that my hard work and dedication has eventually paid off.

So obviously to get to the level that you are at is no easy task, it takes many hours of training on and off the water and all round dedication. From the time you were selected for the squad, did you have to make any major lifestyle changes?

Tiff: The training of a top level athlete is not easy and it becomes your life. I have made many changes since I was selected for the squad; I have based myself mostly in PMB to train with my coach Attila Adrovicz on a daily basis which is essential at this level. At this level your life becomes a cycle of eat sleep and train.

And now that you are officially part of the South African Olympic Team, I can imagine the training load has increased significantly, run us through a day in the life of Tiffany Kruger?

Tiff: yes, the training load is as intense as ever, but if you want to be the best you have to do whatever it takes. My daily training schedule varies from day to day, but usually includes about 3 sessions alternating between paddling, running and gym. Physiotherapy is also important so that is also included in my training schedule.

The 200m sprint, is a high intensity flat out race, do you have a strategy that you use? Do you think it’s a good start or a big finishing kick which makes the difference?

Tiff: Every Athlete has a strategy and it is important to know your race. My strategy is to focus on my own race, and race  my race how I have trained. In the 200m race I believe that both the start and the finish are vitally important as it is a short explosive powerful race and is easily lost by one mistake be it in the start or the finish.

Pietermaritzburg seems to be the powerhouse of canoeing in KZN and even South Africa, do you feel as though you were at any disadvantage coming from a small town like Amanzimtoti? And do you think you had to work harder to gain the recognition that some of the other paddlers from the higher profile paddling communities got?

Tiff: Amanzimtoti has some extremely talented athletes and no one is disadvantaged coming from there, it just depends how badly you want something and how hard you are prepared to work for it. Of course in higher profile paddling communities it is easier in the sense that more is provided financially and it is easier for athletes to travel and gain experience, although I am not saying that coming from a small town it is impossible I am saying that it will make you a better athlete in the long run because you have worked harder to reach your goals, and you did so because you were so passionate about your sport that your love for it kept you going, and that is very important.

Finally what advice do you have for aspiring local sportsmen/women that want to get to the same level as yourself in their respective sporting codes?

Tiff: Love what you do and don’t do it for anyone else but for yourself.  Always push yourself as hard as you can and when you think you have pushed yourself to the limit push a little harder.

Thanks Tiff, good luck for the Olympics, you’ve come this far against all odds so there is nothing stopping you from bringing that Gold medal home!

Tiff: Thank you so much for this opportunity and I hope to do you all proud.

Xxx

To follows Tiffany’s journey to the London Olympic Games follower her on twitter @Tiffany_Kruger

Wade Botha 

Sport Scientist

Warner Beach Surf Series Set to Kick off this Sunday!

Sunday 13th May will see the first event of the 2012 Surf series kick off at Baggies Beach, at a time where the contest calendar is empty and the remaining events are few and far between, we thought it was ideal to introduce the new system, where unfortunatly each event will not carry prizes as in the previous seasons, the up side how ever is we can grow the series form just 3 events to 5 events giving the local surfers more events on which they can hone their competitve skills, the finalist of each event will recieve certificates and the valuable ratings points which will count towards the top 4 in each division who will recieve prize money and prizes at the season final, the anual Warner Beach Open. 

Heading into this event we will see Warner Beach's next generation take to the water in the grom division wher Koby Oberholzer and Slater Rudling will go head to head for the overall series win and the title rights and to be crowned the King of the groms at Warner Beach.

 Mikey Venter will be looking to collect his 4th consectutive series win in the u/20 Boys division but will have his work cut out for him with local up and comer Chad Coullie. The pressure will be on these boys with the entry of Sarah Baum into the boys division and a strong contingent from the far south. 

After having it her own way for the last 2 years Chanelle Botha will have to be on her toes if she wants to keep her Girls series title, with a strong feild of girls taking to the water this year, including WQS surfer Sarah Baum, long time locals Michelle Imeson and Nicole anells as well as close friend Courtenay Ellish. 

The see saw battle will continue in 2012 between Klee Strachan and Warner Beach stalwart Gary Van Wieregen, the u/20 boys who will be surfing up a division wont let them have it all their own way however. 

The stage has been set for the 2012 Warner Boyz Surf Series now all there is to do is watch it all unfold over the next couple events to who will be crowned the Champions in the respective divisions!

Good Luck Team South Africa!!

The South African Junior Surf Team has touched down in Panama after 24 hours of travelling, they will make there way to Playa Venao where they will begin preparation to do battle with almost 300 of the worlds top u/18 surfers.

Team SA will take on NZ in the SANZ Challenge prior to the start of the DaKine ISA World Junior Champs which get under way on Saturday with the parade of nations in Pedasi and the surfing officially kicks off on Sunday and will run right through to the next Sunday.

show your support by logging on to the official event website : http://dakineisawjsc.com/ and the official SA Jnr Team website : http://www.surfingsouthafricateams.co.za , to veiw the teams progress as they battle for top honours and team gold!

BOKKE FOR THE GOLD!