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!

Meet the 2012 South African Junior Surfing Team!

The following 12 individuals have been selected to represent South Africa at the 2012 ISA DaKine World Junior Surfing Championships, which will be held in in Panama at the break of Playa Venao, from the 14 - 22 April.

Joshua Smit of Amanzimtoti , will be the top seed in the u/18 boys , after winning the 2011 u/17 Boys title at the Hurley SA Championships and earning his first cap, he will be joined by emerging south coast talent Slade Prestwich who will be representing SA at this event for the third time, as will focused Jefferey's Bay local Dylan Lightfoot, and Warner Beach's Mikey Venter will be rounding off the u/18 boys team, earning his first cap.

Sarah Baum, also of Amanzimtoti , will lead the u/18 Girls, earning her outstanding 5th cap, and will be going all out for the u/18 girls world title after finishing 3rd in 2010. Emma Smith of Jefferey's Bay will be earning her second cap, and will be looking to put on a strong performance. Chanelle Botha of Warner Beach , one of the youngest team members will earn her first cap as will the rising star Nicole Pallet of Durban.

Scarbourgh's Max Armstrong is the 1st seed in the 16 Boys, he too earned his spot by winning the 2011 Hurley SA Champs, Benji Brand of Kommetjie will earn his 2nd cap and will be looking to put his recent injury behind him and will be looking for a podium finish, Eastern Province youngster Matthew Mcgillivray and Bolands Steffan Burrows will both be earning their first caps and will be looking to show the rest of the world what they've got.

The 12 person team is made up of 7 new caps, however all the surfers have been hard at work to make sure they are prepared and ready to compete at their peak, and with coaches like llewellyn Whittaker and Quinton Jones, and with Isaac February, you can rest assured that our surfers are in the best hands.

I've personally watched all these surfers come up through the ranks, judging them at numerous national events, All these surfers are very deserving of there slots in the team, and it was no easy task for them to get to where they are.

The team put on a great performance at the SA vs Reunion Island Challenge held two weeks ago in Durban, this was part of their preparation for worlds, Team SA took out the win in all 3 divisions, and managed to net 7 medals , 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze.

So with just 25 days to go, its safe to say they are looking good.

To keep up to date with the teams progress or to read the teams blog so far clich the following link http://www.surfingsouthafricateams.co.za

Wade Botha

Bachelor of Sport Science HONS Exercise science UKZN 2010

International Surf Judge