South African Championships 2010

This year marks the 24th annual South African Bodyboarding Championships which will be held at Sun Coast Beach in Durban from the 26th of September to the 1st of October. The event has been endorsed by the eThekwini Municipality, Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World, Nando’s, Gotcha, Turbo Bodyboards and Power Balance

Competitors and spectators alike can expect to enjoy some great bodyboarding action on the shallow banks off Durban. The organisers are hopeful that the combination of the consistent Durban sand banks and some of the best Bodyboarders in the world will produce jaw dropping action that spectators can enjoy from the comfort of the SUN COAST beach.

The South African Championships has always been the event of the year that every rider wants to win. Teams from around the country are hungrier than ever to win that team trophy known as the ‘Fishman’. The Central Kwa-Zulu Natal team has won the national trophy 21 out of 23 times; this means that to secure the ‘Fishman’ this year the traveling provinces are going to have to beat them at their home grounds.
The event has already been stated by many as the ‘one to win’.
“To win SA Champs in Durban ‘the birthplace’ of South African Bodyboarding…now that’s what I wanna do!” Mark McCarthy (Professional Bodyboarder, IBA Tour Contender and Richards Bay South African Champs 2008 winner).
Other International competitors such as Jared Houston (currently ranked 6th in the world), Sacha Specker, Charles Pass and Michael Ostler will be trying to take home this year’s title and the purse.

Contestants will be sent out into the water on the 26th of September to surf 18 to 20 minute heats against one another with two of their wave rides counting. Each division will compete in a minimum of two heats, with the top sixteen qualifying for the final rounds in the competition. Points earned from riders finishing placements in their division will be added together and accredited to their teams to determine the provincial team standings. On Friday the 1st of October the 2010 South African Champions will be announced as well as the winning Province. The question is “Will the Fishman Stay in its home of 21 years or will there be an upset?”

The South African Bodyboarding Championship event has come a long way since its inception in 1987 at ‘Super tubes’ in Jeffrey’s Bay.
Back in those days contestants performed very similar moves to those of Surfing, cutbacks, floaters and possibly even a ‘360° belly-spin’. Nowadays, competing in a Bodyboarding event means swift aerial manoeuvres with powerful landings. This sport has lead the way in terms of board-sport manoeuvres and as Bodyboarders begin to include jet-ski tow-outs into their bag of tricks the sky is quite literally ‘the limit’.

As this event has been set during the September school holidays we would like to urge you to come and join us on the at SUNCOAST Beach from Sunday the 26th of September to Friday the 1st of October, anytime from 08:00 to 16:00.

Mark McCarthy - Follow your Boetie
Jared Houston - Jared Houston Blog
Sacha Specker - The Spex.com 

Check out Sixty40 for constant updates during the event!