Sunday – Day 1 - SUNCOAST Beach

2009 Champ Sacha Specker Launched any chance that he got

Women’s, Boys, Men’s, Masters, Grand Masters and Pro divisions all had a chance to surf today at SUN COAST Beach. With light winds and a fun swell pushing through on this beautiful spring day. Waves improved throughout the day, allowing the Pro division to show their stuff off at the end of the day.
Women’s division riders Niki Gericke (EP) and Suzie Vester (NKZN) fought it out in a closely contested heat, making the judges work for their money early on Sunday morning. Janice de Kock (WP) dominated in the next heat securing a solid maximum score of 300 points for her efforts.
Martin Otto was an early standout, with a solid outside wave. It was actually the first wave of the contest that the judges marked in the ‘Very Good’ category, scoring 7s and above.

Josh Kleve has been putting in a lot of time in the water and this could be seen in his riding as he destroyed the competition in his heat. The Southern KwaZulu Natal got off to a great start in the Men’s division with Rayner Venter and Jaryd Van Daalen securing 300 points each for their sides. Central KZN’s Peter Oberholzer did really well to win his heat, whilst George Wolfaard (Bol) and Jonathan Bernon (NKZN) took first place awards away from the rest of the riders in their respected heats.

Jared Houston Floating Roll

Winning their first round heats in the Boy’s division, Niklas Martin (EP), Michael Searle (EP), Wesley Coetzee (SKZN), Ethan Koopsmans (WP) and Warren du Preez (SKZN) made sure that everyone on the beach was confident in the up and coming generation of Boy’s riders. Everyone in South African Bodyboarding remembers how Alistair Taylor graduated through the ranks of Boy’s division to eventually become a world title contender and National Hero of the Sport.

Sick BackFlip

In the Grand Masters division Mike “MJ” van Huyssteen claimed that conditions pushed him to another level and it showed as he made short work of his adversaries collecting his 300 points.
The Pro Division was as explosive as ever, with Iain Campbell (CKZN) ramping into an invert and making sure of his backup wave. SA Champion 2009 Sacha Specker (WP) started consistently with some flowing bash reverses. Warren Canepa (EP) flipped out of the bowl and straight into another forward spin, leaving spectators in awe. As the South West really started to gust Michael Ostler (CKZN) put together some good combo’s to win his heat, as did Wesley Fischer (CKZN). Stef Coetzee (NKZN) threw down a big back flip as his heat drew to a close, making the Totalizes job more difficult by bringing the placements on a knife’s edge. The final pro heat of the day was a slugfest that would have impressed everyone on the beach that had managed not to blow away in the gusts that was stripping the beach. Derek Footit (SKZN) and Mark McCarthy (NKZN) both had two high scoring rides with back-ups , but McCarthy managed to edge out Footit and claim his first SA Champs Pro round one win in a couple of years. Mark knows when to peak though as he has made the finals of SA Champs 2008 and 2009, he won in 2008 and placed 3rd in 2009.

Big City Life - Awesome Day at SUN COAST Beach

Everyone packed up and rushed out of the wind into the safety of the bustling Sun Coast Casino and Entertainment World. The event will kick off at 08:00am tomorrow morning at SUN COAST Beach; SABA would like to thank the sponsors for their support today. The 2010 SA Championships have been sponsored by the EThekwini Municipality, Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World, Nando’s, Gotcha, Turbo Bodyboards and Power Balance

SA Champs 2010 Development Clinic

Just before lunch on Sunday the waters of SUN COAST Beach were greeted by the first of the development clinics to be held at this years South African Bodyboarding Championships. The scene was set, the sun burning down and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean on this amazing spring day made it easy to convince the kids to enter the water. In addition to this, South Africa’s best Bodyboarders offered their assistance to the stoked kids on the beach. Among the Professional riders was South African celebrity and local icon Sihle Xaba from "The Bay of Plenty", who devoted his time to making sure that all the children left the water with grins from ear to ear. (Mission complete Sihle - Well done)

After they were finished in the water they were able to enjoy the competition in the water with snacks and drinks that Sun Coast Casino and Entertainment World had provided.

The South African Bodyboarding Community present at SUN COAST Beach looks forward to having the kids back again during the week as the event continues throughout the week. For the best Bodyboarding action in the country Please make sure you come and join the action down at SUN COAST Beach.

Down goes the Gauntlet!!!

Six Provincial Teams, officials and supporters gathered in the Delano Room at Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World. The event schedule, competition rules and procedures were all explained to the eager crowd.
At a glance everyone appeared friendly enough, but a closer look clarified that there was a lot of ‘sizing up’ of the competition going on in that room. The gauntlet was thrown down to the provinces, inviting them to relieve Central KwaZulu Natal of the trophy that they have ‘owned’ for 21 years. The “Fishman” Trophy is up for grabs for the team with the most points at the end of the event. With all the teams looking hungrier than ever it is going to be a tough fight, but this will ensure that the competitors lay it all on the line for their teams during their heats.

After the briefing everyone trooped off to support Mark McCarthy and Mike van Huyssteen as they were interviewed on East Coast Radio. Mark and MJ pulled off a confident performance in front of the microphone.

The competition is set to get underway at 8am on Sunday morning at SUN COAST Beach. I would suggest to the competitors that they should get there earlier to check the conditions and possibly get a surf in before their heats and the start of the event.

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!

SA NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS

The South African Bodyboarding Association (SABA) has set the 25th September as the date for selection of the 2010 SA team. The team is set to take part in the ISA World Bodyboard Games in the Canary Islands later this year.
All participating world teams will be made up of two Pro division riders, a top Woman, two Junior division riders and a rider from the Dropknee division.

Invitees include World Tour competitor Mark McCarthy, recently back from the European leg of the International Bodyboarding Association (IBA) Tour, Darren Halse, who dominated the SABA Tour in 2010, and South African celeb Sihle Xaba from the popular TV show Bay of Plenty. The chosen team will be heading to the Island of Gran Canaria in the Canaries in mid December this year.

The trails will be run in Durban as the participants will already be in town gearing up for the South African Bodyboarding Championships at Sun Coast Casino at the end of the month. Below is a list of the SA National Team Trial invitees

PRO
1. Darren Halse - SKZN
2. Mark McCarthy - NKZN
3. Ian Kruger - WP
4. Terence Pieters - SKZN
5. Wesley Fischer - CKZN
6. Adam Morley - SC
7. Temwani Nyasulu - CKZN
8. Jake Rosenburg - CKZN
9. Sixhle Xaba - CKZN

Juniors
1. Storm Prestwich - SKZN
2. Andrew Raath - WP
3. Niklaus Martin - EP
4. Stephen Du Preez - CKZN
5. Roger Pardoe - WP
6. Adam Waites - CKZN
7. Sebastian Koopmans - WP
8. Matthew Lombard - BOL
9. Nkosinathi Shandu - CKZN

Ladies
1. Nicki Gericke - EP
2. Janneke de Kok - WP
3. Natasha van Niekerk - SKZN
4. Suzie Verster - WP

DropKnee
1. Darren Halse - SKZN
2. Aden Kleve - WP
3. Iain Campbell - CKZN
4. Matthew Webster - BOL
5. Joshua Kleve - WP
6. Stuart Bradford - CKZN
7. Reinhardt du Toit - NKZN
8. Sacha Specker - WP
9. Derek Footit - SKZN

                           
                                              Mark McCarthy from Neels on Vimeo.