South African Junior Surfing Champs

Surfing South Africa
Nahoon Reef East London
30 September - 4 October 2009

Durban team successfully defends Freedom Cup

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 5 October, 2009 : - - The strong, highly motivated Durban based KZN team successfully defended the Freedom Cup at the South African Junior Championships in perfect surf at Nahoon Reef in East London yesterday (Sunday October 4) when they beat 2007 champions and arch rivals Western Province by a mere 476 points.

Eastern Province came third, hosts Border were fourth, Boland finished fifth, KZN South were sixth, Southern Cape seventh and the South African Development Academy Team were eighth. The Durban team deservedly won the Team Spirit Trophy for their war cry, team spirit and support of each other throughout the championships.

Defending U18 champion and WP captain Matthew Bromley was outstanding throughout the event and earned his victory in the premier division final. His 13.5 points were good enough to beat Beyrick de Vries of KZN who scored 12.75 to finish second. Nick Godfrey of Eastern Province was third with 11.4 points and Devin Lane of KZN posted 6.25 to end fourth.

Host province Border had something to celebrate when Alice McGregor beat Kirsty Delport of KZN to take honours in the U18 Girls Final. Holly Armstrong of Western Province was third and Alice’s twin sister Laurie came fourth.

In the Under 16 Boys final David Van Zyl of KZN scored 14 points which meant that 2008 runner up Mikey February had to settle for second spot once again. Jean du Plessis of Border came third and fourth place went to Ruben Lammers of Southern Cape.

With an air ticket to the 2010 Rip Curl Junior International up for grabs, defending U16 Girls champion Bianca Buitendag of Eastern Province powered her way to victory over fellow national junior team member Sarah Baum of KZN. Cara MacDonald of Border was third and Sabrina Scott of Western Province came fourth.

Newly selected SA Junior team member Diran Zakarian of Boland posted the highest score of all the finals, a massive 17.75 in the U14 Boys division to take the title away from 2008 champion Slade Prestwich of KZN. Benji Brand and fellow WP surfer Nic Notten, who was named the Most Improved surfer at the championships, were third and fourth respectively.

In the U14 Girls Division last year’s runner up, Carryn MacNicol of KZN, went one better and took gold while 2008 U12 Girls champion Inge McLaren of Border was second ahead of Nina Woermann of Western Province and Nicole Pallett of KZN.

The U12 Boy’s final was one of the best heats of the contest as the four talented surfers gave it their all in the perfect 3-4 foot Nahoon Reef surf. In the end Matthew McGillivray of Eastern Province, who was fourth in this division last year, edged out Jordy Maree of Western Province to take gold while Steffen Burrows and Boland teammate Adin Masencamp had to settle for third and fourth respectively.

Jordy Maree was named Surfer of the Contest for his outstanding surfing in all of the heats he competed in. Plucky Chanelle Botha, who was fourth in this final in 2008, gave KZN South a title to take home when she beat Anoush Zakarian of Boland into second place in the Girls U12 division while Teal Hogg of KZN was third here just ahead of Kim van Greunen of Eastern Province.

The Sportsmanship trophy was awarded to Jarred Charlton of KZN South who went to the assistance of a teammate whose leash had broken during a heat. 

The five day annual South African Junior championships got under way in tough 6 foot surf on Wednesday and was put under pressure by onshore surf, rain and mist on the final day which forced the event to go on hold for two hours. Overall however, Nahoon Reef lived up to its reputation as one of South Africa’s best reef breaks and the 200 or so surfers who competed in the event will return to their provinces having surfed in some of the most challenging waves of their lives.

The event was first held in 1996 and is the most important contest for junior surfers in South Africa. It not only determines National Champions in the Under 18, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 boys and girls age divisions but also determines the winning provincial team each year.

FULL RESULTS

U18 BOYS
1. MATTHEW BROMLEY (WP)
2. BEYRICK DE VRIES (KZN)
3. NICK GODFREY (EP)
4. DEVIN LANE (KZN)

U18 GIRLS
1. ALICE MACGREGOR (BOR)
2. KIRSTY DELPORT (KZN)
3. HOLLY ARMSTRONG (WP)
4. LAURIE MACGREGOR (BOR)

U16 BOYS
1. DAVID VAN ZYL (KZN)
2. MICHAEL FEBRUARY (WP)
3. JEAN DU PLESSIS (BOR)
4. RUBEN LAMMERS (SCAPE)

U16 GIRLS
1. BIANCA BUITENDAG (S/CAPE)
2. SARAH BAUM (KZN)
2. CARA MACDONALD (BOR)
3. SABRINA SCOTT (WP)

U14 BOYS
1. DIRAN ZAKARIAN (BOL)
2. SLADE PRESTWICH (KZN)
3. BENJI BRAND (WP)
4. NIC NOTTEN (WP)

U14 GIRLS
1. CARRYN MACNICOL (KZN)
2. INGE MCLAREN (BOR)
3. NINA WOERMANN (WP)
4. NICOLE PALLET (KZN)

U12 BOYS
1. MATTHEW MCGILLIVRAY (EP)
2. JORDY MAREE (WP)
3. STEFFEN BURROWS (BOL)
4. ADIN MASENCAMP (BOL)

U12 GIRLS
1. CHANELLE BOTHA (SKZN)
2. ANOUSH ZAKARIAN (BOL)
3. TEAL HOGG (KZN)
4. KIM VAN GREUNEN (EP)

FREEDOM CUP
1. KZN  40,826
2. WESTERN PROVINCE 40,350
3. EASTERN PROVINCE 35,506
4. BORDER 31,662
5. BOLAND  30,482
6. KZN SOUTH 30,312
7. SOUTHERN CAPE 23,740
8. DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY TEAM 19,982

SURFER OF THE CONTEST
JORDY MAREE (WP)

MOST IMPROVED SURFER
NIC NOTTEN (WP)

SPORTSMANSHIP TROPHY
JARRED CHARLTON (KZN SOUTH)

TEAM SPIRIT AWARD
KWAZULU-NATAL

Surfing South Africa is recognised as the governing body for the sport by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is a member of the International Surfing Association (ISA).

www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

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Junior Contests - Surfersvillage