O’Neill Scottburgh Pro

Surfing South Africa
Scottburgh Beach KZN
29 - 30 March 2008

O’Neill Scottburgh Pro Gets Underway in Perfect Conditions

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 March, 2008 : - - The opening day of the O’Neill Scottburgh Pro, presented by Surfers Paradise, took place in near perfect 3-4 foot offshore conditions at Scottburgh’s main beach on Saturday 29 March.

This Surfing South Africa (SSA) Pro Surf Tour (PST) event runs from March 29-30, and includes men’s Grade 3A, Women’s Grade 1A and a men’s Pro Junior Grade 2A divisions with a total of R27 500 prize money on offer.

Chris Bertish, Brand Manager for O’Neill South Africa, said O’Neill were “excited to be hosting the second annual Scottburgh Pro”. This year’s event has been upgraded to include a pro junior division, a move which Bertish says has resulted “in some amazing surfing”.

Dylan Nel, the Event Director, was pleased with the “unreal surfing conditions, and the really good scores”. He also commented on the good support the event has enjoyed thus far, with “a nice turnout at the beach”. The point at Scottburgh’s main beach presented some classic long right handed waves, providing the first heats of the day, the men’s open division round of 40, with good quality and potentially high-scoring rides.

The round of 40 affords unseeded entrants an opportunity to progress into the round of 32, and surfers like Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh), David Weare (Durban), Klee Strachan (Winkelspruit) and Simon Nicholson (Durban) took full advantage. Weare posted the highest combined heat score of the round, achieving 16.5 out of a possible 20 points.

The men’s open division round of 32 was a predictably explosive affair, with a number of big names coming up against each other. The second heat was particularly tight, with a mere 0.65 points separating the top 3. Here, Ryan Bisset (Durban) and Gary van Wieringen (Warner Beach) progressed at the expense of Shaun Payne (Cape St Francis) and Shane Thorne (Bluff).

The fifth heat of the open men’s division round of 32 was undoubtedly the heat of the day, with Klee Strachan and Antonio Bortoletto (Durban) trading some high-scoring rides. Strachan posted the highest ride and heat score of the contest so far with a near-perfect 9.75, and a follow up ride of 7.0, for a heat total of 16.75.

Bortoletto was close behind with a heat total of 16.5. Scottburgh local and O’Neill team rider Quinton Shabalala was unlucky to get caught in the crossfire between Strachan and Bortoletto, and finished third in the heat despite a decent showing.

Scottburgh’s Kelvin Zehmke, an O’Neill team rider who Bertish identified as a title contender, has been going about his surfing without much fuss. He finished second in a tough heat, knocking out Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach) and Matt Bromley (Kommetjie) in the process.

His extensive knowledge of the local conditions have left him feeling very confident ahead of the final day of competition, although he did identify Klee Strachan as potential threat, saying that Strachan “has really been ripping, he’s surfing very well”.

The Pro Junior division kicked off with a trials round and the round of 24, with seeded competitors such as Klee Strachan, Shawn Dennis (Durban) and Casey Grant (Scottburgh), among others, having the advantage of progressing straight into the quarter-finals. At the time of going to press, Brendon Gibbens (Kommetjie) and young Scottburgh local Slade Prestwich had won their heats and secured pro junior quarter final places.

As an added incentive, the Zigzag Blowing Up Expression Session will award R1000 and a unique hand grenade trophy to the top surfer in this event which is scheduled for midday on Sunday. Beachgoers will be in for a treat as free ‘learn to surf’ clinics will be hosted by Point Surf Academy under the guidance of Scottburgh local and Surfing South Africa accredited coach Shaun Hague.

Ocean Minded have ensured that this event does not impact negatively on the beach environment by conducting a daily beach clean up at 1pm, with prizes for all involved. On Saturday night Phat Boyz will be hosting a party for all of the surfers and spectators.

Co-sponsors for the O’Neill Scottburgh Pro include Surfers Paradise Surf Stores, Wimpy Scottburgh, Phat Boyz, Ocean Minded and Nestle Pure Life Water. The event is organized by Nerve Events. 

Previous reports:
# 1 : South Africa's south coast to host O’Neill Scottburgh Pro
# 2 : O'Neill's Casey Grant fired up for O’Neill Scottburgh Pro..
# 3 : Surfers Paradise shops to co-sponsor O'Neill Scottburgh
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Rob Evans

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