Baggies Surf Pro

3A rated ASP Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST) Pro Men and Pro Women event
Warner Beach, KZN Upper South Coast – South Africa
March 17, 18 & 19, 2006  

Fahrenfort Sets the Pace at Baggies Surf Pro; Shark Sighting Interrupts Event

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 17 March, 2006 : - - Damien Fahrenfort (Morningside) set the pace on day one of the Baggies Surf Pro held at Amanzimtoti’s Warner Beach in glassy one metre waves. The 3A rated ASP Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST) event is the first contest on the 2006 pro surfing calendar as well as being the first pro contest ever to take place at Amanzimtoti. 

All eyes were not only on the surfing action, the ocean was buzzing with marine life; some competitors were treated to a visit from a school of dolphins while surfers in the penultimate heat of the day were less fortunate when a shark sighting put their showdown on hold for twenty minutes. 

Fahrenfort was the undisputed standout winning both of his heats and scoring two of the day’s highest heat totals. In the first round the lanky surfer posted 16.33 out of a possible 20 points defeating Umhlanga hot shot Grant Lazarus, local surfer Ryan Klynsmith (Winklespruit) and Casey Grant (Durban). 

In the first heat of the day Stanley Badger (St Francis) picked a great right breaking wave which he annihilated with three flowing, tight, power turns at high speed. Badger’s performance pleased the judges and earned him the highest single wave score of 8.83 out of a possible ten points. The out of town surfer advanced with newcomer Lance Morris (Berea) eliminating one of the local favourites Clinton Cross (Warner Beach). 

“Irrespective of the overcast weather the spectator turnout was excellent and the action in the water didn’t disappoint. We saw some great rides from surfers like Damien Fahrenfort and Stanley Badger. With the top seeds coming out tomorrow things can only get better,” said Baggies Surf Pro Event Organiser Frank Horn. 

The cool weather did not deter the eager pupils from Siyabonga Secondary School who were extremely enthusiastic about learning to surf in the 31 Degrees East Development Clinic. The 15 youngsters were taught by top pro women’s surfer Sarah Johnston-Maritz (Warner Beach) who was assisted by other well known surfers Penny Robarts (Somerset West) and Cyril Mquadi (Hibberdene). Each one of the scholars left the beach keen to pursue their newfound passion. 

“It was very rewarding, I was so shocked, I did not expect them to be that good. Some of them caught waves all the way to the beach. They really enjoyed it and all of them wanted to come back again tomorrow, then again on Sunday and the next weekend - they are completely hooked on surfing,” commented Johnston-Maritz. 

Lwandile Majola, Kwanda Mkhize and Magugu Ndwandwe were identified as three of the most talented youngsters and were awarded ten free surfing lessons each with Warner Beach surf star Sarah Johnston-Maritz. 

“I am absolutely elated. The reaction from the development surfers was amazing. Although we initially decided that two surfers would be selected for the ten-session training course we had to increase it to three because of the amount of talent on display,” said development clinic sponsor Frank Horn from 31 Degrees East. 

Today (Saturday) sees the introduction of the big guns in the pro men’s event when the nation’s top five surfers enter the fray. 2005 ASP Africa champion Shane Thorne (Bluff) is the top seed ahead of Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh), local super star Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach), Matthew Kruger (Queensburgh) and Simon Nicholson (Berea).  

The first round of the pro women’s tournament takes place at midday with the event wrapping up at 17h00. 

Amanzimtoti is situated on the Strelitzia coast and boasts two world class beach breaks next door to each other at Warner Beach; depending on the wind and swell direction event organisers will utilise the best spot on each of the three days. The bustling upper south coast town of Amanzimtoti is a breeding ground for top surfers.

For more information on Amanzimtoti please visit www.amanzimtoti.info and to find out more about the city of Durban, South Africa’s playground go to www.durbansouthafrica.co.za   

“I would really like to thank the eThekwini officials from our region who acted on their own initiative by repairing roads, cleaning up the verges; they prepared the beach beautifully for our event,” said Horn. 

The Baggies Surf Pro was made possible by Durban Africa, Ferox Investments - the developers of the Blue Bay Winkelspruit shopping complex, South Coast Motors, Sandcastle Guesthouse and the eThekwini Municipality.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Amanzimtoti proudly hosts Baggies Surf Pro PST event
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Olivia Jones Communications
olivia@atomgate.com

Frank Horn
Baggies Surf Pro Event Organiser
frank@amanzimtoti.info

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