KwaZulu Natal Longboard Surfing Association New Pier, Durban, S Afr. 17 - 22 April 2006
GRIM WEATHER, GREAT WAVES, PERFECT SCORES AND A BIG SHARK.
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 April, 2006 : - - Day 2 of the Jeep/Suncoast S.A. Longboard Surfing Championships enjoys everything that Mother Nature has to offer. Inclement weather and even the arrival of a large shark into the line- up at Durban’s New Pier was not enough to keep competitors from making full use of the flawless 3-4 ft (1-1.5 meter) waves on offer on day two of the 2006 Jeep/Suncoast S.A. Longboarding Championships.
Competition was halted briefly at around 12:50p.m. when a Black-Tip shark, estimated at around 6ft (3 meters), gingerly swam through the line-up and sent the competitors scuttling for the shore. Competition was immediately suspended as was bathing along parts of the Durban beachfront, but 20 minutes later, once organisers were confident that the shark was not a threat to the competitors, a nervous group of longboarders made their way back into the line-up to complete the second Grandmasters heat of Round one.
The Durban duo of Brendon Callaghan and Andrew MacDonald showed no sign of being rattled by the shark’s presence and quickly occupied the top two positions in the effected heat. Both advanced through to the semi finals along Craig Daniel (KZN) and Julian Pringle (WP).
From that point on things really began to light up when, in the next heat, KZN’s Gary Jeeves posted the first perfect score of the entire event after riding a clean 4ft wave the entire length of the beach. The bar had been set, but was once again lifted when current South African Men’s Open champion, Matthew Moir, arrived on centre stage.
Moir, a multiple South African Champion, once again showed is supremacy of South African longboarding when, in the first of the Men’s Open heats, he blitzed his way down the long walls being served up by Durban’s New Pier. Blending together a mixture of new-school progression and classic elegance, Moir rode a perfect New Pier wave, well... to perfection. He was awarded the second 10 point ride of the event and in effect laid down the gauntlet to the other competitors in the Open Men’s division.
Earlier in the day, KZN dominated the Super Veteran division with Dave Lee, Robin Head, Mike Walker, and current South African Champion, Hugh Thompson all advancing to the semi finals. Donald Paarman was the only non-KwaZulu Natalian to advance to the semi-finals.
In the Women’s Division Simone Robb (WP), Lisa Smith (KZN) and Roxy Towill (WP) all won their heats and advanced comfortably into the semi's. In the Senior Women’s division Bernie Shelley (WP) won her heat and Lisa Smith made it a double by reaching the semi finals of both the Women’s and Senior Women’s divisions.
The expression session, late in the day, also saw some exceptional performances from the likes of Jason Ribbink, Matt Moir and Ross Lahana.
The 2006 Jeep/Suncoast S.A. Longboard Championships is the largest longboarding competition ever to be held on South African shores and the superb longboarding exhibited thus far by the 200+ competitors in excellent conditions, has dwarfed even the enormity of the event itself.
Wednesday will see the losers of Round 1 get a second chance at the ultimate accolade in South African longboarding when they compete in the repocharge round. A win in this round of the event will mean that the victors will join the longboarders who advanced through the first round of competition in the knock-out stage of the event.
The 2006 South African Longboard surfing championships are proudly sponsored by Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World and Jeep Clothing and Accessories. The supporting sponsors are Fosters, Aquellé, Hurricane, Island Tribe, Mad Buzz energy drink, Marshall Surfboards, Steffanuti and Bressan (scaffolding) and 3663.
For more information on the 2006 South African Longboard Championships sponsored by Jeep and Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World, please visit the South African Longboard Surfing Association website: http://www.salsa.co.za.
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The Durban duo of Brendon Callaghan and Andrew MacDonald showed no sign of being rattled by the shark’s presence and quickly occupied the top two positions in the effected heat. Both advanced through to the semi finals along Craig Daniel (KZN) and Julian Pringle (WP).
In the Women’s Division Simone Robb (WP), Lisa Smith (KZN) and Roxy Towill (WP) all won their heats and advanced comfortably into the semi's. In the Senior Women’s division Bernie Shelley (WP) won her heat and Lisa Smith made it a double by reaching the semi finals of both the Women’s and Senior Women’s divisions.
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