2006 Reef Wetsuits SA Grommet Games
presented by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism

Supported by LOTTO
The Pipe, Pollock Beach Port Elizabeth
13 - 16 April 2006

2006 Reef Wetsuits SA Grommet Surfing Games a celebration for budding surf stars

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 21 April, 2006 : - - The 2006 Reef Wetsuits SA Grommet Games, presented by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and supported by funding from the National Lottery, was completed at the Pipe, Pollock Beach in Port Elizabeth Sunday (April 16) and celebrated its 14th year in style.

close on 200 girls and boys from eight provinces took part in the tournament which is Surfing South Africa's most significant and important entry level interprovincial competition.

Reef Wetsuits, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and Lotto all contributed to the success of the event which is one of the highlights of the annual Splash Festival held in the Friendly City every Easter.

This years contest was held in good surf and troublesome weather which did not dampen the spirits of the participants who ranged in ages from Under 8 to under 16.

Surfers came from all parts of the coastline to compete in the event, from the rural villages of Southern KZN and the Northern KZN , the Border region, Cape St Francis, Jeffrey’s Bay, Port Alfred, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel  Bay, Strandfontein, Macasser  and of course Port Elizabeth itself.

The SA Grommet Games is all about transformation within the sport and teams attending are set strict criteria when it comes to selecting their representatives. While much of the focus during the four day tournament is on surfing, the Games includes participation in events such as a paddle battle, flags and tag team competition with the most participative and successful team winning the Fair Play Trophy at the tournament.

After winning this accolade outright in 2003 and 2004 and sharing with neighbours WP in 2005 Boland were back on top again this year when they were awarded the trophy at the award ceremony. In the individual categories the results were equally divided among the participating teams.

James Maddock of KZN won the Under 16 Boys title and Alex Morris of WP won the Under 16 Girls final while the Under 14 Boys and Girls crowns went the way of Papi Makanya of WP and Cara Mac Donald of Border respectively.

Daniel Jeggels of EP won the Under 12 Boys division and Jenna von der Au won the gold medal in the Under 12 girls division while Daniel Klynsmith of KZN won the Under 10 division.

Jordan Maree of WP earned the honour as the youngest champion at the event when he became the Under 8 champion. The Surfer of the Contest Trophy was awarded to James Maddock.

Team honours for the Surfing Award, which is determined by an aggregate of scores, went to Eastern Province with WP second and KZN third. Southern KZN were fourth, Boland came fifth, Border were sixth, Southern Cape seventh and Zululand, the youngest but most spirited team at the event, were eighth.

Eastern Province took the Tag Team title ahead of Boland, KZN were third and WP came fourth. In the Boys Flags race Chris Collins of EP took gold. Nicholas Green of Southern Cape was the runner up, Ashton Noble of EP came third and Bongeni Hlengwa of Southern KZN came fourth.Muminah Connelly of EP won the Girls Flags with Sasha Gibbs of Southern KZN second. Boland girls Roche Lourens and Tammy Wynand were third and fourth respectively.

Wesley Sherman of EP won the exhausting Paddle Battle, Grant Arendse of WP was second, Bongeni Hlengwa of Southern KZN came third and Cameron Mc Kenzie of KZN took fourth spot.Suthu Makiwane of KZN and Monique Terblanche were named as the best judges at the tournament. 

FULL RESULTS : 2006 REEF WETSUITS SA GROMMET SURFING GAMES        

U16 BOYS
1. JAMES MADDOCK - KZN
2. TIM MACDONALD - BOR
3. CAMERON MACKENZIE -  KZN
4. JONATHAN BARENDSE - EP

U16 GIRLS
1. ALEX MORRIS - WP
2. KIRSTY DELPORT - KZN
3. MEECA GORDON - KZN
4. KIM BOTHA - BOLAND 

U 14 BOYS
1. PAPI MAKANYA - WP
2. ROWAN HOWSE - KZN
3. KHAYELIHLE NGCOBO - SKZN
4. WESLEY SHERMAN - EP 

U14 GIRLS
1. CARA MACDONALD - BOR
2. ROCHE LOURENS - BOL
3. JENNA SINCLAIR - SKZN
4. RASHIA SMITH - WP 

U12 BOYS
1, DANIEL JEGGELS - EP
2. BENJAMIN DE CASTRO - WP
3. ALEX JORDAAN - KZN
4. DENHAM PREEN - WP 

U12 GIRLS
1. JENNA VON DER AU - SCAPE
2. EMMA SMITH - BOR
3. NATASHA BERNSTEIN - WP
4. TESS SAUNDERS - SCAPE
5. ANNIE DE VRIES - KZN 

Under 10
1. DANIEL KLYNSMITH - KZN
2. CAMERON PERREIRA - SKZN
3. ROBERT TWEEDLE - WP
4. SIMO MKHIZE - SKZN 

Under 8
1. JORDAN MAREE - WP
2. DAVID CARTER - BOR
3. MILAN VAN RHYN - BOL
4. SHUMEEZ SALIE - EP 

FAIR PLAY TROPHY - BEST TEAM

BOLAND 

SURFING TEAM RESULT
1. EASTERN PROVINCE
2. WESTERN PROVINCE
3. KZN
4. SOUTHERN KZN
5. BOLAND
6. BORDER
7. S/CAPE
8. ZULULAND 

TAG TEAM RESULT
1. EP
2. BOLAND
3. KZN
4. WP 

SURFER OF THE CONTEST
JAMES MADDOCK - KZN 

BOYS FLAGS
1. CHRIS COLLINS - EP
2. NICHOLAS GREEN - S/CAPE
3. ASHTON NOBLE - EP
4. BONGENI HLENGWA - SKZN

GIRLS FLAGS
1. MUMINAH CONNELLY - EP
2. SASHA GIBBS - SKZN
3. ROCHE LOURENS - BOL
4. TAMMY WYNAND - BOL 

PADDLE BATTLE
1. WESLEY SHERMAN - EP
2. GRANT ARENDSE - WP
3. BONGENI HLENGWA - SKZN
4. CAMERON MCKENZIE - KZN

More African Surfing News available here
Check the latest Africa Surf Reports and Forcasts

New! Get the latest news with Surfersvillage News-Alerts

Robin de Kock

Groms - Surfersvillage