Volcom Rhinofish

Volcom Qualifying Series
Dairy Beach, Durban South Africa
22 October 2006

Antonio Bortoletto Wins Volcom's Rhinofish Event in South Africa

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 October, 2006 : - - Durban, South Africa: The second event of Volcom’s immensely popular "Totally Crustaceous Tour" surf series came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday in excellent surf at Durban’s Diary Beach. Taking the top honours in the Men’s Open division was Durban local and current World Qualifying Series campaigner, Antonio Bortoletto, who out-surfed Shane Warren from the Bluff into second place.

Durban’s Dane Logie placed third, while current South Africa VQS champion, Warwick Wright struggled to find high scoring waves during the high-tide affected final. He will however, have a chance to retain his title and exact some revenge thanks to his fourth place finish, which allows him automatic entry into the VQS* Finals to be held in March of next year.

But the event, named Rhinofish, belonged to Bortoletto, who streaked through the early rounds, using his local knowledge of the break to his distinct advantage. Even when the tide pushed in for the final heats making high scoring waves difficult to find, Bortoletto’s wave selection and smooth surfing were a sublime combination and he comfortably took the win despite a strong late charge from Shane Warren and Dane Logie.

The Women’s division was a tight tussle between the powerhouses of the local surf scene. Eventually it was Durban’s Tamrys de Maroussem who took the win from Sarah Maritz. Nicole Annels placed third in front of Sarah Baum.

Durban’s Chad du Toit once again showed his prowess in the Junior Division when he comfortably overcame Chris Leppan, Kyle Beach and Klee Strachan. The difficult inside section was no match from the lightfooted Juniors who made the most of every wave ridden.

The Grom division was won by Ryan Klynsmith, who narrowly overcame Umhlanga’s Beyrick de Vries. In third place was David van Zyl followed by Devon Lane in fourth place.

In keeping with Volcom’s ideal of “letting the kids ride free” there was no entry fee charged for the event. Based entirely on a first come first served basis, competitors were treated to free lunch from Debonairs Pizza on both days of the event, as well as free Redbull to keep the energy levels at their highest.

That energy was put to use by some overeager competitors as they took to the water on inflatable rafts and tried to negotiate the thumping shore break in between heats. They were, however, able to make it to the beach for the product giveaways that took place throughout the weekend.

All the finalists of this weekend’s event as well as the finalists of the other two regional qualifiers will be invited to return to Dairy Beach during March of next year to compete in the South African VQS* finals. Only then will an overall champion be crowned and awarded a free trip to the U.S.A to compete in the VQS* World Championships to be held at California’s Newport Beach.

The South African leg of Volcom’s Totally Crustaceous Tour boasts over R40 000 worth of prize money, as well as product giveaways from DVS Shoe Company and Redbull. Volcom’s Totally Crustaceous Tour is a Surfing South Africa (SSA) sanctioned event.

Final Results:

Men’s Open:
1. Antonio Bortoletto.
2. Shane Warren.
3. Dane Logie.
4. Warwick Wright.

Women:
1. Tamrys de Maroussem.
2. Sarah Maritz.
3. Nicole Annels.
4. Sarah Baum.

Juniors:
1. Chad DuToit.
2. Chris Leppan.
3. Kyle Beach.
4. Klee Strachan.

Groms:
1. Ryan Klynsmith.
2. Beyrick de Vries.
3. David van Zyl.
4. Devon Lane.

www.volcom.com

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Brendon Thomas

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