2A Rated Hutchison Handcrasted Pro

Pro Surfing Tour/Surfing South Africa
Balito, KZN North Coast South Africa
15 - 17 December 2006

BOTCHER, SMITH & SMITH WIN HUTCHISON HANDCRAFTED PRO. WARWICK WRIGHT  WINS PST.

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 17 December, 2006 : - - Durban’s Lyle Botcher claimed the Open Men’s division title at the  Hutchison Handcrafted Pro  held at Surfer’s Point Ballito. Botcher,  who lay in second place behind Gavin Roberts (Scott) for most of the  final, snuck into first place in the dying minutes when he caught a  shore break wave that allowed him to cram a handful of lightening  fast manoeuvres before the wave rolled onto the sand.

“I was kind of lucky at the end there because I still needed a good  wave,” said Botcher after the prize giving ceremony, “Luckily I  caught that small wave with less than two minutes to go and did as  much as I could right onto the sand.”

Botcher pocketed R4000 for his efforts as well as a hand-carved  trophy for his victory. Finishing in second was Scottburgh’s Gavin  Roberts with Shane Warren (Bluff) and Warwick Wright (DBN) finishing  in third and fourth respectively. Wright’s fourth place finish sealed an emphatic victory in the 2006  ASP Africa Professional Surf Tour rankings. The victory, his first,  was a hard fought one and a just reward after an exceptional 2006  season.

“I’m stoked to be the ASP Africa champ,” said Wright, “it’ll give me  a lot of confidence for next year as well as giving me a wildcard  into the two biggest events.”  Wrights victory was a major leap for him on the Professional Surf  Tour as he has struggled in the past few years to make any headway in  the highly competitive circuit.

“Before this year, I’ve never even made the top 14 on the PST before,  and its great to have your name up there with all the other South  African surfing legends.” Wright, who had the title all but sealed at the halfway stage of the  tour, was made to work hard for his win after a strong late charge  from the likes of Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach) Ricky Basnett  (Bluff) and Jordy Smith (DBN).

Smith, who was on fire throughout the event, finished in the top spot  of the highly competitive Pro Junior Division after he demolished his  opposition in the final. Smith’s mixture of style and power saw him  record one of the highest heat scores of the event to leave his  competitors needing a combination of scores to topple him from the  top spot.

Smith, who has had a breakthrough year on both the local and  international surf scenes, added to his impressive list of  accomplishments, which include a victory at the ISA World Surfing  Games, by comfortably winning the PST Pro Junior ratings race. Smith’s closest competitor, Klee Strachan (Warner Beach), finished in  second place ahead of the winner of Zigzag’s Blowing Up Award, Shawn  Dennis (DBN).

Dennis was awarded the prestigious hand grenade trophy and a thousand  bucks for his excellent performance throughout the event, which saw  him reach the quarter finals of the Open Men’s Division as well as a  well earned third spot in the Pro Juniors.

In the Women’s Division, local girl Tammy-Lee Smith (Salt Rock), used  her knowledge of her home break to take the top honours. Smith, who  lives in Salt Rock, looked at home in her back garden as she managed  to link up some high scoring rides from the backline through to the  shore break.

Finishing in second place was East London’s Nikita Robb, followed by  Nicole Annells (DBN) and Danielle LeRoux (DBN) in fourth position. The winner of the Retro Expression Session was Lee Bisset (DBN) who  displayed style and grace on his Hutchison Handcrafted twin-fin  rocket. Bisset was rewarded R1000 for his efforts as well as a  weekend away for four at the Cane Cutters Resort.

Final Results:

Men’s Open.
1. Lyle Botcher. (DBN)
2. Gavin Roberts. (Scott)
3. Shane Warren. (Bluff)
4. Warwick Wright. (DBN)

Pro Junior.
1. Jordan Smith. (DBN)
2. Klee Strachan. (WNR)
3. Shawn Dennis. (DBN)
4. Brandon Roberts. (CT)

Women’s.
1. Tammy-Lee Smith. (Salt Rock)
2. Nikita Robb. (EL)
3. Nicole Annells. (DBN)
4. Danielle LeRoux. (DBN)

A big thank you to everyone who made the event possible and to  Nando’s for supplying lunches to judges and officials. The Hutchison Handcrafted Pro is the final stop of the 2006  Professional Surf Tour (PST) and is a Surfing South Africa (SSA)  sanctioned event. The Hutchison Handcrafted Pro is proudly supported by: Bedboys  Ballito, Furnishings by Conrad, Friendly Supermarket, Sailors Bottle  Store, Dream Nails, U Investing in Health, Secret Spot. The revamped SubZero nightclub is the official party host for the event.

Previous reports:
# 1 : 2A rated Hutchison Handcrafted Pro amps for Balito SA
# 2 : Hutchison Handcrafted Pro lands in Balito South Africa
# 3 : Top seeds dominate Hutchison Handcrafted Pro day 1
# 4 : Coming soon  

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www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za 

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Brendon Thomas

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