2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic

SSA 3A Men's & 2A Women's Event
Cape Peninsula South Africa
23 - 26 August 2007

2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic hits Soetwater on Friday

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 August, 2007 : - - Another day of challenging surf as competitors in the 2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic get a dose of the "Five" on Day Two. At the opening function on Wednesday night surfers competing in the 2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic were guaranteed that this event would take place in hard core Cape Peninsula surf and after the Day One Outer Kom this guarantee was met with a vengeance.

Day Two would be a hard act to follow but there was nothing to worry about and the momentum was maintained as the contest moved around the corner from the Kommetjie lighthouse to 365, another challenging Peninsula surf spot situated in the Soetwater Reserve which pumped out 6 foot serious surf from mid morning until late afternoon..

Things did not get going until midday however as organisers and contest officials waited for optimum conditions but once the go ahead was given and the first siren sounded the Women contestants got a chance to show that they could take on the most imposing of conditions and prove their worth.

Prove it they certainly did with former World Championship Tour campaigner and South Africa's "Queen" of surfing, Heather Clark setting the standard with some fine surfing as she took victory in the first heat of the day.

Tarryn Chudleigh of Kommetjie took second and joins her mentor in the semis while O'Neill team rider Caylin de Reuk of Melkbosstrand had her sponsors beaming with pride as she beat former SA Champion Penny Robarts of Somerset West into second spot in Heat three of Round One to reach her first Women's PST semi.

Tasha Mentasti of Durban North, the winner of the first O' Neill Cold Water Classic in 2003, obviously has her eyes on a second title as she beat Bronwyn Chudleigh of Kommetjie into second place in their encounter and the two of them will meet de Reuk and Robarts in the second semi final.

Current SA Champion and Pro Surf Tour leader Sarah Maritz of Warner Beach and Tara Hossack of Jeffrey's Bay advanced to the semi finals courtesy of a "walkthrough" where they will meet Clark and Tarryn Chudleigh.

After the Women had posted some impressive scores it was time for their male counterparts in Round Three to take on "The Five". The round started with a major upset as Sean Holmes of Wilderness was eliminated by Dylan Stone of Port Elizabeth and Brad Mommsen of Berea. Holmes, who won the SA Championships at this venue in 2000, needed a second scoring ride and perhaps chose the wrong equipment for the conditions.

Kommetjie local Thomas King Kleynhans used his knowledge of the break to record a well thought out victory over second placed Frankie Oberholzer of Warner Beach while another O'Neill team rider, Casey Grant of Scottburgh, gave his sponsors a real reason to smile when he posted a 9.33 and an 8 point wave score in his heat to record the highest heat score of the day. Grant and Quintin Jones of Cape Town, the runner up to Sean Holmes in the SA Championships at 365 in 2000, advanced to the quarters in this heat.

Ryan Payne of Jeffrey's Bay, the 2005 O'Neill SA Open champion and Stanley Badger of Cape St Francis caused another upset in this round when they forced Outer Kom standout Matthew Bromley into third spot while former WP Open champion Matt Kruger of Durban and Gary Van Wieringen of Scottburgh also advanced to the quarter finals in the second last heat of the day.

The final two surfers to qualify for the round of 16 were Kommetjie big wave icon rider Ian Armstrong and O'Neill SA Open finalist Simon Fish of East London and they advanced at the expense of 2003 Cold Water` Classic winner Brandon Roberts of Sun Valley in a heat that produced some real go for it surfing..

Only ten heats remain in the 2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic and contest officials are confident that the Southern Peninsula will continue to play ball tomorrow (Saturday August 25) and deliver at least five hours of premium surf which is what is needed to complete the event.

Chris Bertish of O'Neill is really pleased with the way the event is going and said as day two came to a close "After Outer Kom we needed to chose the right spot and the right surf for the next day of competition. 365 was an ideal venue and produced surf and conditions that tested the competitors in every heat.

We are confident that the Cape Peninsula will continue to deliver serious surf for the final ten heats and look forward to watching the contestants as they push the limits. Tomorrow (Saturday) looks set to be a great day of competition with some retro surfing included as part of the action".

The O'Neill Cold Water Classic carries a PST rating of 3A for the Men and  2A for the Women and  is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, the national governing body for surfing. The Cold Water Classic is supported by Vans and Crocs with medical support from Netcare 911. Contestants and officials must meet at Long Beach Kommetjie on Saturday August 25 at 7.30 am for a venue decision.

Venue details of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic as well as heat results will be listed on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za daily and  the status of the contest during the four day window period will be available from the WP Surfing info line on 0822334001 after 8am each day.

Previous reports:
# 1 : 2007 O'Neill Cold Water Classic set for Cape Peninsula
# 2 : Outer Kom delivers for O'Neill Cold Water Classic day #1
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Surfing South Africa
Robin de Kock
surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com

O'Neill South Africa
Chris Bertish
chrisb@fifthelement.co.za

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