Jeep South African Longboard 2008 Champs

Western Province Longboard Surfing Association
Noordhoek/Long Beach Kommetjie South Africa
26 April - 2 May 2008

Mathew Moir makes his mark again at Jeep South African Longboard 2008 Champs

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 5 May, 2008 : - - Matthew Moir, South Africa’s top longboard surfer and a world championship winner, once again took top honours, beating last year’s champion Tyrone Jensen in the open division of the Jeep South African Longboard 2008 championships held around the peninsula from 26 April to 2 May.

Moir, presently competing in the World Longboard Championships in France, dazzled spectators in wind-whipped conditions at Noordhoek beach and Kommetjie’s Long Beach. Jensen - who is also competing in the World Champs - was knocked out in the semis along with Camps Bay’s big-move surferWilliam Wallace, by junior and open division surfer Justin Bing and Thomas King.

Bing is competing in France on a wild card. Spectators’ delight Johno Rosslind, who executed impressive manoevres with grace, competence and panache, slipped into fourth in the open division, with King second and Bing third.

Junior surfer Alyosha Diebold astounded all with his extraordinary performance and was voted the Most Improved Junior Surfer in South Africa, coming third in the Boys division behind Steve Sawyer and Chaim Simmons of Eastern Province, with Damien Stander of KZN bringing up the rear.

Western Province’s Justin Bing and Alphonso Peters enthralled in the Junior division, beating Saul Bernstein and Grant Beck of EP to third and fourth positions, while WP’s Ashleigh Heese, Cheree Thomson and Hannah Bing were edged into second, third and fourth spots by Fay Zoetmulder of EP in a narrowly contested Girls’ final.

In an all WP Women’s final Roxy Towill took first place above graceful Catherine Priday, Bernie Shelly and Tamsin Brown. Shelly, the oldest woman competitor in South Africa, also placed third in the Senior Women’s division behind EP’s consistent Phillipa Hill and WP’s sparkly Tracy Farren, with Margo Saunders of EP fourth.

West coast’s much-admired Mark Theunissen beat fellow teammate John Richardson in the Masters division, pushing newcomer Floyd Pierce into fourth place behind Richard Rispel of KZN. Grandmaster newcomer Mark Stride triumphed in second, with Hugo Zuanne third and Gary Kleynhans, fourth, all of WP, all narrowly beaten by Craig Potgieter of EP. Senior Men Dave Stubbs, Davey Jenkins and Deon Bing, in that order, surfed EP’s Greg Smith into fourth place.

Well known super sportsman and Veteran division surfer Gary van Rooyen, Surfer of the Contest trophy winner Mark Hoyle, and EP’s Andrew Lentin beat Mark Simmons of EP, while Des Sawyer of EP trounced Craig Freegard and Robin Head of KZN and Terry Townsend of WP in the Supervets division.

The older guys were not to be outdone, with Greg Stokes of WP giving a superb account of himself in the Legends division, pushing fellow teammate Peter Randall into second place, with Dave Hill of EP and Mike Patterson of KZN attaining third and fourth places.  Super Legends division stalwart Charlie Moir of WP gained victory over John Anderson, Bruno Bruniquel and Dereck Berry of EP in that order.

Cape Town in April is a mild-weather time, with relatively good swell and little wind and the organisers expected to hold the contest at Muizenberg, an excellent longboard venue. But the Doctor lingered long, causing excruciating cold on the Atlantic Ocean – enough for an unsuspecting Durbanite to suffer hypothermia, which, if not for quick and appropriate action by the longboard authorities, could have proved fatal.

Despite sometimes trying surf conditions, with superb performances throughout, the home team lead by captain Hugo Zuanne marched victorious, with 117,432 glorious points to 108,616 for EP and 51,723 points for KZN.

www.salsa.co.za

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