Michael February : photo Greg Ewing/Quiksilver

Quiksilver King of the Groms Mossel Bay
Presented by Virgin Mobile

Scottburgh KZN South Africa
16 - 17 August 2008

Kommetjie surfer wins Quiksilver King Of The Groms

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 17 August, 2008 : - - Scottburgh – Mikey February from Kommetjie is the New South African King Of The Groms. Despite being eliminated in the quarter finals in the third event of the series held today, he managed to accumulate enough points along the way to earn him the Crown, the trip to the Quiksilver King Of The Groms International event in France and a chance to become the International King Of The Groms.

“It’s going to be great to surf against the internationals,” said a jubilant February on the beach, adorned with cape and crown. “It’s my chance of putting my name out there.” It all came down to the wire in this fiercely–contested division, as a number of surfers were in contention all the way to the end, but today was the lanky natural-footer’s day.

The U20 Division Series was won by Nicky Godfrey from Cape St Francis. This victory secured the natural footer a return ticket to Hawaii. Godfrey performed well throughout the series, which included a win in Cape Town, and was a very stoked series winner. “It’s been a really great series,” said Nicky. “We’ve had really good waves for the whole series.”

Final Event:
Good surf was the order of the day today in Scottburgh for the final event, held in clean three-foot waves that ran along the sand bottom point, and even included some tube rides. Chris Leppan from Umhlanga got a thick barrel in his quarter-final heat for an excellent score of nine points (out of a possible 10) and a resultant heat victory.

The U20 division was an extremely tight heat between Winkelspruit’s Klee Strachan and Scottburgh local Casey Grant. With time running out and Casey trailing Strachan, a good-looking wave appeared for local surfer Grant, and he performed a series of radical turns all the way to the beach for an excellent score of 9 points (out of a possible 10) and victory.

The Premier U16 Grom Division was also a tight battle on the highly contestable right-handers pouring down the point. Jacob Mellish from Kommetjie was having a dream event, but the young Dane Staples from St Francis Bay came on strong towards the end with some powerful moves on the clean faces to snatch the win and the event crown.

The Virgin Mobile Expression Session saw a a bunch of surfers take to the water in a bid to win prizes for The Biggest Air and the Best Wave. It was young goofy-footer Diran Zakarian from Melkbosstrand who won the R1000 for the Biggest Air for a massive forehand boost that he performed on a powerful left-hander. The Best Wave award and an MP3 player went to Chad Du Toit from Durban.

The Zigzag Blowing Up Award of R2000 and a replica hand-grenade trophy for the surfer who ‘blew up’ the most throughout the series was won by David Van Zyl from Durban.

Final Results: Event three: Scottburgh

Premier Grom Division
1. Dane Staples (CStF)
2. Jacob Mellish (SWest)
3. Remi Peterson (JBay)
3. David Van Zyl (DBN)

U20 Division
1. Casey Grant (Scott)
2. Klee Strachan (Wnr)
3. Chad Du Toit (DBN)
3. Chris Leppan (Umh)

Virgin Mobile Expression Session:
Biggest Aerial Move – Diran Zakarian (MBos)
Best Wave – Chad Du Toit (DBN)

Zigzag Blowing Up Award:
David Van Zyl (DBN)

Final Results: Quiksilver King Of The Groms Series:

Premier U16 Division
1. Mikey February (Komm)
2. Dane Staples (CStF)
3. Devin Lane (Umh)
4. Jacob Mellish (SWest)
5. Beyrick De Vries (Umh)

U20 Division
1. Nicky Godfrey (CStF)
2. Klee Strachan (Wnr)
3. Casey Grant (Scott)
4. Brendan Gibbens (Komm)
5. Mikey February (Komm)

The Quiksilver King Of The Groms will be broadcast on an upcoming episode of Boardriders TV. The Quiksilver King Of The Groms is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. Free high resolution images are available for media outlets. Contact Craig Jarvis.

www.quiksilver.com
www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

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Dane Patterson

Groms - Surfersvillage